A Christmas Tradition Is Reborn Each Year

Mike Mariscal is 45 years old, and for 45 years he’s been part of Las Posadason Olvera Street in downtown Los Angeles. Mariscal is a fourth-generation merchant in the historic Mexican marketplace, where his grandparents and great-grand-parents once owned businesses.

Las Posadas is a holiday tradition hosted by Olvera Street merchants on nine consecutive evenings before Christmas, starting Saturday. It’s a cultural tradition for the Latino people who live and work in and around Olvera Street, but it has become a holiday tradition for legions of visitors as well.

Hundreds of people from all backgrounds are expected to take part in the two downtown posadas slated to begin this week. One departs from the courtyard of the Avila Adobe, said to be the oldest house in Los Angeles, and the other across Olvera Street, at the Old Plaza Church, in the Mission Nuestra Senora Reina de Los Angeles, which gave the city its name.

“Posada,” which means “inn” or “shelter” in Spanish, is a reenactment of Mary and Joseph’s search for lodging. The newlyweds were visiting Bethlehem during a census when Mary went into labor. There were no rooms available, so Jesus was born in a stable.

Each night through Christmas Eve, processions will make their way around the Old Plaza Church and up and down Olvera Street. Afterward, traditional Mexican foods, including pan dulce (bread) and champurrado (hot chocolate), will be served, along with other refreshments.

“It’s a tradition, brought here from Mexico,” says Mercy Erazo, spokesperson at the Old Plaza Church, which begins its posada tonight. “We try to give the children an idea of what it was like.”

At El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument, where Olvera Street is located, the merchants will lead Las Posadas from the Avila Adobe, up one side of Olvera Street and down the other. The procession will be done in English and Spanish, stopping at a different business each night in the symbolic search for lodging.

“I absolutely remember the procession, the people and, of course, the pinata,” says Mariscal, recalling Las Posadas as a boy. “As a teenager I got more involved. My daughter Christina, at 1 year old, was in the procession every night.”

Today, Mariscal is one of the organizers of the Olvera Street Las Posadas, and Christina, now 17, is a freshman at Loyola Marymount. She will be on hand to sing at Las Posadas, however, along with her mother, her uncle’s family and a cousin, who’s also an Olvera Street merchant. “This is something the merchants have always done to give back, to give thanks to the whole city,” Mariscal says, describing the Olvera Street Las Posadas as a “simpler, more somber” event than the one across the street.

Preceding the Olvera Street procession each night, Ballet Coco, a folklorico group, will perform in the plaza area in front of the kiosko (gazebo). The kiosko is filled with a life-size nativity scene during the holiday season. A pinata party follows the procession.

On the final night, Christmas Eve, Las Posadas will begin with a concert by Sergio Almanza, a professionally trained opera singer and a member of the choir at Mariscal’s church.

Across the street at the Mission Nuestra Senora Reina de Los Angeles, Las Posadas begins inside Old Plaza Church with a brief liturgy. Following that, a priest will lead the procession, which will include “Mary” riding a real pony, and parishioners in costume and other participants in tow, circling the church in search of lodging.

“The people outside will sing, requesting shelter,” Erazo explained. “The people inside will sing the response, that there’s no room.”

Following the procession, which is performed in Spanish, refreshments will be served in the festively decorated plaza, and children can take a whack at the pinata. Another kid-pleaser, says Erazo, is the nativity scene, which is filled with live animals.

Christmas Eve festivities at the Old Plaza Church culminate with a midnight Mass.

“The atmosphere is really great,” says Erazo. “It’s a very festive night. The kids really get excited about it.”

* Las Posadas, Olvera Street, El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument, downtown L.A. Nightly Saturday-Dec. 24, 6:30-9 p.m. Free. (213) 628-7163.

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* Las Posadas, Old Plaza Church, Mission Nuestra Senora Reina de Los Angeles, 535 Main St., downtown L.A. Nightly tonight-Dec. 24., 6:30 p.m.; pinata breaking and refreshments follow. Free. (213) 629-3101.