NEWS RELEASE

October 13, 2006

Latino Cultural Center celebrates Mexican holiday Dia de los Muertos

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue's Latino Cultural Center will celebrate the Mexican holiday "Dia de los Muertos," or Day of the Dead, with crafts, interactive activities, food, music and altar displays from noon to 3 p.m. Oct. 28 at the Morton Community Center in West Lafayette.

"'Dia de los Muertos' is a day for families to remember and honor those who have passed on," said Maricela Alvarado, director of the Latino Cultural Center. "The rituals and activities, a mix of indigenous and popular cultures and Catholism, take place Nov. 2 every year. The day demonstrates a celebration of life as passed loved ones move to the next world."

The fourth annual event, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by the Latino Cultural Center. It will feature craft stations where families can decorate sugar skulls, create paper flowers and foil frames, and participate in print making. Traditional Mexican music and foods will be offered. Morton Community Center is located at 222 N. Chauncey Ave.

Student and community organizations will display altars in memory of people who touched their lives. Participants include the Sigma Lambda Gamma, Tau Phi Sigma, Girl Scouts, West Lafayette High School Spanish classes and the Latino Cultural Center's Embajadores.

To sign up to have an altar display, contact the Latino Cultural Center. Information is available from the Latino Cultural Center at (765) 494-2530, snaza@purdue.edu.

The Latino Cultural Center is Purdue's center for Latin culture. The center's goal is to provide a venue where people of similar cultures, values, customs and language can unite to share ideas and events with the university and the community.


Writer: Bethany Bannister-Andrews, (765) 494-2073, bbannister@purdue.edu
Source: Maricela Alvarado, (765) 494-2530, alvaradm@purdue.edu

Related Web site:
Latino Cultural Center: http://www.purdue.edu/lcc