SAN ANTONIO — It's early afternoon in Veronica Sanchez-Saenz's Spanish class, and one of her young students is thinking about flavors.

Not from the lunch he's recently finished, but the pan de muerto he took a bite of just moments before.

Turning over the piece of bread in his hand, he takes a stab at guessing the taste: Lemon?

Sanchez-Saenz shakes her head with a smile, and clarifies: "Orange."

" Ahhhhh." A wave of recognition washes over the students. This is just one taste of Dia de los Muertos culture they're experiencing on this Monday at Irving Dual Language Academy, some of them for the first time.

For their teacher, it's as much as about preservation as it is giving the class an introduction.

"I feel like, a lot of times, parts of our traditions kind of fall along the way

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