The Day of the Dead is a special and sacred time for families to honor their loved ones who have passed. At the Wonderland School in San Marcos students learned about the holiday’s traditions through building their own.
Debangana Banerjee is an educator and artist, recently receiving a 2025 SMarts Award for her work at the school as well as the ArtSpace at Centro. She took the holiday as an opportunity to teach her students about honoring those that are no longer with us.
Children from kinder to 5th grade worked together to build an ofrenda. Including the traditional elements such as paper cut flowers, sugar skulls, tamales, breads and cookies. Included in the altar were books dedicated to famous artists such as Frida Kahlo, Mary Cassatt, Henri Matisse, and Pablo Picasso in remembrance of them.
Students read books about the holiday together while the candles of the ofrenda flickered with remembrance and hope.
