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Excerpts from Abe Peña's  Memories of Cibola

All material used with the kind permission of the author, given to me personally.

from AT THE MOUTH OF THE CANYON
"The search for lodging by Joseph and Mary in Bethlehem on the night Christ was born started the Christian tradition of Las Posadas ('The Inns'). The reenactment of Las Posadas spread throughout the Christian world over the centuries, as Christianity grew. It reached into Spain early in the Christian era, and from Spain it came to Mexico, then north to New Mexico, in the sixteenth century. The colonists who came with Don Juan de Oñate in 1598 started Las Posadas in San Gabriel, the first capital of New Mexico, near Española, then brought the celebration to Santa Fe in 1610. The custom kept spreading throughout the colony. It arrived in the country to the west of the Río Grande in 1800, with the settling of Seboyeta, then spread to other villages as they were founded.


In San Mateo, as in other Hispanic villages, Las Posadas still begin on December 16, nine days before Christmas. As the custom spread, changes were made in the text and prayers and procedures, but the main theme, denial of shelter and finally a stable where the Christ Child is born, has never changed. We would gather at the church at dusk to pray a decade of the Rosary then proceed in prayer up the luminaria-lit street. Each house on the route lit one luminaria (bonfire) to illuminate the path of Mary and Joseph. At a predetermined house, representing an inn, Joseph would ask for shelter in song, 'In the name of Heaven may we have shelter for the night? We come from Nazareth and my adored wife is cold and tired. Only a corner for the night.' The response from inside: 'Keep on going and leave us alone, we will not open for you. Who knows, you may be thieves. Just keep on going.' Generally a second home was visited the same night.


The procedure was repeated on the seventeenth of December at different houses, and the street would be lit with two luminarias at each house along the way. The luminarias were built of crisscrossed piñon or juniper from our woodpiles. On the eighteenth three luminarias were lit, and so forth, until the twenty-fourth, when we built nine luminarias at each house, and the street was literally ablaze with light from one end of the village to the other. On Christmas Eve Joseph is very tired but perseveres, as Mary is fast approaching her hour of delivery. 'My wife is Mary, she's the queen of heaven. She will be the Mother of God.' The response is, 'You are Joseph and your wife is Mary. Come in pilgrims, sorry we didn't recognize you.' The pilgrims are greeted and offered shelter in a protected stable. At this point the pageant of Los Pastores usually followed. Los Pastores are shepherds who have heard the angels announcing the birth of Christ and follow the star to Bethlehem to adore the Christ Child--the newborn King!


Mrs. Jane Madrid Valencia of Grants, born and raised in Villa Nueva, near Pecos, New Mexico, says, 'In our village Mary rode a donkey led by Joseph and we followed. I have some wonderful memories of Las Posadas and the traditions they represent. My mother and father were very devoted and we participated in all religious activities in our village.' She came to Grants during the uranium boom and helped organize a group that reenacted Las Posadas in Grants. There were other and earlier groups that kept the tradition alive, especially when Grants was a small village. Jane laments the fact that the tradition is disappearing. Those of us who were raised in rural villages and participated in Las Posadas lament with her. However, urban settings, where cars have to be used to transport the pilgrims from the church to a subdivision, do not lend themselves to pilgrims walking or lighting luminarias along the way. To their credit some groups are still braving the cars.


To Jane Valencia, and to all of you who remember Las Posadas with its pure and simple message of love and devotion to the Holy Family, let me suggest you get involved and keep the message alive. Many churches have inspiring Christmas services, and although they cannot replace them, maybe they can substitute for the traditions of our small villages, and all of us can be a part of those services. Keep in mind that there are many ways to serve our Lord."