Utah Cultural Celebration Center

    Jade and I went to the Utah cultural celebration center to celebrate Día De Los Muertos and had so much fun. There was so much to learn from and take note of as we were walking around looking at everything. Right off the bat I could feel and see how this is a collectivistic culture, they are all in it for each other and want to benefit the people around them with all that they do. Family is everything to them and I saw that through the time and energy they put into celebrating their loved ones who have passed on before them. It was so inspiring to me to be able to see first hand and close up what it looks like to come from a collectivistic culture other than my own, especially in a society where people value individualism. One of the first things I noticed was white parents bringing their biracial children this event to try and give them an opportunity to connect to their culture and give them a place to feel seen and confident in who they are. I thought that was so cool. I also noticed that there was SO MUCH COLOR and it was amazing to see how they expressed themselves through art, clothes, decorations ect. with color, and the impact that can have on the people who get to see it. I learned that traditions are a huge part of who they are, whether that is fashion, dances, music ect., that tie into their culture in so many ways. There was a live band playing music and singing and it was one of my favorite parts of the whole experience. I can relate this to class when we talked about immigration and acculturation and how important it is to preserve cultures instead of letting them get lost or forgotten about, because through my experience I learned that cultures can be enjoyed by anyone and everyone, especially if you are respectful and genuine about learning from them and honoring all that comes with their culture.

The Ofrendas were one of my favorite parts, there is something so special about the way they honor their loved ones who have passed away. The Ofrendas were special because they were so unique and personalized to who the person was and they had so many little things that that person liked or was interested in which I thought was really sweet. In one of them there was some gushers and a box of cereal that i'm assuming was some of that person's favorite things. I also loved overhearing parents sharing things with their small children or teaching them by answering their questions and I learned a lot from hearing those conversations as well. Lastly, I recognized how much symbolism was in this culture. One of my favorite symbols was the butterflies, they were EVERYWHERE, and I ended up asking one of the workers what all the butterflies meant because I couldn't help but notice them everywhere, and she told me that they represent leading the spirits back to the afterlife back to their relatives. This made me so happy because my family always thinks of butterflies as a symbol too for my brother and niece who have passed away, everytime we see them we feel a little bit closer to them and I loved seeing the way that was incorporated that into their celebration too. Overall, I really enjoyed this experience and could lean on so many things learned from class to help me understand what I was looking at and that was a great feeling. 

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