VENTURA COUNTY WEEKEND : CENTERPIECE : Taking Tradition Door-to-Door : Latino Neighborhoods Are Preparing for Posadas, Candlelit Christmas Processions

As you gear up for another yule season, why not take a break from “Jingle Bells,” Santa and Rudolph to attend some of the traditional Christmas celebrations planned by the Latino community? For many people, it wouldn’t be a Feliz Navidad without the popular posada.

For nine days, beginning Saturday evening, townsfolk form candle-light processions called posadas to re-enact the story of Mary and Joseph’s search for shelter in Bethlehem before the birth of Jesus.

Several free or inexpensive cultural events are scheduled around the county, ranging from neighborhood posada block parties to elaborate indoor theatrical performances with folk music and dances.

But it’s a good bet every celebration will have candy-filled pinatas for children to break open with a bat. And chances are you’ll find a posada to match your stamina--whether you wander door-to-door in the cold or opt for armchair participation.

The Teatro de las Americas will mark its fourth anniversary by presenting a full evening of posada and theatrical entertainment Saturday at Oxnard’s Heritage Square. “This event is going to integrate many elements of the traditional Christmas celebrations popular in Mexico and Latin America,” said founder-director Christina Aerenlund.

Participants should gather at 6 p.m. with candles for a 6:30 p.m. procession in the square. The public is welcome to attend this outdoor posada portion of the festivities free of charge. But due to limited space inside the adjoining McGrath House, only ticket-holders will be admitted to the subsequent party and presentation of the pastorela or traditional morality play.

“In the posada, the group accompanies people dressed as Mary and Joseph from house to house where they sing a stanza requesting shelter and are refused by those inside,” said Aerenlund.

“We will do an abbreviated version with four or five houses. The spiritual moment arrives with the symbolic reception of God, when occupants of the final house sing: “Entren santos peregrinos. Reciban este rincon no de esta pobre morada sino de mi corazon. (Enter holy pilgrims and receive this corner not of this humble dwelling but of my heart),” she said.

Everyone is then invited inside for a party featuring traditional foods including red, green and sweet tamales, punch, atole (a hot, tea-like drink made from cornmeal and flavored with strawberry, pineapple or guava, and comida para picar (finger food).

The highlight is the breaking of the pinata loaded with colaciones (hard candies) cacahuetes (peanuts) and confetti.

“We opted for the traditional star-shaped pinata, no doubt representing the star that guided the shepherds. But in recent years you’ll find pinatas ranging from Mickey Mouse to Kermit the Frog,” said Aerenlund.

The pastorela dates back to the Middle Ages in Europe when scenes from the Bible were performed at the altar during Mass to entertain, educate and thereby convert an illiterate public to lessons of the church. Later these depictions were performed in town squares.

“The pastorela can be made as complicated as you want and it differs in its presentation from town to town,” said Aerenlund. But generally the pastorela is a one-act play in which good and evil battle for the soul of a mortal central character. Good always triumphs and evil is made to look silly.

This year the Teatro has cast females in both devil and angel roles in a production that depicts Mary and Joseph as a ‘90s couple who discover that she’s pregnant without his participation. The job of Lucifer (Lucy) and the seven deadly sins is to tempt Mary and Joseph to partake of the smorgasbord of sins while the Archangel Michael (Mickie) and the seven virtues intervene.

The performance, which includes interaction with the audience, lasts about an hour and takes place in different rooms throughout the house.

From Saturday night through Dec. 24, the San Buenaventura Mission in Ventura will host traditional posadas around the neighborhood, followed an hour later by Mass at the church. The starting times of the posada will vary, so call the mission. On Saturday and Christmas Eve, participants should gather at the church’s front garden.

“The Spanish-speaking community is about 25%,” but the posadas have not been done here in a long time, said Father Joseph D. Pina, associate pastor at the mission. “Last year we did it on the first night and we’re trying to rebuild a custom that has not been practiced in some time.”

Anyone is welcome to participate at no charge. And people who admit peregrinos (pilgrims) have been asked to provide some modest refreshments such as coffee, peanuts and candy.

“In the Latino community, the final posada on Dec. 24 marks the official beginning of our Christmastime season and culminates with a Vigil Mass,” said Pina. He explained that this signifies anticipation of the arrival of midnight and the birth of Jesus.

A Mass will be conducted in English at 5:30 p.m. and another in Spanish at 7:30 p.m.

Later that evening the traditional “Misa de Gallo” (Midnight Mass) will be conducted in English at 11:30 p.m. with the singing of Christmas carols in English, Spanish and Latin. During this season many churches are decorated with elaborate nacimientos--Nativity scenes--with figures often three-quarters of life-size or larger portraying the Holy Family, the Magi, shepherds and animals.

Finally, a figure representing the Christ child is carried to the cradle to signify the birth of Jesus.

But the Christmas season in the church and Latino community doesn’t end on Dec. 25 but rather on Jan. 6, Epiphany or El Dia de los Reyes (the Day of the Kings). “The arrival of the kings from different lands who give recognition to the child signifies for us that Jesus is Lord of all,” he said.

Religious symbolism aside, for many kids in Spanish-speaking regions, including some parts of the southwestern United States, this is the traditional day of giving surprise gifts. They eagerly awaken to see what treasures the kings left in exchange for the straw set out to feed their camels. Will their shoes be filled with presents or lumps of coal--the ultimate “reward” for substandard behavior during the year?

On Dec. 22, Oxnard’s nonprofit Teatro Inlakech will hold a Celebracion de Posadas y Presentacion del Milagro de las Rosas (Posada Celebration and Performance of the Miracle of the Roses). Participants will meet at the Inlakech Cultural Arts Center at 7:30 p.m. for what artistic director Javier Gomez called “a 20-minute traditional posada run around the community with traditional cantos (songs) before returning to the center for pinata and food, followed by the play. The event is free. But seating is limited to 100.

The play is a 45-minute encore performance depicting the “apparition process and legend of Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe (Our Lady of Guadalupe). The Feast of the Virgin of Guadalupe on Dec. 12 is not liturgically connected to Christmas. But the observances kick off the season in the Latino community with the posadas starting four days later.

“Our Lady of Guadalupe is one of our major feast days. And she is the patroness of the Americas,” said Pina.

“According to historical accounts a priest was sent to Mexico to study the Indian ways and was told to mask each Indian celebration with a Christian one. So in a historical context, the story was used as a tool to get the Indians to accept Christianity. The Virgen de Guadalupe made it easier to sell (the idea) because she was already like them, morenita (dark-skinned),” said Gomez.

Prior to the arrival of the Spaniards, the Indians already paid homage to a celestial goddess called tonantzin (our mother) on a hill outside Mexico City. Legend says the Virgin appeared the first of four times there in the early morning of Dec. 12 to a respected medicine man called cuauhtlatoa, known by his baptismal name, Juan Diego.

As proof of the Virgin’s visits, Diego delivered roses he found blooming in winter to the bishop and the Virgin’s image was miraculously imprinted on the mantle he used to wrap the roses.

“So the celebration of the Virgen de Guadalupe during the Christmas period,” said Gomez, “shows the blend of the Christian and indigenous cultures.”

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DETAILS

* POSADA FAIR: A 90-minute bilingual show featuring live music, traditional dances from Mexico performed by the Oxnard College’s Ballet Folklorico Mestizo, a staged posada presentation with bilingual lyrics provided for audience participation followed by a pinata party and refreshments. The festivities will be in room LA-6 (The Forum) at Oxnard College, 4000 S. Rose Ave., Oxnard, at 7:30 p.m. Friday; $2 adults, $1 children ages 12 and under. Seating is limited to about 120 so arrive early. For more information, call 986-5800, Ext. 1944.

* OUTDOOR POSADA: A party and play being presented by Teatro de las Americas; Heritage Square, 730 South B St., Oxnard; Saturday, 6 p.m. assembly, 6:30 p.m. outdoor posada, followed by pinata party, traditional food and one-act pastorela play. The public may attend the posada procession for free; admission to the McGrath House for party and play, $10 adults, $5 for children age 11 and under; party and play seating limited to first 130. For more information, call 984-3222

* MISSION: Posada and Mass at San Buenaventura Mission, 211 E. Main St., Ventura. Starting times of the posada will vary, with Mass scheduled at 8:30 p.m. Saturday through Dec. 24. The event is free. On the first and last nights, people will assemble at the mission. For information on starting times and other meeting locations, call 643-4318.

* OXNARD: Celebracion de Posadas y Presentacion del Milagro de las Rosas (Posada and play of the Virgin of Guadalupe) presented at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 22 at Teatro Inlakech Cultural Art Center, 644 South C St., Oxnard. The posada is followed by a pinata party and a play at about 8 p.m. The event is free, but there is limited seating. For more information, call 486-7063.

* POSADA II: Holiday Dance with deejay music by Ritmo Active and J. Scratch at Ventura College, 4667 Telegraph Road, Ventura. The dance, open to those 16 and older, starts at 9 p.m. Dec. 22. Tickets are $5, with a $3 discount for a donation of a canned food item or a new, unwrapped toy. For more information, call 642-3211, Ext. 1267.