My computer memory recovery process was faster than I could have hoped!!
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Posada in Pescadero
Pescadero is a small village right on the central coast. Every year the community holds a celebration
of “Los Posadas", a traditional nighttime reenactment of the story of Mary and
Joseph seeking shelter. This year my wife, Judy and I came to join in.
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| Un angelito |
The story of Los Posadas has special meaning for “Los immigrantes” the
people who have come from Mexico and Central America seeking a better life
working with the crops of California. The story speaks to anyone who has felt like
an outsider …anyone who has felt like they don't understand ‘the system’ and they are in need of
help. It also speaks to those of us in a
position to offer help, but don’t. The
one we are turning away may be a very special person that we don’t recognize.
The gathered community forms a procession, which symbolically visits
homes asking for shelter. Both the Anglo and the Latino communities of Pescadero
participate, both the Catholic and the Protestant churches and those in
neither, the entire community take part. The people
gather to make up a procession, guitar players lead the way, some people dress to
fill the rolls of the key players in the Christmas story, and we stroll down
the empty village street singing the traditional Mexican Posadas songs (conveniently
printed out for us Anglos).
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Mary and Joseph and an angel
We stop at several prearranged houses and ask for
shelter, but we are refused… until finally we arrive at ‘the place of shelter’. Here the “innkeeper” welcomes us in and makes
us comfortable. This year we started at
St. Anthony’s Catholic church and ended at the Pescadero Community Church…
where a fine community service had been put together by local people from both
church communities.
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| Warm and dry inside the church |
It was a special twist this year that the event took place in a driving
Pacific December rainstorm. The little
“angelitos” held umbrellas, and someone covered the guitar players. Those without umbrellas crowded in with those
who had one – making little clusters of people walking together. But these Pescadero folks take such weather
in stride and it did nothing to slow down the spirit of the event!
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| The guitar players and music leaders |
After the gathering at the Church we progressed on to the village dance
hall built as the Portuguese community center…
The hall was festive with light and color, Spanish language music was
playing, and Mary and Joseph, the wise men and shepherds all marched to the
front stage to hold court for people who wanted to have their picture taken with
them.
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| Tamales, rice, and Atole for everyone! |
At the back of the hall they
started handing out plates with tamales, Spanish rice, and plastic cups of
Atole, a traditional Mexican hot beverage made from corn… (All offered without
charge for everyone – thanks to the generosity of some churches and individuals). We feasted and talked to people we knew and
made new acquaintances. We especially
enjoyed being reunited with friends from the Palo Alto community.
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| The community gathering to relate and talk |
At some point Mary and Joseph and party got to come down and enjoy tamales
too … and a bit later who should arrive but Santa himself! Oh my goodness – there were big eyes
everywhere among the children.
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| The long line of kids and parents waiting to see Santa and get their sock of toys |
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| Santa is holding up a sock of toys to give to the girl |
He made
his way to the stage where he invited kids to come sit on his lap. He had large felt stockings filled with gifts
for each child. (Various churches in the Bay Area have been filling those
stockings for weeks…)
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| At the end a raffle to see what gifts the lucky winners might receive " Why dont you draw my number". |
By now the hour was growing late and Judy and I had decided that we did
not want to drive the winding Pescadero road at night in the wind and rain – so
we had made reservations to stay in a kind of bed and breakfast place a bit out
of town. We have a separate little house
about the size of a two-car garage. It
is made of rough sawn planks – but had a pleasant design and a lot of windows
all looking out over beautiful expanses of hills and forests. We slept the night with a steady pouring rain
drumming on our roof. What fine music
falling rain makes when you can hear it all night!
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Highly recommended links of the week: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/12/22/the-nra-flubs-the-facts-about-sandy-hook.html
As of 12/21/12: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/21/us-shooting-deaths-sandy-hook_n_2348466.html
