At the Hertie School in Berlin, a leading European hub for public policy and international affairs, students from over ninety countries explore not only global politics but also one another’s cultures. This October, the Hertie Latin America Club (HeLAC) brought Mexico’s Día de Muertos to campus with a traditional altar, or ofrenda, created by Jocelyne Carrillo Herrera together with Carolina Elías Carrillo, Salma Karen Gómez López, and Itzel Estefania Fimbres Huerta.

Celebrated on 1–2 November, Día de Muertos honors loved ones who have passed away, blending pre-Hispanic and Catholic traditions. The Hertie altar, adorned with marigolds, candles, and photographs, invited students to pause and reflect, while visitors also tasted pan de muerto, the sweet bread baked for the occasion.

The event sparked conversations across nationalities, with students sharing stories of remembrance from their own cultures and finding connections in this Mexican tradition of memory and celebration. For its organizers, it was more than a cultural showcase it was a way of building bridges between the world of the living and the departed, and between Berlin and Mexico.

By transforming part of the Hertie campus into a space of light, color, and reflection, the initiative highlighted the school’s commitment to intercultural exchange and the power of tradition to create community across borders.