Students Celebrate at Day of the Dead Event

About 50 Chatsworth High School students dressed in black and wearing black skeleton masks paraded around their school’s quad area Monday to celebrate Dia de los Muertos, also known as the Day of the Dead.

Students walking near the front of the procession carried a cardboard casket, which was painted black with white skeleton figurines on the sides. Bringing up the rear was Chatsworth student Jorge Hernandez, beating a large bass drum.

“It’s so that the dead can find their way to their families by hearing the drum,” said Jorge, 16, a 10th-grader.

Although the scene resembled a funeral procession, the occasion was celebratory, not mournful.

And that’s what La Celebracion del Dia de los Muertos is all about, said Richard Doran, a Chatsworth High art teacher.

“It’s kind of a joyous remembrance of the loved ones who have passed away,” said Doran, who teamed up with folk art teacher Kathleen Donner to organize the third annual celebration.

Once the procession made its way to the outdoor stage, which was decorated with colorful papier-mache masks and miniature altars made from shoe boxes, the scene took on an even more festive mood.

Students who took part in the procession danced on stage to the music of “El Jarabe Tapatio,” commonly known as the Mexican Hat Dance.

“It’s almost a laughing at death kind of thing,” Doran said. “It’s not designed to be something that you’re supposed to be afraid of.”

Dia de los Muertos, celebrated Nov. 1 and 2, helped 12th-grader Andrea Ales, 16, whose father passed away in 1989. The even provided her with a different perspective.

“Instead of feeling sad, I learned to celebrate [my father’s] life and celebrate the good things that he has done,” Andrea said.