The Spanish Circle, Sigma Delta Pi and the Department of English and Modern Languages Cultural Committee are keeping the deceased alive for El Dia de los Muertos, and they invite you to do the same. Their “altar de muertos” in honor of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz is available for viewing outside the Setzer Student Center Ballroom through Nov. 1.
El Dia de los Muertos is an ancient Aztec tradition celebrated annually in Mexico and Latin America on Nov. 1 and 2. Residents commemorate the deceased by constructing elaborate altars adorned with sugar skulls, marigolds, and the favorite foods of the deceased as well as photos of them. “In Mexico, we believe the only time you die is when no one talks about you,” joked Norma Zarzosa, Spanish Circle advisor.
Some perceive this tradition as “worshipping the dead,” but Zarzosa was quick to dispel that myth.
“No, we are honoring the people who have passed away,” said Zarzosa, herself a native of Mexico. “It gives us the opportunity to open to the new generation who their ancestors were. It brings generations together, brings families together.”
This is Zarzosa’s fourth year as advisor of the Spanish Circle, an organization founded in 1967 designed to promote Spanish culture at Lamar. Each year that she has been at Lamar, the Spanish Circle, along with Sigma Delta Pi, the Spanish honor society, and the Department of English and Modern Languages, has constructed an altar in honor of a prominent Hispanic historical figure. This year, the students selected Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, a celebrated Mexican writer and scholar.
Born in 1648, de la Cruz taught herself to read and write at age 3. She entered a convent in 1667, a time when a woman’s only hope for education was to become a nun. She was a staunch advocate of education for all women and expressed these views through poetry and prose, which would eventually incite conflict between her and the Catholic Church.
Spanish instructor Catalina Castillon described de la Cruz as a woman “very much ahead of her time.”
“The idea is that at a university, which is a place for learning, they [the students] honor a woman who was well-known for her love of learning and was willing to gamble everything to devote her life to it,” said Castillon, whose extensive classroom assignments inspired the students to dedicate their altar to de la Cruz.
For more information, contact Norma Zarzosa at (409) 880-8591 or nlzarzosa@my.lamar.edu.
