Last week, our Prep School Round Square Internationalism Leaders, Nicolas and Beatrice, led an assembly exploring El Día de los Muertos, the Mexican festival that takes place at the beginning of November each year.
Assisted by the Young Interpreters, they shared the origins of the festival and explained how it is celebrated in Mexico. It was fascinating to learn that the skeletons and skulls so closely linked with the occasion originate from a quote by José Guadalupe Posada, a prominent Mexican political cartoonist: “Todos somos calaveras” meaning “We are all skeletons.” This reminds us that beneath our differences, whether rich or poor, simply dressed or in finery, we are all the same.
As part of the assembly, pupils also created an altar de la ofrenda, a small homemade altar traditionally found in Mexican homes. These altars include items that honour loved ones who have passed away, such as photographs, favourite food and drink, a cross and marigold flowers.