The Latino Student Association partied and competed in a Day of the Dead celebration Nov. 2 in the Ronnie Williams Student Center ballroom.

The competition consisted of five teams building altars using paper, cardboard, clay and more in hopes of winning $40.

During Day of the Dead, altars honor those who have died. The altars are typically adorned with photos, bread, flowers and objects that represent important aspects of the dead one’s life.

Contestants built their altars while eating Latino-based candies, learning about the holiday, listening to Spanish music and chatting with friends.

This was the first year this event took place.

Last year, during the Latino Student Association’s Tamalada fundraiser, junior Vice President Kevin Ayala came up with the idea for a Day of the Dead event. 

During the Tamalada fundraiser, Ayala and his friends found themselves building with clay.

While he felt that it was a simple and fun pastime for them, he realized that this could be implemented into something important —  such as building altars.

“I thought it would be fun to go ahead and incorporate it into one of our events and make it a competition … to give people a sense of having to learn and ask for help to understand what specific items may mean,” Ayala said.

Day of the Dead is an important holiday for many people.

Sophomore Jacob Rodriguez said, “It gives those people who are of Latinx heritage a day to come together and celebrate the lives that their ancestors had and to just reconnect with them.”

The Latino Student Association’s main objective with these events is to spread awareness of different people within the Latinx community.

“It’s just a chance for them to learn about different cultures,” junior LSA President Chris Velazquez said. “A lot of people just say Hispanic or Mexican and it’s not just Mexican, there are different Latino cultures and they all have their own traditions.”

Events such as this have different meanings for everyone.

For some, it’s a new way of learning, whereas for others a celebration of their family.

“I know a bunch of my friends that came didn’t really know what this holiday was about and they learned a little bit more tonight,” sophomore Lilly Fortenberry said.

Along with being able to spread awareness and teach others, the Latino Student Association is a place of familiarity for those in the Latinx community.

“It’s a community that makes me feel at home. It doesn’t just open up for one Hispanic culture, but for all cultures out there, so anywhere from South America, central America and even Spain,” Ayala said.

Rodriguez said the association has given him a connection to his heritage he never had before.

Each of the altars can be found on the association’s Instagram, @lsa_uca, where the altar that gets the most likes will win $40.

The Latino Student Association’s next event is a partnership with Phi Beta Kappa called Salsa Night.

The dancing event will take place Nov. 15 in the Ronnie Williams Student Center ballroom.