A Modern Tradition : Las Posadas at Santa Ana School Take On a Contemporary Twist

Joseph had the customary robe, but instead of sandals, he wore fashionable brogues.

Mary wore a white robe but was outdone by the Archangel Gabriel, who was garbed in a white robe entwined with silver tinsel.

And when it was time to sing, a cassette was popped into a boombox and a button punched.

Instantly, background caroling music in Spanish could be heard from the loudspeakers, drifting across the St. Anne’s Catholic School parking lot for a version of Las Posadas.

Posadas are the traditional procession that symbolizes Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem before the birth of Christ.

On Wednesday night, more than 350 schoolchildren and their parents, many of whom were bundled up in warm coats, sang songs in English and Spanish in a heartwarming ceremony on a very cold night.

Posadas take place from Dec. 16 through Dec. 24, Nochebuena, or Christmas Eve. It is an annual custom in Mexico and many other Spanish-speaking countries. The nine nights on which the posadas take place represent the nine months of Mary’s pregnancy.

“It actually originated from the play, ‘Las Pastoreles’--the Shepherd’s Story--which can be traced back via Mexico to Spain to the 16th Century, and, it could be older,” said Richard Buchen, reference librarian at the Southwest Museum in Los Angeles.

In California, Buchen said, posadas are performed on nine nights. In New Mexico, where the weather is more severe, the event is compressed into nine different visits in one night.

As is the custom, usually a boy and a girl dressed as Mary and Joseph lead a procession followed by musicians and possibly other children dressed as angels, shepherds and wise men. The Christ child, represented by a statue or sometimes an infant, is carried in the procession.

Group members usually carry lit candles or lanterns, called luminarias. The group stops from time to time, knocking on different doors in a neighborhood, asking for lodging. Again and again they are refused. At the final stop, they are permitted to enter. The statue of Jesus is laid to rest in a manger as part of a Nativity scene.

Not all posadas are similar. For St. Anne’s production, the three main characters were portrayed by students, with Manuel Macias, 12, as Joseph; Evelyn Ibarra, 15, as Mary, and Manuel’s sister, Lisa, 13, as the archangel. The performers were chosen based on their academic ability and written essays on Las Posadas.

The boombox was a new twist. So were the battery-operated lights that took the place of candles. St. Anne’s principal, Sister Guadalupe, said lit candles were not used because of safety reasons.

At St. Anne’s, brevity was the key, several organizers said.

After celebrating Mass at the church on the same block, students quickly scurried over to the first “station,” located in front of Sister Thomas Geraldine’s third-grade classroom. Refused entry, the group left, joined by the sister’s 29 students. With each station, the procession gained more and more followers. Christmas carols were sung between each station.

When it was over, there was punch and cookies.

“Parents don’t like to wait around after work. And really, this was a school night and we wanted the children to be able to go home early,” one organizer said.

But there was cultural sharing.

AimeeBird, an eighth-grade teacher, said that many non-Latino students, including those who were Vietnamese, Filipino and Anglo, expressed an interest in the culture of their Latino counterparts.

“For many of the Latinos, it’s a sharing thing. They just assume that other people know what it’s all about,” Bird said.

Brian Molina, a 13-year-old Filipino, said he had never heard of Las Posadas until last year when St. Anne’s celebrated the procession for the first time.

“This year, I wanted to try it out so that’s why I’m here,” Brian said, adding that he thought the whole idea “was OK.”

Sister Maria de Los Angeles said that while she sang along in the cold night air, she was reminded of her childhood in Guadalajara, Mexico. Smiling broadly, she said: “This really lifted my spirits.”

But the evening also carried a special message, parent Linda Hernandez said. She said that with the nation’s recession and leaner times, the event gave the schoolchildren, including her two sons, Carl Jr., 11, and Mark, 10, a chance for understanding.

“There are a lot of people on the streets in Santa Ana needing lodging. . . . This was good because the cold weather and the walking from station to station asking for help makes the children realize how lucky they are,” Hernandez said.

Carl said he thought the caroling “was cool,” while his younger brother said that he enjoyed the story “about the two people looking for a motel.” Many churches and groups will be having posadas this weekend. Larger processions to be held in Orange County include those:

* At St. Boniface Catholic Church, 120 N. Janss St. in Anaheim at 5 p.m. Saturday.

* For Spanish-speaking workers, at Sakioka Farms in Santa Ana, just east of South Coast Plaza, also on Saturday. Those interested should meet at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church at 541 E. Central Ave., Santa Ana, at 6:30 p.m. Saturday. Posadas begin at the farm at 7 p.m.

* At Mission San Juan Capistrano, on Saturday at 8 p.m., and on Sunday at 6:30 p.m.