A day to remember: Canyon Crest Academy celebrates Día de Muertos

For the third year in a row, Canyon Crest Academy hosted a festive Día de Muertos event with the school community coming together for the traditional Mexican holiday remembering loved ones lost in a colorful celebration of life.

The Oct. 31 celebration coincided with Halloween and an all-school Connectivity Day, a new feature at CCA this year where once a month time is carved out for students to gather for an activity to develop a better sense of connection and belonging on campus. For Día de Muertos, students crowded into the quad near Spanish teachers Profe Laura Krogh and Rigo Paz’s classrooms, where a large ofrenda had been set up to honor the memories of people and pets who have passed away—the altar was filled with photographs, sugar skulls, mementos and bright orange marigold flowers.

For over 15 years Krogh and Paz celebrated Día de los Muertos in their own classrooms, with own small offrendas. For the last three years they have opened it up to share it with everyone.

“The ofendra invites our dearly departed to live again with photos that evoke memories and food that brings families together,” Paz said. “The marigolds light the path back to the living world.”

This year with the help of the Spanish Culture Club, the celebration was bigger than it has ever been, with collaboration between the Spanish and art departments and funding help from the CCA Foundation.

“We wanted to make it a school-focused event,” said club member Naisha Patel. Naisha is a senior who finished AP Spanish when she was a sophomore but she has stayed involved because she loved how much the class focused on not just learning the language but on cultural awareness. The Día de Muertos celebration is an opportunity to share that cultural awareness and appreciation with the whole school, she said.

Many of the staff members dressed up along the theme of the Disney movie “Coco”, including Principal Brett Killeen. Paz and Krogh were in full Día de Muertos attire, their faces beautifully and meticulously painted. They greeted their students in Spanish and posed for photos.

Decorations were spread throughout the campus and near the hub by the Spanish classrooms, students could get their faces painted by student artists, enjoy performances by the orchestra and school dance program or check out the giant new eight-foot-tall La Catrina sculpture. As Krough explained, the elegant skeleton La Catrina was originally created by Mexican printmaker José Guadalupe Posada in 1910 and later popularized by Diego Rivera in his murals, becoming a symbol of Día de Muertos.

“Her message is powerful: to stay true to who you are and embrace your roots, because at the end of the day, we all share the same fate,” said Krogh. “She’s a reminder to live authentically and fully.”

This year, they also added an interactive memory wall near the campus’ rainbow stairs, where students and staff were invited to write a memory dedicated to a loved one who has passed away and tie it to the pop-up installation. The installation was just another meaningful way for the school community to play a part in what Krogh said has become one of her favorite events of the year.