Death is greeting visitors to La Casa Cultural Latina House this week.

La Catrina, a six-foot-tall skeleton who is fully clothed in a paper skirt and blouse, stands adjacent to the cultural house's entrance. The skeleton, which is a common symbol of death in Mexican art, was set up in the house by students Monday night in honor of Dia de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead.

Members of the Mexican Student Association and La Casa staff gathered Monday to create "ofrendas" — altars memorializing deceased loved ones. The altars will be on display at La Casa this week. La Casa, 1203 W. Nevada St. in Urbana, will offer a guided tour of the altars on Thursday at 9 p.m.

Fernando Diaz, president of the Mexican Student Association and a junior in business, said Dia de los Muertos is a celebration to remember those who have died.

"It's not a day of mourning — it's a day of celebrating the life of people who have passed away instead of mourning their death," he said.

Dia de los Muertos is traditionally celebrated widely in Mexico and in other Latin American countries on Nov. 1 and 2, said David Estrada, La Casa programmer and senior in FAA.

In order to show his respect for his dead grandfather, Estrada decided to construct an altar composed of pictures, flowers and mini pinatas, since constructing pinatas was Estrada's grandfather's hobby.

Most ofrendas consist of three cardboard boxes of decreasing size to mirror a pyramid, said Rosie Granados, senior in LAS and Mexican Student Association cultural chair. The altars are designed with flowers and objects that remind family and friends of their dead loved ones, Granados said.

Granados carefully constructed flowers out of a rainbow of tissue paper colors to add to her altar, in addition to candles and pictures.

Although most altars are dedicated to one family member or friend who has died, Granados dedicated hers to an aunt and two close friends who have died.

Building the altar is a way to celebrate their lives and for survivors to overcome grieving death, she said.

"It's an act of rejoicing because our loved ones are closer to God," she said. "It helps me to understand that my loved ones are not suffering anymore. It helps me realize that they're in a better place."