Women perform Mexican folk dances, or Forlklorico, during the Caldwell Arts Academy Day of the Dead celebration held inside Caldwell Auditorium on Monday, Nov. 2, 2020.

Caldwell Arts Academy students and teachers came together Monday evening to showcase both the arts and culture of the Mexican holiday, Día de los Muertos.

Translated as the Day of the Dead, the holiday is celebrated in Mexico and other parts of the world from Nov. 1 to 2 to honor departed family and friends with altars, offerings and other symbols.

Several community members came out to the second annual event in the school’s auditorium featuring an art show, mariachi band, food trucks and Aztec, folklorico and flamenco dances.

Teachers at the school also created an ofrenda, an altar displaying objects symbolic of loved ones lost for Día de los Muertos.

Jennifer Vaughn, Caldwell Arts Academy visual arts teacher for kindergarten through fifth grade, said students, teachers and community members could place photos of deceased family and friends to honor and remember them. The ofrenda will be on display through November.

“It’s just a beautiful thing to see: the photo they brought for the ofrenda,” she said.

Julianna Wynn, digital arts teacher for middle school at Caldwell, said the ofrenda featured traditional items, such as pan de muerto (bread of the dead), glasses of water, copal incense, marigolds and monarch butterflies.

“We want this to be a community altar, not just a Caldwell altar,” Wynn said. “Everyone in the community is invited.”

She hopes the event can continue to grow so people can see that “arts and culture are connected.”

Caldwell Arts Academy seventh-grader Ailani Quintanilla made both a calaca (a skeleton dressed up in festive clothing) and a painting of a marigold flower.

She explained that a marigold helps guide the spirits of the deceased to the ofrenda altar.

Quintanilla said she named the calaca after her grandpa because he has taught her a lot about her heritage.

“Mexican heritage has special traditions for the family they lost,” she said. “We do Dia de los Muertos to celebrate the family we lost and pay our respects to them.”

She added a fancy purse to the calaca to show that no matter where a person is in life they can still reach their goals.

Vaughn said she was inspired by beauty of the Dia de los Muertos celebration in San Antonio. She thought a community celebration of the holiday would be a perfect fit for Caldwell’s programs of music, art and dancing.

“I hope they (community members) develop an appreciation for not only Mexican culture, but other cultures as well,” Vaughn said. “And they see artwork can enrich their lives and the community.”

Bobby Markle, Caldwell Arts Academy principal, said the event incorporated the the local Hispanic community to present art and share Mexican culture.

“The art brings people in, but the culture is what we hope they take with them,” he said. “We are a very diverse school. For us, it’s also an outlet for those students to have their cultures expressed.”

Due to COVID-19, this year’s event had limited capacity for different intervals and assigned seating.

Each art section was student-led with guidance from some teachers. Markle hopes the visual and performing art can serve as an educational tool.

Austin Aguilar, a seventh-grader at Caldwell, created both a painting and digital graphic for the art show.

“I learned that Dia de los Muertos is a very colorful tradition and it’s really fun to create all the colors,” Aguilar said.

He added that he’s gained a better understanding of the holiday by participating in the art show, such as how monarch butterflies symbolize the spirits of deceased loved ones.

Jonathan Bravo, an eighth-grader, played in the mariachi band Monday evening, and he said he learned how to play the guitarrón — a large bass guitar traditionally used in mariachi.

“I like the music,” Bravo said. “It’s fast-paced and pretty fun.”

Several Hispanic businesses sponsored the event at Caldwell, including Taquito Time, La Polar, La Gran Fiesta, Mi Mexico Lindo Restaurant and Ruby’s Mexican Restaurant.