The attendees eat tacos and drink agua refrescas before diving into a game of lotería, Oct. 12. (Sam Difiore)

The Spanish Club collaborated with Los Muertos to hold a loteria night on Thursday, Oct. 12 at the Sikes Lake Center. 

Both groups collaborated to hold the loteria event as a sort of community outreach event. The event was buzzing with life as people from all over the community talked, ate and listened to upbeat music as they played to win prizes donated by Los Muertos.

MSU Spanish club held loteria at Sikes Lake Center, Oct. 12. (Sam Difiore)

Los Muertos was created seven years ago in order to celebrate and showcase the art and culture of the Hispanic community, as well as educate those in the community who may not understand the cultural significance of Días de Los Muertos.  Los Muertos accomplishes its education goals through small outreach events like the Loteria Night, as well as the group’s main event which is held the last weekend of October every year. 

On Oct. 28, Los Muertos will hold its sixth annual event, which will include a colorful showcase of music, dance and culture. There will be different booths from local businesses and artists that people can shop at as well as different food and drink options.

Community members and students come together for an evening of playing lotería, Oct. 12. (Sam Difiore)

Though the fun, upbeat atmosphere of Thursday’s Loteria Night may lead some to believe that Los Muertos is just a giant party, it is much more. 

Alicia Duran, one of the founders of Los Muertos, said maintaining the culture of the event is a priority. 

“We don’t just want to throw a party, we want it to be authentic as possible,” Duran said. 

She explained the different ways Los Muertos works to educate the population about Dia De Los Muertos, including holding workshops about the different parts of the holiday.

One of the newest workshops is the Catrina Workshop that will be happening this Sunday at Backdoor Theater. In this workshop, people will be learning about both the traditional and commercialized skeleton that is synonymous with Dia De Las Muertos.