![Pix of Mario Rubio and Shelby Shenkelman](https://www.uc.edu/news/articles/legacy/enews/2003/10/e1062/jcr:content/image.img.cq5dam.thumbnail.500.500.jpg/1534434221702.jpg)
UC Classmates Create Day of the Dead Altar
At first glance the Mexican holiday known as the Day of the Dead might appear to be related to Halloween. But students in a course on Mexican culture taught by University of Cincinnati Professor of Romance Languages Kirsten Nigro now know better.
Her Spanish language class has constructed a Día de los Muertos altar similar to the kind Mexicans create each
Nov. 1
to allow the living to celebrate the dead. The UC students Day of the Dead display is on exhibit in the Max Kade Center in Room 736, Old Chemistry, from
6:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. now through Friday, Oct. 31
. Then on the weekend, the students who created it will take it to the Latin American Cultural Fest at the Cincinnati Museum Center from
noon- 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 1-2
for a display that they will staff.
Photo of Stacey Bill and Rachel Burns
The students altar is dedicated to the seven astronauts who died in the Columbia disaster earlier this year and Cuban salsa singer Celia Cruz, who died in July. Their class meets from
9 a.m. to 9:50 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 31
, in Room 46, McMicken Hall.
Photo of astronauts
According to Nigro, the holiday is rooted in Catholic/Native American tradition. The altar laden with frosted sugar skulls made of sugar, egg whites and water, a glass of water for thirsty spirits and incense, candles, toy skeletons, intricately cut tissue paper, pictures of the Virgin of Guadalupe and other items is meant to be joyous. Other celebrations common for the Mexican holiday are picnics at the cemetery, fiestas, and drinking and eating together with friends and family (living or dead).
Contact: Kirsten Nigro, 513-556-1838
Related Stories
How to keep birds from flying into your windows
![Yahoo! News icon](/content/dam/refresh/uc-news/news-icons/dark/yahoo.png)
July 3, 2024
UC College of Arts and Sciences professor Ron Canterbury tells the Indianapolis Star that simple steps can prevent birds from strike windows around your home or business. Yahoo! News shares the story.
Meet UC’s Miss Ohio
July 1, 2024
UC biomedical science student Stephanie Finoti credits UC for helping to prepare her for the Miss Ohio Scholarship Pageant. She will represent Ohio in the national competition in January.
UC alum credits journalism program with early success
June 26, 2024
Zachary Jarrell came to the University of Cincinnati in 2019 to pursue a degree in statistics. In 2023, he graduated with a Bachelor’s in Journalism. For many undergraduates, the journey through college rarely takes the expected track. Detours happen, and majors change. When plans switch up, it can be helpful to a student’s success to find support. For Jarrell, it was the people he worked alongside in the journalism department who helped him on his journey. It has left a lasting impression on his life so far, guiding him to multiple internships as an undergraduate, real-world experience in prominent news outlets, and eventually a successful career in the highly competitive field of journalism.