Members of the La Raza Student Organization and curious students alike welcomed the spirits of the dead on campus Tuesday with music and blessings by day and a candlelight vigil and procession by night.

Dia De Los Muertos, or The Day of The Dead, the most popular holiday in Mexico and many other Latin American countries, originated as an ancient Aztec celebration that lasted for a month on the calendar for natives but was adopted by the Catholics to coincide with their own three-day holiday ending on Nov. 2.

On Tuesday La Raza participants had a chance to spread their cultural tradition of confronting death in a loving way by inviting the entire campus community to commemorate the victims of disasters throughout the year and provide a space for people to remember their own deceased friends and family.

"People don't want to talk about death because they are afraid of death," said Angel Farias, a 22-year-old psychology major who helped lead the events for the day alongside fellow members of the La Raza Student Organization.

Farias said he hopes people can take this day and use it to reflect on where people are headed and what they value.

"It's really about looking at our own lives to see how we are living," he said.

For Farias and other students who have taken an active interest in The Day of The Dead, there is an uncorrupted element to the holiday that attracts them to the Meso-American culture.

According to Farias, Cinco de Mayo has lost all of it's meaning as people mistakenly think of it as Mexican Independence Day or a time to buy cheap imported beer and for him Halloween has become just another reason to spend money.

But to celebrate The Day of The Dead, the spiritual world must be invoked and the only reason to party is to honor and remember loved ones and all fellow human beings that have passed away.
To do this, a certain level of sincerity and openness is required of those who wish to be involved, according to the students who participate.

"It's a form a respect to invite the spirits of the dead," said Kristina Lopez, 23 and a native of Mexico currently studying Japanese at SF State.

Lopez, who painted faces to look like skeletons during the day program, said that in taking on the image of death, it allows individuals to see that 'we're all the same," and "we're all going to get there."
The day program of dancing, food and celebration shifted at night to a more reflective and serious mood centered around the altar.

"Through building an altar you get in touch with the person you are commemorating," said Jorge Magallon a 19-year-old journalism major who looked at the marigold flowers, candles, food, skulls and mementos that adorned the altar set up in Malcom X Plaza all day Tuesday - as way to find beauty in death. 'It's something very peaceful and homey, it brings you to terms with what you are dealing with."

By night, an intimate group of 30 people held a candlelight vigil from Malcom X Plaza to the top of the Student Center. Shielding their candles from the wind, each person dedicated the day to the memory of loved ones by passing the copal, an ancient incense.

"Death is another prison," said Angel Farias. "People need to think about their life."