Festival teaches Mexican heritage, organizers say

By Daniel Borunda / El Paso Times
Photo by Mark Lambie / El Paso Times
Article Launched: 12/14/2007 12:00:00 AM MST

Teens portraying Joseph and Mary were followed by angels, the three wise men and a mariachi band as they filed into a San Jacinto Plaza on a pleasant Thursday evening during the 16th annual Downtown Posada Festival.

The festival featured musical performances by students from the Lydia Patterson Institute, bringing to life Las Posadas, a colorful Mexican Christmas tradition started during Colonial times, that represents Joseph and Mary's search for shelter in Bethlehem.

The binational festival, sponsored in part by the Mexican Consulate, was an opportunity to share holiday celebrations across the Rio Grande.

"About 70 percent of our students are from Juárez ... .It's very important because it's their culture. They know what Christmas is about. It's about the birth of Jesus Christ," said Monica Rueda, assistant counselor at Lydia Patterson Institute, which is Downtown.