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Second-year biology student Ragini Sarma looks at displays on Bruin Walk for the Nov. 1 Day of th

Halloween is not the only day when spirits of the dead are remembered and believed to roam the earth.

On Nov. 1-2, many people will celebrate “Dia de los Muertos,” – the Day of the Dead or All Souls Day – as they remember and honor those who have have died.

In observance of the Day of the Dead, UCLA’s Conciencia Libre – a Chicana/o student organization on campus – has placed an altar-like display and dozens of pink crosses on Bruin Walk. The display is dedicated to Las Muertas De Juarez, which translates to “the dead of Juarez.”

This year’s display depicts how women in the city of Juarez, Mexico are allegedly being raped, kidnapped and murdered while walking home from their jobs at sweatshops because there is little available transportation.

The Day of the Dead goes back more than 3,000 years to when the indigenous natives of what is now Mexico had rituals to honor the deceased, especially on the one day they were believed to be able to roam the earth again.

These rituals included dancing and placing skulls, which symbolize death and rebirth, around an altar in honor of their deceased relatives.

Today, many of the same rituals are practiced with a few additions. Families who observe the day build altars dedicated to the dead and surround the altars with flowers, food, wooden skulls, candles and pictures of deceased.

The candles that surround the altars are believed to help guide spirits back to where their family lives, so they can rejoin the family on the Day of the Dead, said Jo Anna Mixpe Ley, a UCLA Cesar Chavez Center staff member.

Some families also celebrate the day by visiting the cemetery where their loved ones are buried. The families decorate the gravestones with what was once their loved ones’ favorite food and music.

Ley said she observes the day by cleansing the altar that she made at home.

“I believe that the dead are everywhere and that they don’t just die, so it’s only fair that we pay our respects to those who have come before us,” Ley said.

In past years, Conciencia Libre has created similar displays for the day, depicting other political issues that affect the Chicana/o community. Some past issues addressed include remembering those who have died trying to cross the Mexican and U.S. border and those who have gone missing due to political reasons.

Pictures of the women in Juarez, along with facts about these women, cover the small wooden altar on Bruin Walk. Clothes are placed inside the altar to remind students they were allegedly killed coming from a job in which they endured many hours of cheap labor. Wooden skulls, candles and food were also placed within the altar.

Victoria Preciado, Conciencia Libre student leader, hopes this display will be both a way to remember the women in observance of the day and also bring awareness to the UCLA community about important issues in the Chicana/o community.

“This display is intended to bring about awareness so that something can be done,” Preciado said.

Elaine Osorio, a third-year psychology student, stopped on her way to class to look at the altar and get more information on the display.

“It’s sad to know that these things are going on,” Osorio said. “It’s also a very appropriate time to honor the Juarez victims.”

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