Nativity of ‘90s Has Gangs, INS : Updated <i> Las Posadas</i> Depicts Mary and Joseph as Illegal Aliens

Instead of the star of Bethlehem shining from above, there was the spotlight from a police helicopter circling in the distance.

In place of sheep bleating from a stable, there was the popping of gunshots a few blocks away.

A Nativity of the ‘90s was being acted out the other night at the Aliso Village housing project east of downtown Los Angeles. Residents were celebrating the Christmas season by marching in Las Posadas, the series of processions traditionally staged in Mexico between Dec. 16 and 24 to depict the Biblical story of Joseph and Mary’s search for shelter at the time of Christ’s birth.

There was nothing traditional about this procession, however.

Mary and Joseph were portrayed as illegal aliens who had just sneaked across the border from Tijuana.

Instead of being turned away by unfriendly innkeepers, they were rebuffed by Los Angeles street cart vendors and apartment dwellers too busy with their own problems to help. The pair discovered that the city’s homeless shelters were full; they came up against strangers who nosily inquired about Mary’s pregnancy and tried to turn them over to immigration officers.

In the end, the birth of Christ took place only after members of a street gang came to Mary’s aid when she collapsed on the sidewalk and went into labor.

Teen-agers and adults from Dolores Mission Catholic Church who wrote and performed the play said the story contains both traditional and modern morals.

“It says instead of pushing away refugees, you should help them,” said Grace Campos, 16, who portrayed Mary during the 45-minute processional.

“Part of the message is to gang members,” said Martin Hernandez, 34, who played Joseph. “A lot of them don’t know there’s something beyond their own block. There’s another world out there--there’s more to life than shooting and killing.”

Gang members were scattered in the crowd of about 250 that marched from the church through the Pico Gardens and Aliso Village housing projects. The group stopped as each new scene was acted out.

Several of the teen-agers portraying gang members in Las Posadas --the Spanish word for “lodging”--said they know from experience how unfriendly the streets can be.

“I did gang-bang,” said Erica Parra, 17, of Boyle Heights, who helped write the play. “I did hang around with a gang starting at 14. I was getting into trouble, but I didn’t realize what I was doing. If Jesus was born in this neighborhood, this is what he’d find.”

Joe Diaz said a 19-year-old friend was killed last month in a drive-by shooting.

“Most of my friends are gang members,” Diaz shrugged. “I came close to being in a gang, but my mom stopped me. I still hang out with them--I can’t stop. I grew up with them.”

Diaz, 19, said he hoped that real-life gang members who watched the performance will realize they can contribute to the community. Some already have.

“People don’t know it, but gang members contributed a lot of the money for tonight,” he said, pointing to a candy-filled pinata and food being served to the crowd.

The evening held lessons for all, agreed Socorro Garcia, an Aliso Village grandmother who marched in the processional.

“It was good because it is the real life we’re living through,” Garcia said. “People need to have warm hearts. We have to be human in these very, very difficult times.

“I think what we’re going through is the same conditions that Jesus lived through.”