A Reflection in Preparation for Día de los Muertos
Dia de los Muertos (DDM) is fast approaching, and as MICCA we have tried our best to put together an event that brings together MSU students, faculty, familia, and members of our community. We have imagined our event as a social space where we continue to celebrate our cultural traditions. Moreover, we envision DDM as an ongoing form of resistance where we can create a narrative for ourselves in a university that has continually and systematically failed to create culturally relevant and safe spaces for Latinx, Chicanx, and other people of color (POC).
As we prepare for this event I reflect on the links between creating spaces to celebrate cultural traditions, building community, and self-knowledge. There is an immense amount of knowledge within us that has been passed down through generations, yet because of the constant pressure to assimilate we become unaware of our internal knowledge and power. Thankfully, there are bridges between and within generations that have served to pass down stories of survival, resilience, and success. I hope that through events like DDM we can uncover some of the knowledge and power within us and share them as we build stronger communities. Additionally, we hope that through adjunct events like the Altar Making Workshop, DDM becomes more than a single event, but multiple opportunities to create community.
As a mother away from her extended family, celebrating DDM is vital because I realize I get to pass down one of the oldest yet ongoing pre-Columbian tradition to my daughter. I know my daughter will not learn about or celebrate DDM in school. It is up to me to keep this tradition alive. But it is not only important for me as a mother, it is also important for MICCA to make this event and collaborate with the youth, because through it we hope to plant in future generations the seeds of hope and love for our cultura, nuestras tradiciones, and for nuestra gente. We do it in hopes that they will, too, some day introduce DDM to their children no matter how far away they are from the motherland. This year, I am thankful for the opportunity of sharing the knowledge of DDM with the kids from the Indigenous Youth Empowerment Program (IYEP). I am also hopeful that this collaboration will continue in the years to come.
I also want to take the time to ruminate on the direct aggressions to our community from the Associated Students of Michigan State University (ASMSU) by censoring students. We have witness the irony of people using the first amendment as a shield/weapon to attack our community. Yet when we want to use it to defend ourselves, the system deprives us from using it. Reminding us that in this university we are still treated as second-class citizens. Nonetheless, I am proud of the quick and smart mobilization of Cultural de las Razas Unidas (CRU), other Latinx students, and allies. I am also thankful for the support that numerous student organizations and faculty have given to our community. It is devastating that marginalized communities are woven together because of the struggles and discrimination that we face. Nonetheless, it is only by standing together that we will make a difference. At the same time I reflect and acknowledge that despite all of the struggles, all the oppression, our essence remains, and so does our love for our community, cultura, and traditions. Therefore, I hope you find our DDM celebration as a continuation of the events aimed at revalidating our voices and experiences.
We hope that y’all can join us to celebrate DDM and continue with the traditions of painting The Rock, eating pan de Muerto, as putting altares for our loved ones. And if you cannot, know that we carry each other en nuestros corazones.
En Solidaridad,
Nerli Paredes
MICCA, Historian
