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Commemorating Day of the Dead / Conmemorando el Día de los Muertos

12/14/2022
profile-icon John Barnett
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The Latin American Student Organization (LASO), the South Carolina Centro Latino, and the USC Upstate Library are pleased to share their recent collaboration--an altar and an ofrenda (offering) commemorating el Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead.

The altar, decorated with images of calaveras (skeletons) and colorful designs reminiscent of papel picado (cut paper), pays tribute to famous Mexican personalities from the past. The ofrenda includes a sample of pan de muerto (bread of the dead), a pastry customarily served at Day of the Dead festivities, and marigolds, a flower traditionally associated with this important cultural celebration. 

The altar also features print and digital books from the library's collection.

The exhibit will be on view on the library's 1st floor until Wednesday, November 23.

 

Day of the Dead altar and ofrenda

 

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  • Saturday, May 3: Library is open from 10 am to 5 pm
  • Sunday, May 4: Library opens at 2 pm and remains open continuously until Tuesday, May 6, at 12 midnight (24-hour schedule)

This schedule is based on available staffing and therefore is subject to change.

When the library is closed, students can get research help through the Ask a Librarian chat service. This service is staffed by real people (not bots!) and is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

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Now on view on the USC Upstate Library terrace is Sounds of Religion, a Smithsonian poster exhibit that explores the diversity of American religious life through image and sound. 

Choirs singing. Monks chanting. The reading of religious texts. These are religious sounds. But so are the creaking of church pews and the clanking of pots during the preparation of a communal meal. Sounds of Religion explores how rituals and gatherings of religious communities create a complex and varied soundtrack of religion in the United States.

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Sounds of Religion is organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Services (SITES) in cooperation with the American Religious Sounds Project of The Ohio State University and Michigan State University. The exhibit is made possible through the generous support of The Henry Luce Foundation.

The exhibit will remain on view at USC Upstate through Ramadan, Easter, and Passover 2025.

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In commemoration of Constitution Day (held this year on Saturday, September 17), we have created a library guide featuring foundational documents in American history and government.

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