Shepherds, Devils, and the Birth of a Pastorelas Tradition
Mexican pastorelas are a unique Christmas tradition blending pre-Hispanic prophecy and Spanish religious theater. Shepherds journey to worship the Christ Child, facing temptations from mischievous devils along the way. Despite near-extinction, the tradition was revived and now thrives.
The pastorela, Mexico's beloved Christmas tradition, shimmers with secrets. Its true origins are veiled by the time of the Spanish conquest and a prophecy older still. They say audiences in indigenous New Spain embraced not Christmas itself, but the Epiphany, the Feast of Kings. Perhaps some ancient intuition resonated – a shared sense of a world about to change forever.
That sense of destiny thrums through the heart of pastorelas. Picture the scene set by the Jesuit playwrights of the 16th century: Shepherds, those humble figures from the Nativity, dance as they once did in medieval Europe. But these shepherds hold more than the joy of the Christ Child's birth. Woven into their songs is an echo of the comet, that portent of upheaval foretold in pre-Hispanic times, mirroring the Star of Bethlehem, yet tinged with a uniquely Mexican foreboding.
