Mile High Sticking
Fansided

Colorado Avalanche: Ideas for an Ideal Hispanic Heritage Night

By Nadia Archuleta

GLENDALE, ARIZONA - OCTOBER 17: Oliver Ekman-Larsson #23 of the Arizona Coyotes wears a special warm up jersey celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month prior to a game against the Nashville Predators at Gila River Arena on October 17, 2019 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/NHLI via Getty Images)
GLENDALE, ARIZONA - OCTOBER 17: Oliver Ekman-Larsson #23 of the Arizona Coyotes wears a special warm up jersey celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month prior to a game against the Nashville Predators at Gila River Arena on October 17, 2019 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/NHLI via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 4
Next
colorado avalanche
ANAHEIM, CA – NOVEMBER 01: Anaheim Ducks power players take the ice wearing Day of the Dead (Día de Muertos) makeup during a break in the action of the third period of a game against the Vancouver Canucks played on November 1, 2019 at the Honda center in Anaheim, CA. (Photo by John Cordes/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Day of the Dead Night

More from Mile High Sticking

A Day of the Dead night is not a bad idea at all. Everyone loves Day of the Dead imagery. To make this about Hispanic heritage, though, and not just kitsch, we’d have to have some publicity about what the Day of the Dead really is.

The Day of the Dead is a strictly Mexican observance. Mexicans and people of Mexican heritage celebrate the Day of the Dead, Día de Muertos, starting on October 31 and ending on November 2. They create altars to celebrate the lives of their deceased loved ones.

The masks or makeup you probably associate with the Day of the Dead relates to the costumes observers wear. People celebrating in Mexico usually like to get their faces painted like skulls, which also mimic the sugar skulls that are part of the holiday.

So, how would we incorporate this holiday into a hockey heritage night? The first step would be for the Colorado Avalanche’s excellent social media team to make a video of the players donning skull makeup, making sugar skulls or, if they felt truly inspired, making or at least describing what they’d put on an altar in remembrance of a loved one.

The Avalanche’s former AHL team, the San Antonio Rampage, already does an excellent job of observing a Day of the Dead night — in fact, it’s called by its Spanish name, Día de Muertos. The players wear a special Day of the Dead jersey (an NHL team might only be able to wear it for warmups), which is also a giveaway for mini plans and is available for purchase. If you buy a special ticket, you also get a sugar skull bobblehead.

The Ice Patrol would also come out in Day of the Dead makeup and the special jerseys. Also, how much fun would it be to see what getup mascot Bernie would don for the night?

The Rampage always hold the Día de Muertos night as close to the actual observance as possible. The Avs would want to do the same.

Let’s look at an idea that maybe delves a little deeper into the actual Latin community here in Denver.

Home/Editorials