Posadas y Pastorelas

Get into the holiday spirit a la mexicana. Join us for our annual December presentation of Posadas y Pastorelas, a holiday celebration promoting the popular traditions of the Mexican community of New York, featuring traditional music and workshops. Highlights include workshops, the Posada, and a singing holiday procession through the streets. The event culminates in a party with the breaking of candy-filled piñatas.

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About Posadas y Pastorelas

 

POSADAS are popular Mexican celebrations dating back to the colonial period. Posada -- literally meaning ‘lodging’-- commemorates the journey of Mary and Joseph from Nazareth to Bethlehem. Traditionally, these festivities take place in private homes over nine nights, culminating with the most important Posada on Christmas Eve.

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PASTORELAS or Shepherds’ Plays are performed in Mexico during the Christmas season and have their roots in the early Christian theater of Europe in the middle ages. Pastorelas – like other folk dramas - were introduced to Mexico by the colonizers with the goal of converting the indigenous population to Christianity.