Grand Valley State University students, faculty and community members gathered to honor their deceased loved ones and learn more about the Day of the Dead in a celebration held on campus this week.

Day of the Dead, or El Día de los Muertos in Spanish, is a holiday celebrated in Mexico that focuses on gathering with family and friends to pray for and remember other family and friends who have dies.

The holiday, which is observed Nov. 1and 2, has been celebrated on the GVSU campus for five consecutive years.

David Stark, professor of history and coordinator for the Latin America studies program, began the ceremony with an opening statement.

Stark thanked the programs involved with hosting the event, introduced Roli Mancera as the artist of the elaborate altar and finished with a short explanation of the Day of the Dead celebrations.

“The holiday’s purpose is to pray for and remember family and friends that have died and support them on their journey,” Stark said. He added that this event serves as a way to culturally enrich and educate members of the community.

This year, Mancera was invited to build the altar that served as the focal piece of the event.

Mancera built his work of art in the lobby of the Frederik Meijer Honors College. The piece included stairs cloaked in purple fabric with candles and sugar skulls adorning each level. Small paper flowers to represent marigolds lined the edges.

Mancera also addressed the sizable audience, which filled the staircase and the balcony that overlooks the space.

Mancera explained multiple aspects of the Meso-American culture, specifically how the Day of the Dead is celebrated in the region.

One of these aspects is that various items, such as food and clothing, go along with the altar. People have the opportunity to place them on the altar in order to complete the ceremony.

“This is a feast for the spirit that will come,” Mancera said.

As participants placed items on the altar to symbolically represent the feast, coordinators of the event provided each audience member with a piece of sweet bread called pan de muerto, which is a roll that is traditionally baked in Mexico on the days leading up to the Day of the Dead.

GVSU students Kristen Miller and Katie Hoffmann said they had originally decided to attend the event as an assignment for their Spanish class, but they were glad they came and had the experience.

The altar will remain standing in the lobby of the honors college throughout the week.