One of the most enduring New Mexican folk traditions is Pastorelas, or allegorical shepherd plays performed for the Christmas season. One of the best known Pastores troupes in New Mexico will perform at UNM’s Alumni Chapel, Friday, Dec. 1 at 7 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. Chocolate and bizcochitos will be served.
At center stage is popularly referred to as Los Pastores, the folk drama tradition which, since medieval times, has provided a dynamic vehicle for the teaching of ethics and theology, as well as social satire and protest. The basic message of Los Pastores is epiphany, the incarnation of divinity in earthly form, a lesson shared by every major religion.
To the indigenous people who saw and participated in missionary productions of the play, the animal actors in the Christmas tableaux were as powerful and significant as the humans. Within a century of conquest, the people of greater Mexico had made the Pastorela their own. The play about the pilgrim’s search for epiphany became a metaphor for the human condition.
The Pastorela has been banned by both church and state on numerous occasions in the history of New Spain and Mexico. Although the tradition survives in New Mexico, to thrive it needs to be re-introduced constantly to younger audiences with traditional productions, as well as dramatic adaptations by authors such as Rudolfo Anaya and E. A. Mares. Join us in celebrating the talent and genius of our community.
The event is sponsored by UNM Maxwell Museum & Alfonso Ortiz Center, the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, and Chicano Hispano Mexicano Studies.
Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
Posted by scarr at November 28, 2006 02:40 PM