Article by Melinda Eddleman

The annual holiday, Día de los Muertos or Day of the Dead, is a celebration and a time when families in Mexico and across the United States welcome back the spirits of deceased loved ones on Nov. 1-2. Often characterized by music and ofrendas or temporary altars with the deceased loved one’s favorite food, photos and other items that remind family members of those they have lost, poetry is another way to honor the dead.

In the spirit of the holiday, the Spanish Program with Del Mar College’s Communications, Languages & Reading Department will observe the holiday with a poetry reading, moderated discussion and audience activity during “Poetry as Remembrance: Voices, Memory & Día de los Muertos” on Tuesday, Nov. 3.

The free public event is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 12:20 p.m. in the White Library’s Studio @ 218 (Room 218) on the Heritage Campus located at 101 Baldwin Blvd. (78404). Get online directions and a campus map.

Questions may be directed to Professor Morin at jmorin@delmar.edu or 361-698-1582.

The event features poet and retired DMC Professor Emeritus of Political Science Elizabeth N. Flores, who was the College’s first Mexican American Studies Program coordinator, reading from her work via livestream from New Mexico. The former Social Sciences Department faculty member taught at DMC  for over 40 years.

Flores’ poems can be found in Corpus Christi Writers 2022 and Corpus Christi Writers 2023, TPA Quarterly, the Windward Review, the Texas Poetry Assignment, The Senior Class: 100 Poets on Aging and ¡Somos Tejanas!: Chicana Identity and Culture in Texas. 

After the reading, Flores will join DMC Speech Communications adjunct faculty member Claudia Morales to lead a conversation about poetry, memory and Día de los Muertos.

Morales joined the Communications, Languages & Reading Department in 2011 and teaches Introduction to Mexican American Studies. She has been involved with the Mexican American Studies Program, which is an Associate in Arts degree program, since joining the department.

“Poetry as Remembrance: Voices, Memory & Día de los Muertos” will wrap up with  an audience activity, “Bring a Poem, Bring a Memory,” with participants exploring poetry, memory and Día de los Muertos during this engaging recognition of the holiday. Morin and Languages Lab Coordinator Maria Mata will co-lead the activity and encourage participants to bring a favorite poem, short piece of writing, quotation or passage connected to someone or something they wish to remember and honor.