Día de los Muertos: An Unforgettable Experience
El Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, has become an annual tradition at Cedarwood.
It is a time to honor the dead with festivals and lively celebrations, a typically Latin American custom that combines indigenous Aztec ritual with Catholicism, brought to the region by Spanish conquistadores. The way we honor the day(s) at Cedarwood is most strongly associated with Mexico, where the tradition originated.
This year, all of the Grades students will participate in making decorations for the three communal altars in the school building. On November 1 & 2, each class will have a small ceremony at one of the altars during their Spanish class period and will be invited to place offerings and speak of their loved ones.
Below is the English translation of a story I wrote in Spanish for the students about a very special evening in my life. You can read the Spanish version of this story here.
An Unforgettable Experience
One time, I went to the state of Michoacán in Mexico. In a city named Morelia, my friends said,
“Let’s go to a festival near the Lake of Pátzcuaro.”
“Okay!” I said.
My friends and I went on a small boat from the town of Pátzcuaro to an island in the center of the lake. On the island there was a town called Janítzio. It was nighttime and I saw many lights on the island and over the water.
On the island the streets were very narrow. I saw no cars, only many people walking. The doors of the houses were open and inside there were altars with colorful table cloths, candles, flowers, and photos.
I smelled something good and saw a small restaurant with no walls where there was a very large pot. I ate some of the soup from the pot and I liked it very much even though it was spicy. The soup was called “pozole.”
I continued walking, looking at the altars, and I became cold. At a stall I bought a hot and thick drink that is made of oatmeal. It was called “atole.”
All of the streets lead up to the top of the island. There was a cemetery there. When I came to the top, I saw an enormous iron gate that was open. In the cemetery I saw many people eating, conversing, and singing. I saw many candles, children, and families. I also saw flowers of every color, but most were orange and yellow. They were “cempasúchil,” the flower of the dead since the time of the Aztecs.
We came back down and on the way I saw a serpent made of stars moving in the water of the lake. They were the fishermen’s boats with lights in their nets, making beautiful formations in the lake.
I said to my friends:
“A thousand thanks for bringing me here! I will never forget this night!”
And so it was that I had my first experience of El Día de los Muertos
Two of Cedarwood’s community members share 8 ways to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with your family here.
Maestra Michelle Jarvis was born and raised in Portland, Oregon. After living and working as a professional ballerina in Mexico and Europe for eight years, she returned home to start a family. Michelle brought her love for and expertise in the spanish language to Cedarwood Waldorf school in 1998 and has been an integral part of the development of the school ever since.
Besides teaching spanish, she has played a role in many aspects of the school over the years, including after-school care, office management, enrollment, personnel management, faculty leadership, board development and teacher development. Both of her daughters are graduates of Cedarwood and Portland Waldorf high school. Michelle is a graduate of the Rudolf Steiner College foreign language teacher training and currently hosts an annual conference for developing world language teachers.