Hi friends,
This fall we had the chance to celebrate two beautiful traditions at the studio, Día de los Muertos and Diwali, and I wanted to share a little about what that looked like and why it matters so much to us.
For Día de los Muertos, we built a community ofrenda in the studio. Families and team members brought in photos of loved ones and pets who have passed, and we decorated with marigolds and flowers. We set out information about the tradition, along with a copy of the Coco book, which was a sweet way for our younger students to connect with the holiday. It was really special to see the ofrenda fill up over the weeks with faces and stories from our community, and a lot of people stopped to look, ask questions, and share memories of their own.
For Diwali, we set out candles and shared about the festival of lights and what it means to the families who celebrate it. We had a Little Golden Book about Diwali for students to read, and we got to try two traditional sweets together: petha, a winter melon candy coated in crystallized sugar, and laddu, round sweets usually made with flour, ghee, and sugar. We did have to add a little note letting everyone know these candies were in fact edible, so no one would mix them up with the very realistic pan de muerto wax candle we had on display the week before. Tasting them made it even more fun to learn about the holiday.
Celebrations like these are a big part of who we are at OCMS. Culture is passed down through music, through the songs our grandparents sang, the rhythms we grew up dancing to, and the melodies that bring us together on holidays. Learning about each other’s traditions helps us understand the music our students and families carry with them, and it makes our studio a place where everyone can see a little of themselves.
When we talk about inclusivity, we don’t only mean supporting different abilities. We also mean how we connect with each other and show up as a community. Our mission is to bring people together through music, and celebrating and learning about other cultures is one of the ways we get to live that out every day.
Thank you to everyone who brought photos, shared stories, and took time to learn alongside us. If your family has a tradition you’d love to share at the studio, we would be so happy to hear about it.
See you in the studio,
Lety