Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is a vibrant and culturally significant Mexican holiday celebrated on Nov. 1 and 2. It is a time for families and communities to honor and remember deceased loved ones.

This year, the Cultural Celebrations Committee (CCC), a part of the Diversity and Activism club, hosted a Día de los Muertos celebration where the students gathered to watch the Disney movie “Coco” and participate in activities. These activities included making marigolds and decorating sugar skull cookies. The event, carefully organized, embraced the spirit of the holiday, calling for appreciation of the diverse cultural heritage.

The CCC at State High is a club dedicated to celebrating and recognizing the different backgrounds of State High students..

“I think it’s important for us to celebrate different cultures,” sophomore Margaret Choe, the co-president of the CCC, said.

In order to celebrate the Hispanic and Latinx cultures of State High, the CCC worked hard to spread the word of the celebration through posters and other media.

“[The event planning] was a little bit hard given we didn’t have a whole lot of time but we made it work!” Choe said.

Junior co-president Ren Estep echoed the same sentiment.

“Yes, usually our events that we have with our club are less successful because we are very bad at getting the word out so this turnout was a lot better than we expected!” Estep said.

But no matter the difficulties, the CCC still managed to arrange the Día de los Muertos celebration.

“My favorite part [of organizing the event] is just seeing everyone that is able to come and if they enjoy it,” Choe said.

In the end, the number of students who joined the CCC for the celebration exceeded expectations.

Students who attended the celebration expressed their enjoyment of crafting marigolds and decorating cookies.

“I had really high expectations and they were met!” junior LuAnn Dong said. “There were just so many decorations and the food was very good.”

“For the Cultural Celebrations Committee, our goal is to help students from underrepresented cultures within our school feel appreciated and come together to be recognized,” Estep said.

Ultimately, the celebration allowed students, including those of Mexican and Latino heritage, to have fun commemorating Dia de Los Muertos, while also teaching cultural tolerance and appreciation.