On the night of Nov 18, 2022, Quartz Hill High School’s Spanish Club hosted a Dia De Los Muertos event in honor of Dia De Los Muertos, a day dedicated to remembering ancestors that are no longer with us.

Hundreds of students, teachers, and families attended to watch the various Folklorico dances performed by not only Quartz Hill’s Folklorico Dance team, but also East Side High School’s team and infamous Mexican songs written by icons like Vincente Fernandez. 

The night started with volunteers selling food and drinks at booths such as tamales, horchata, pan dulce, and chocolate caliente (hot chocolate). After about 15 minutes, Quartz Hill’s Folklorico Dance team started their first performance, followed by East Side’s performance. Once both consecutive dances from the two schools finished, a student’s mother sang “La Llorona” from the film Coco, a story based on El Dia De Los Muertos. 

After interviewing a volunteer that helped manage tickets at the tamale booth and speaking about their experience once the event finished, Natalie said, “The food, the drinks, the whole experience was wonderful! The music and having my friends all be there enjoying the night together—especially on our last day before Thanksgiving break started—was so great. Hopefully, they bring it back for next year!”  

Attendees began dancing to the music provided while most booths sold out of snacks.

Before the event, a dancer said, “I’ve been nervous for the past few days because I know from Señora Reyes that she’s already encouraging a bunch of people to come, but I already have a gut feeling that there’s going to be more than I’m expecting.” She continued, “So far I feel like the only thing calming my nerves is knowing that our team has practiced for weeks now.” 

Once the event finished, we spoke again, and according to her, “I think I was a tad bit over exaggerating; I think I did better than I expected to do, but I’m glad I have it done and over with so I’m not stressing about it 24/7.”

After having an incredible experience with our small community, we hope to see this event become even bigger next year with the help of our school’s Spanish Club.