MEMPHIS, TN (MSCS) – This year, we are expressing once again our desire to share the diverse cultural traditions of our Spanish-speaking students at Memphis-Shelby County Schools. Recently, we did so with various events to celebrate “Hispanic Heritage Month”; now, we are doing so with altars to remember our loved ones who have passed away and in commemoration of the “Day of the Dead.”
Kingsbury High School, Sheffield Elementary School, Treadwell Elementary School, Middle College High School, and University Middle School will be participating with altars this Saturday, November 1, during the “2025 Day of the Dead Festival and Parade,” organized by Cazateatro and the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art.
Kingsbury High School’s altar, titled “The Flight of the Butterflies,” was created in honor of monarch butterflies.
“Our students chose this theme for the altar (Ofrenda) because they did not want the traditional altar such as skulls and other colorful decorations,” said Diego Reyes, a Spanish teacher at Kingsbury High. He added that the group of students in charge of creating the altar thoroughly enjoyed exploring the meaning of the monarch butterfly’s journey and its connection to the Day of the Dead. “They understood that the monarch butterfly is a powerful symbol believed to carry the souls of the dead, who return to visit during the celebration.”
“One of the reasons I worked on this project is because I was making something beautiful for others to see. The hard work and time put into the project made me feel proud of my heritage,” said César G., a 12th-grade student at Kingsbury High. “This was my first piece of Huichol art I have done, and it makes me feel accomplished as a student and Latino. For Latinos, the Monarch Butterfly stands for change, hope, and migration. It reminds people of loved ones that have passed away and of the journey and strength of immigrants,” he added.
According to Mr. Reyes, the arrival of the monarch butterflies in Mexico – which usually occurs between late October and early November – coincides with these important dates, thus becoming “a central, comforting, and iconic image of the holiday.” In addition to this, Mr. Reyes noted that this annual event has become a school tradition for Kingsbury High. “The exposure and experience for our students have enabled them to showcase their heritage, tradition, and culture – it will motivate us to keep this tradition alive!”
At Treadwell Elementary, the school created an altar to remember two teachers who passed away this year: Varian Baker and Antonio Jones.
Mr. Baker was the In-School Suspension Specialist for over 10 years at Treadwell. “He was the face at the Annex Building, greeting students every day, interacting with parents, exchanging Pokémon cards. He was our ‘Gentle Giant,’ always with a smile and respected by all,” said Marva Phillip Hunte, Bilingual Resource Center Liaison at Treadwell International Community School.
Mr. Jones was an English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher at Treadwell Middle School. According to Ms. Phillip Hunte, although Mr. Jones taught at this school for a short period of time, he was very well-liked by his students.
Both Kingsbury High and Treadwell have participated for several years in the Cazateatro and Brooks Museum’s annual “Day of the Dead Festival and Parade.”
As for the other participating schools this year, these are their altars:
Sheffield Elementary School: An altar honoring Tom Lee, a river worker who, despite not knowing how to swim, used a small boat to save 32 passengers from a steamboat after it capsized on the Mississippi River.
Middle College High School: An altar honoring Celia Cruz, Victoria Santa Cruz, Arturo Alfonso-Schomberg, and Piri Thomas, all pioneers of art, music, and literature.
If you don’t want to wait until the day of the event to see these altars, you can visit their exhibit at the Brooks Museum and learn more about what our students wanted to express through their creations.
Day of the Dead, Meaning and History
Being one of the most important pre-Hispanic traditions to date, especially in Mexico, the “Day of the Dead” is celebrated on November 1 and November 2 to remember the deceased loved ones and ancestors, honoring them with “Ofrendas”: altars that are specially decorated to honor and please the returning souls with their favorite food and drinks, along with some fruit, bread, sugar skulls, photos, toys (if the deceased is a child), and candles.
Generally, the altars are also adorned with the symbolic Cempasúchil or marigold flowers, as they symbolize the “Day of the Dead” in Mexico and, thanks to their yellow color and aroma, they are one of the most representative elements of the altars for the dead. To facilitate the return of souls to Earth, families scatter marigold petals and place candles and offerings along the path between their homes and the cemetery.
Currently, the tradition with roots in the pre-Columbian Mesoamerican people – Mayas, Aztecs, Purépechas, Nahuas, Mexicas, and Totonacas – has moved to other Latin American countries like Guatemala, Costa Rica, Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Peru, and even Venezuela. In the United States, the “Day of the Dead” is also celebrated, as the remarkable growth of the Hispanic population in this country has allowed for this special holiday to be adopted, as well as many other things of the Latin culture.
In fact, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) declared in 2008 that the “Day of the Dead” was, and still is, an “Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.”
As the story goes, these pre-Columbian Mesoamerican civilizations used to preserve skulls for rituals that celebrated death and birth. These rituals honored the ninth month of the Mexican solar calendar, considered at the beginning of August, and consisted of celebrating the lives of deceased people, as well as those of infants. With the arrival of the Spanish conquerors in America, this date was moved to the beginning of November to coincide with the Catholic holiday of “All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day.”
The celebration of “Day of the Dead” is made up then of the belief that the souls of deceased people remain present on Earth. From this perspective, death is considered as an achieved goal and not as a loss. Furthermore, it is thought that the souls of the deceased loved ones visit their graves or the altars that have been set up by their relatives, who, in turn, feel great joy at being able to reconnect with the loved ones that have passed away.
In addition to the “Ofrendas,” another element that is fundamental and very characteristic of the “Day of the Dead” is the incomparable Catrina, an elegant skeleton created by famous Mexican printmaker, cartoon illustrator, and lithographer Jose Guadalupe Posada (1852-1913) in the early twentieth century. The image depicts a female skeleton dressed only in a hat befitting the upper-class outfit of a European of her time. Her chapeau originally is related to French and European styles of the early 20th century. She is meant to portray a satirization of those Mexican natives who, Posada felt, were over embracing European traditions of the aristocracy in the pre-revolutionary era.
As if that were not enough, the cities and houses are decorated with skulls, catrinas, catrines, and other allusive elements. Gastronomy also plays an important role in Mexico during these days, as it is an occasion for many to gather around the table for family dinners to which, according to tradition, the deceased are also invited.
Day of the Dead Festival and Parade in Memphis, TN
The Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, along with Cazateatro Bilingual Theatre Group, will be holding their traditional and annual “Day of the Dead Festival and Parade” on Saturday, November 1, between Overton Square and Overton Park. The event will feature floats, “Catrinas,” mariachi bands, dance performances, art-making activities, face painting, food trucks, and much more.
Where: Memphis Brooks Museum of Art and Overton Park – 1934 Poplar Ave. Memphis, TN 38104
Time: The parade begins at 11:30 AM in Overton Square (Tower Courtyard) and ends in Overton Park. The festival at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art begins at 12:30 PM and ends at 3:30 PM.
This event is free and open to the public!