The Student Organization of Latinos, Hispanics, and Allies (SOL) brought the dead back to life Thursday night with the Day of the Dead performance. According to S.O.L. president Rebecca Mejia, “Usually [the Day of the Dead] is a religious Mexican holiday that is widely celebrated in Mexico.”
Here at Slippery Rock University, students celebrated with a collection of performances from members of S.O.L, JamRock, and other students from across campus.
“S.O.L reached out to me,” said freshman Kameron Carter. “They pretty much reach out to everybody, they are a really great organization.”
Carter was not a member of S.O.L but starred in the first performance, La Llorona. A story of a mother who kills her own children, La Llorona was not for the faint of heart but was a modern adaptation of a classic Day of the Dead tale.
Another story told included El Sombrerón, the story of a mythical being who wears a large black hat and uses his silver guitar to serenade women with beautiful long hair. La Isla de las Munecas told the story of a man by the name of Don Julian Santana. Don Julian lived on an island where he put up dolls to ward off the spirit of a young girl who died on the island.
“What we do here is we kind of throw an American twist on it, where we try and add the creepiness behind Halloween,” said Mejia.
In their 4th annual show, S.O.L brought to campus a small piece of Hispanic culture to Slippery Rock’s campus.
“A lot of people don’t really know about Day of the Dead,” Mejia said of the importance of bringing the event to campus. “They automatically assume its, you know, it’s a scary holiday, it is about death, and it is but its more a celebration of the lives of loved ones that have passed on.”
During an intermission, members of JamRock took to the stage. The campus dance group performed a routine while models from the other performances got a chance to rest and change backstage.
The event was free to all SRU students and included drinks and Mexican food for guests to enjoy during the intermission. With 5 different traditional stories to tell, SOL treated students to legends from different countries such as Guatemala, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic.
“I loved it,” Carter said of performing in the show. “I loved it so much.”
