Wednesday, December 15, 2004
Students re-enact roles of Mary, Joseph seeking shelter
BLAKE MORLOCK
Tucson Citizen
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The train of revelers wound through the tiny downtown streets of Barrio Historico last night, holding poles with crepe-paper streamers and bells high over the procession.
Tiny but strong voices sang songs in Spanish in Carrillo Magnet School's 67th annual Las Posadas - the prepubescent re-enactment of Joseph and Mary's search for shelter.
Las Posadas is more than just a school festival. To the barrio, it means family and tradition.
Alfonso Rivera, 79, was there last night to watch his grandson, Alejandro, portray a peasant in the re-creation.
Rivera attended Carrillo before there was a Posada and was taught music by the tradition's founder, Marguerite Collier.
"It wasn't very big when it first started," Rivera said. "But it's a wonderful tradition. It brings the community closer together - not just the Hispanic community but others, too."
About 300 people take part in Las Posadas, but the 60 elementary school students were the real stars under the stars.
Chris Quiroz, a third-grader whose job is to pretend to break a Christmas pinăta, talks about tradition, too.
"I like doing this because I'm the third generation of my family to do the Posada," he said.
He described the experience as "pretty cool."
The process goes like this: The kids dress up like angels, peasants, lantern boys and the like, carrying a manger scene over their shoulders.
They stop at four homes, and the folks who live there turn them away, not to run off a bunch of rapscallions but because it's part of the tradition of Mary and Joseph seeking shelter.
The second home is owned by Socorro Haro, who for 56 years has played the part of the unaccommodating innkeeper.
"It wouldn't be a holiday without this," Haro said.
She raised 11 children in the two-bedroom home in Barrio Historico, and all her children took part in the Posada.
"My daughter carried the first Nacimiento (Nativity scene)," Haro said, of the inaugural Posada in 1937.
The procession moved on from her home to two others and was sent away for the sake of tradition.
Finally, the residents at the fifth house agree to let them in. The kids let out a whoop. Then they enter the house and sing more songs.
Alexander Valencia is one of the two indoor singers and his mom, Karen Castenedas, said he has no stage fright.
But he was in for a surprise when he got the gig this year.
"He said 'Mom, there are only two indoor singers this year. There are usually four.' So I just told him he's going to have to sing twice as loud," Castenedas said.
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