Turning down the hallway near the Spanish classrooms at Winnebago High School, the lockers have transformed. Golden Marigold flowers adorn the swung-open doors. Colorful construction paper covers them along with papel picado: tissue paper with intricate designs cut into them.
And inside the lockers, for Dia de los Muertos, Winnebago High School Spanish 4 students have created altars, or ‘ofrendas,’ to honor loved ones who have died.
“There's a picture of me and her when I was like a baby,” said Emma. She’s a senior at Winnebago High School. She’s building an ofrenda for her great grandmother.
“She passed when I was seven,” she added.
Besides the flowers and papel picado, they all include pictures of their loved one, a biography they wrote in Spanish, important items, heirlooms and their favorite foods and drinks. Emma’s got a Coca-Cola for her great grandmother.
It’s a moment where students like her can share a different side of themselves and honor the people they loved and lost. They can be vulnerable in front of their teachers and friends as they stop and look at the locker ofrendas.
“I hope that they noticed that I'm very fortunate that I got to meet a great-grandparent. Some people don't,” she said. “I hope that they take away that if you were in the same situation that you should feel grateful for it.”
Andrea Sotelo is a Spanish teacher at Winnebago High School. She says they’ve been doing this project for about five years. This year they have around 45 ofrendas.
“It's a very personal side of them and it's a great way to make a connection with them and share with them,” said Sotelo. “Every year I usually put up my own ofrenda in the classroom. So, every year they get to learn about me and so, when it comes to this, I think they're okay with sharing with me because I've already shared with them.”
She says some of her students -- many of whom didn’t know about ofrendas or Dia de los Muertos before her class -- realize it’s a slightly different way to look at death. It’s not Halloween. It’s not scary. It’s a way to celebrate the people you loved, who they were and what they loved about life.
That being said, it is hard to talk about death, and so many are still grieving. So, students don’t have to make their own ofrenda. They can make one about a celebrity, artist or athlete who passed away or they can contribute to the community ofrenda they’re working on.
Sotelo guides through the decorated hallway as students put the finishing touches on their work.
“They all have to have some sort of candle on them to light the spirit back,” she said.
There are countless pictures of aunts, uncles, grandparents, even pets. A cross, a microphone, playing cards, a photo of Elvis, a box of pasta and a bible.
“She's got her aunt's nurse gown, her glasses, even the keys to her car -- then her picture there in the back. She's got some of her old jewelry in here. pictures from years ago from when she was a bowler,” said the teacher. “She really went all personal with this one, and you could tell it was special to her.”
On Mo nday, Sotelo’s Spanish students took a trip to the Ethnic Heritage Museum in Rockford to see the community-wide ofrenda build-up. Sotelo says she hopes her students take the lessons of Dia de los Muertos with them after they leave her class: that just because someone you love is gone doesn’t mean you stop celebrating their memory.
