Día de los Muertos fills USC Village with song and art


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The celebration featured dance and musical performances from local groups. The dancers wore different outfits, each specific to the regional heritage of their dance.  (Gina Nguyen | Daily Trojan)

On a sunny afternoon last Sunday, the typical hub of tables filled with conversation, studying and long lines for food in the USC Village was complemented by live music and dance performances. 

In anticipation of the annual multi-day holiday that reunites the living with the dead, Día de los Muertos — Day of the Dead — attendees to the Celebración del Día de los Muertos with the Grupo Folklórico partook in traditional, themed festivities. 

Families decorated sugar skulls, symbols of remembrance of departed loved ones that help revive their spirit. Attendees also participated in other Halloween activities, such as children trick-or-treating at retailers and competing in costume contests. The celebration included the greater Los Angeles community, with many families joining USC students in the festivities.

The afternoon began with live music that featured a local group from Miramonte Elementary School. The band, Music Will, shared Halloween tunes, filling the USC Village with song. The performing band consisted of fifth and eighth graders who donned black and white costumes, some even sporting painted skulls on their faces. 

As strumming from the guitars and basses reverberated, Music Will’s energy permeated throughout the outdoor space. Lining the sparkling stage were golden bouquets of marigolds, flowers typically associated with Día de los Muertos celebrations and symbolic of the fragility of life. Strings of marigolds also decorated the aisles of the surrounding arena of filled chairs.

Music Will performed classic songs, such as “My Girl” by The Temptations, to which audience members danced, along with Halloween-themed tunes. 

“When I went to music class, I really liked to play the guitar so I found that as my hobby and started playing it more often,” said Alyssa Sanchez, a fifth grader in the band. 

The event included a costume contest along with other activities, including painting and trick-or-treating, for the younger children who were in attendance at Sunday’s festivities. (Gina Nguyen | Daily Trojan)

This performance was not the band’s first for Día de los Muertos.

“[Music] can express how you feel and it has different meanings,” fifth grader Jayelle Andrade said.

As the band serenaded the crowd, younger attendees sat at tables beside the performance stage, painting and enjoying candy collected in cellophane bags and Jack-o’-Lantern trick-or-treat bags of their own. Children also wandered throughout the space wearing elaborate and festive Halloween costumes in eager anticipation of the upcoming costume contests.

After Music Will performed, Grupo Folklórico de USC, a Mexican traditional dance group, took the stage to perform dances from multiple regions of Mexico to honor those who have passed. This performance was their main showcase for the fall semester. 

“Our group, Grupo Folklórico de USC, kind of wanted to celebrate the day in our own way which was through dance,” said Brenda Sampayo, a sophomore majoring in business administration. “I think that the group really did a great way of bringing together a group of people to celebrate that.”

The dancers wore different outfits, each specific to the region of their dance. They also incorporated the makeup looks and decorations into their performance as well. 

“I think it was a really great way to — as part of the Latino community — celebrate the day and connect with that part of my culture,” Sampayo said. 

 Many families decorated sugar skulls, one of the traditional ways people celebrate the holiday, at the event. (Gina Nguyen | Daily Trojan)

As the event progressed, the crowd grew larger and seats filled up as passersby joined the audience and engaged in the spirited event. The event was concluded with a performance by USC Mariachi. 

As the student-run mariachi ensemble entered the stage, they created a semicircle facing the audience. Together, their instruments, ranging from string instruments of violins to brass trumpets, gave a voice to the mariachi music. The instrumental performances were followed by singing, as the ensemble clad in matching black outfits provided the musical background encircling the singers.

“I thought it was super nice to be exposed to that music,” said Sanya Verma, a sophomore majoring in computer science, who attended the event. “[The mariachi music] kind of livened up the whole place. It was really lovely how they went up and did it because it’s a very brave thing to do.”