Spanish language students mark Dia de los Muertos

For Spanish language students at Greenhills, those rapidly changing leaf colors outside can mean only one thing: it’s Día de los Muertos time. 

Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is a Mexican holiday celebrated November 1 and 2. In preparation, students in Sra. Elaine Moffat’s Spanish 7 middle school and Sra. Lisa Ortiz’s Spanish V upper school classes created brightly decorated skulls made of sugar – similar to those made in Mexico each year and traditionally used to decorate Day of the Dead altars.

The Greenhills sugar skulls will be displayed at Tios, an Ann Arbor Mexican restaurant, for the next few weeks, Sra. Moffat said.

“The altars honor and celebrate the memories of dead loved ones, and are very beautifully and lovingly prepared,” she added. Decorations include brightly colored paint, sequins, feathers, foil, and glitter. “The students get a huge kick out of it.”