Mexico Middle Schoolers Create Dia de los Muertos altars

MEXICO – Mexico Middle School students combined their love of celebrities and their Spanish class to create beautiful Dia de los Muertos altars.

Both seventh grade and eighth grade students studied the culture around the Day of the Dead, where families in Mexico honor and remember on Nov. 1 children who have died and on Nov. 2 adults who died.

For the MACS project, teacher Maureen Spath said students were tasked with conducting research on a famous person who died and including the following information and details on their altars: four elements of nature, the colors of orange, pink and purple; a photograph with birth and death dates, flowers, papel picados, food, beverages, skulls and candles.

Students learned that Mexicans believed the souls are thirsty and hungry so they come back on their Dia de los Muertos for the offered items.

Whichever team of students created the best altar, as determined by their peers who strolled through the makeshift hallway cemetery, received both bragging rights and prizes.

Featured celebrities included Babe Ruth, Judy Garland, Princess Diana, David Bowie, Michael Jackson and Walt Disney among several others.

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