Honolulu school to celebrate Mexican culture, honor the dead
HONOLULU — A Mexican-American, Episcopalian chaplain at a private school in Honolulu and two teachers want to show students how Mexicans celebrate — rather than mourn — the dead.
Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is a Mexican tradition honoring the dead with feasts, marigolds, dancing and music.
“Being in Hawaii, Mexican culture is not as prevalent. However, Day of the Dead is becoming more mainstream,” said St. Andrew’s Schools chaplain Annalise Pasalo. “I really wanted the girls to see the true origin of the holiday. It is not Mexican Halloween. It’s my chance to share my culture.”
The tradition is featured in the award-winning Pixar animated film “Coco.”
The upcoming event for the schools’ 175 girls in grades six through 12 will include skull-painted faces, photos of dead relatives for an ofrenda, or altar, and a ceremony featuring hymns and readings by students conducted in Spanish, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported .
Dia de los Muertos is an effort by the Catholic Church in Mexico to embrace an ancient Aztec pagan ritual honoring the dead.
“When Christianity arrived in Mexico, they had to marry the beliefs,” said Nydia Santiago-Cordero, who teaches languages, including Spanish, at St. Andrew’s.
She said the Aztecs believed the highest state of being is the dead.
While it will be the first Dia de los Muertos event held in St. Andrew’s chapel, there have been other celebrations of the tradition at other Hawaii campuses, such as skeleton paintings at the Catholic Maryknoll School.
None of Hawaii’s Catholic parishes have done anything on a large scale, said Patrick Downes, spokesman for the Catholic Diocese of Honolulu.
Pasalo said she wants the students to learn that death is not scary. “It’s something that’s OK to talk about, but we don’t have a lot of forums for that in our society,” she said.
“We’re trying to have the girls be more empathetic to other traditions and cultures,” said visual arts teacher Alethia Donathan. “We’re losing a lot of that.”
San Diego-to-Maui flight diverts to Oakland, lands safely
OAKLAND, Calif. — A Hawaiian Airlines flight from San Diego to Maui diverted to Oakland, California, due to an engine problem and landed safely.
Airline spokesman Alex DaSilva says Flight HA37 departed San Diego International Airport at 8:25 a.m. Monday en route to Kahului Airport when a cockpit light indicated a possible issue with one of the jet’s two engines.
DaSilva says that out of an abundance of caution, the pilot diverted the Airbus A321neo to Oakland International Airport and declared an emergency to obtain priority.
The aircraft landed at 10:51 a.m. and the 178 passengers and seven crew members aboard got off the plane. A new departure time is being determined.
73-year-old man killed after pickup truck hits him
HONOLULU — Police say a 73-year-old man was struck and killed by a full-size pickup truck as he tried to cross a stree.
According to police, the man, whose name has not been released, was crossing Liliha Street about 7:53 a.m. Sunday in a marked crosswalk when he was hit by the truck.
Police say he was taken to Queen’s Medical Center in critical condition and died at the hospital.
Police say speed, alcohol and drugs to not appear to be factors in the collision.
Probe: Fire that killed officer’s wife, daughter accident
HONOLULU — The Honolulu Fire Department says a blaze that killed a 33-year-old mother and her 9-month-old daughter last week was caused by leaked propane vapor, the Honolulu Star Advertiser reports.
Capt. Scot Seguirant tells the newspaper Sunday that the propane vapor was ignited by an electrical water heater. He says investigators have determined the cause of the fire was accidental.
The blaze started about 8:10 a.m. Wednesday. Firefighters found the woman’s body in the garage and the baby in the living room.
The Star-Advertiser reports that the victims were identified as Connie Moribe Wharton and her daughter Sophie Warton, the wife and daughter of Honolulu Police Lt. Nathan Wharton. He was not home at the time.
