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Ilustración de un vestido de catrina elaborado con hojas secas de maíz junto a un altar de muertos con flores y veladoras apagadas
Ilustración alusiva al festejo escolar de Huasca, Hidalgo. · Imagen generada por EPM

Student suffers burns at school festival in Huasca, Hidalgo

A secondary school student in Huasca de Ocampo suffered burns over much of her body when her catrina costume caught fire during a school festival.

--- The context --- A second-year secondary school student in Huasca de Ocampo, Hidalgo, was taking part in a school festival with a costume exhibition. She was dressed as a catrina, in a dress made mainly from dried corn husks, those used to wrap tamales. The source describes that material as highly flammable. --- The facts --- During the presentation, the lower part of the costume came into contact with the flame of a candle on a Day of the Dead altar set up by the school. The fire spread immediately and the student suffered burns over much of her body. The available information does not state the exact day of the accident. Teachers tried to put out the flames with their own clothing and finally did so with a bucket of water. The student was taken by emergency transfer to a hospital in the region, where her condition was confirmed as delicate. Her family asked the community for financial support for treatments, medicines and other hospitalization expenses. --- The positions --- The Hidalgo Secretariat of Public Education confirmed it is following the case through the corresponding institutions and that the priority is to guarantee the student's care and recovery and to accompany her family. It noted that schools have civil protection protocols and that using fire in school activities is prohibited. The family said it had not received a response or direct support from the school, which had not issued a public statement. --- What remains unknown --- It is not yet known how the altar was checked before the exhibition or what prevention measures surrounded the activity. There is also no public detail on the student's medical progress beyond her delicate condition, or on the scope of support for her family. --- Unanswered questions --- How did the costume come into contact with the flame during the exhibition? What prior check was made of the altar and the costume route? What concrete support will the family receive for the treatments and hospitalization? --- EPM analysis --- This case should be read through prevention. A celebration brings traditional materials, candles and costumes together in one space, and that combination requires anticipating risks. The education authority already recalled two key facts: civil protection protocols exist and fire is prohibited in school activities. The underlying question is what barriers should have been active so a festive exhibition never brought flammable material close to an open flame. 📌 EPM Take: In EPM's view, the immediate priority is the student's health and effective support for her family, without turning her case into a spectacle or a rushed dispute. After that must come a calm and complete review of prevention at school celebrations: what is checked, who authorizes it and how any contact between flames and flammable materials is avoided. If that review is carried out with transparency and the failures are corrected, the community will be able to celebrate its traditions again with greater safety.
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