A colorful ofrenda of skulls, offerings and photos has taken up the corner of the Mahurin Honors College/International Center second-floor balcony.
The Department of Modern Languages set up the ofrenda in honor of Day of the Dead, a holiday celebrated throughout Latin America. The ofrenda is meant not only to remember dead loved ones in a public way, but also to allow WKU students to interact and learn about the culture.
Day of the Dead, celebrated on the first and second of November, is a holiday that honors those who have passed away and celebrates their lives through rituals and offerings.
The ofrenda, a symbol of the holiday, is an altar set up with skulls, decorations, and foods, as well as photos of the deceased and objects representing things they enjoyed in life.
Amy Rodriguez-Calva, a junior biology and Spanish double major who has contributed to past ofrendas in HCIC, said that the ofrenda is a good way to take pride in her culture and celebrate it with other students.
“You can see how our culture and our heritage surpasses boundaries,” Rodriguez-Calva said. “It’s not like something that only has to stay in one country, but it can be celebrated here, where there’s a lot of cultures.”
Pertusa said HCIC has set up ofrendas for Day of the Dead celebrations since (year), with efforts from both the Spanish Club and the Modern Languages department contributing to arranging. Inmaculada Pertusa and Melissa Stweart, both Spanish professors, led this year’s effort in setting up the ofrenda.
Pertusa said that they placed the ofrenda in the lobby for WKU students to recognize the present Hispanic culture, as well as for Hispanic students to recognize their own culture and traditions.
“Generally, (the ofrenda) is done with the family, and there are few students that make ofrendas in their dorms,” Pertusa said. “So our ofrenda is a way to connect with their traditions and with their parents.”
This year, the ofrenda features objects that represent the elements, various decorations with skull motifs, and photos of Pertusas and Stewart’s loved ones.
The ofrenda also welcomes contributions from the WKU community, with a place where observers can write messages to their loved ones to be left on the ofrenda. Before Day of the Dead, the offering cup for messages was filled with handwritten notes from WKU students.
Shelby Sutton, a senior double majoring in biochemistry and biology with a minor in Spanish, said she helped with past ofrendas as President of the Spanish Club. She said that in the current political climate, the ofrenda is important for people to try to understand and personalize another culture with their own.
“The actual goal of the ofrenda itself is to build connections and understand that people mourn the same things, and that death doesn’t always have to be the end,” Sutton said. “Death can also be a continuation of somebody’s story.”
