Brocton’s Art Discovery Program instructor Lucy Andrus not only likes to educate her students on the traditions of other cultures, but while doing that, she likes to tie in traditions that she believes are relevant to the people she’s teaching. This year, Andrus saw all the loss from COVID-19, war, and other natural disasters and decided to incorporate the theme of loss into this semester’s lesson.
What Andrus landed on was the Mexican celebration of ‘Dia De Los Muertos,’ colloquially known as the Day of the Dead. Dia De Los Muertos takes place every year on Nov. 1 and 2, with the first day being in memory of children who have died, and the second day being used to remember adults. To prepare for the event, Andrus had her students make calacas (skeletons) and calaveras (skulls), which are used to remember specific people that have died in a celebratory way. This celebration isn’t like Halloween, as the calacas aren’t meant to be scary, rather playful and humorous in representing the personality of the person being remembered.
From there, Andrus decided to open up the celebration to the whole community of Brocton and communities beyond. Because there is a large percentage of Mexican and Latino people in the area, Andrus found this specific celebration pertinent as well.
The celebration will take place at the Tri-Church Parish in Brocton, lasting from 6 to 7:30 p.m. The festivities will feature traditional Mexican food and music, as well as an ofrenda (altar) where people can place mementos of any person or group they want to remember.
The festival is a collaborative effort of Andrus, her class, and the Ahira Hall Memorial Library, where Andrus held a similar celebration back in 2012. The collaborative effort further strengthens the sense of community that Andrus is trying to project as a part of these celebrations. The space in the classes Andrus teaches in Brocton is limited, even more now due to the COVID-19. This semester, she had 14 students, and those who couldn’t make it in for this semester will make it in for next semester. If you are interested in the Art Discovery classes and/or viewing the current exhibits, contact Andrus at 716-792