Community Music Center (CMC) presents once more, La Posarela, the very popular Mexican Christmas musical about Mary and Joseph on their way to Bethlehem. A sly devil (played by Carlos Barón) tries to block the couple from finding posadas (shelters) and also to divert the three shepherds in search of the Savior. Angels appear and a light-hearted struggle between good and evil unfolds.
The show blends the Mexican traditions of posadas and pastorelas and features original Latin music and Christmas carols in Spanish and English. The cast includes some 70 performers of all ages, among them, children from the Community Music Center’s Mission District Young Musicians Program.
This play also features new music arrangements by CMC faculty members Chus Alonso, Miguel Govea, and Tregar Otton. Other performers include members of the Latin Music Vocal Workshop, Coro del Pueblo, CMC Children’s Chorus and Senior Choruses.
We spoke briefly to one member of the children’s choruses, a 10-year-old boy named Jackson. He’s in the fifth grade and has been singing in the young musician’s program for three years.
“I just love performing,” he said, but with a deeper, richer voice than you would imagine. “I’ve always loved it. I’m really a stage kid. When I was four I had this stuffed monkey, and one day it was just scorching hot and I started singing about my monkey. My mother invited some relatives to come over and hear it. And from that moment I knew I loved performing and have loved it ever since.”
“They do this every year,” he went on. “We’re the angels. We sing these songs in Spanish. We all just love singing.”
The show is open to the public and will be followed by a Mexican fiesta, with tamales and atole (a traditional drink made from ground corn, served hot and flavored with chocolate or cinnamon) and a piñata for children.
La Posarela, Dec. 9, 2 p.m., Mission High School Auditorium, S.F., $5 General Admission Purchase tickets at Eventbrite or at CMC’s Mission District Branch.