Bright reds, greens, yellows, and about every other color you can think of danced around the cafeteria as the Día de los Muertos Arts and Diversity Festival took place. The festival, which is usually at the commons,  was at Central Middle School this year from 5:30 to 7:00 pm. even with the change in location, things went smoothly as people laughed, ate, and danced.

The Día de los Muertos Arts and Diversity Festival was thrown in honor of Día de los Muertos, commonly know as the Day of the Dead. The Day of the Dead is a time of celebration and remembrance of loved ones who have passed away, much like Memorial Day in the United States. In order to celebrate, families set up altars in their homes which are usually decorated with flowers, candles, ceramic skulls, and most importantly pictures of loved ones.

The Día de los Muertos Arts and Diversity Festival featured student-made alters, dancers, authentic food and  a DJ. Three different dance groups performed, in which the dancers wore traditional dresses. These dresses were elaborately decorated in stunning colors that seemed to dance with every movement the dancer made.

After the performances, crowds dispersed into the room and were able to explore the many booths selling food, flower crowns, and candles. Foods that were being sold were traditional Horchata, sugar skulls, and champurrado, a thick chocolate based Mexican drink. The waves children surrounding the booths happily ate, drank and enjoyed the sugar high that came soon after.  

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