La Pastorela: An important traditional play in the New
Mexican folklore.
In December I had the opportunity to play as an actor in a
musical play. I was invited to play the
role of a shepherd in La Gran Pastorella, or play of the Shepherds or Pastores
in Spanish. I of course felt very
honored that the organizers invited me.
Can you believe it? I, singing
and acting in public?
Has anyone heard about the pastorella Musical Play? Have you seen it? (No: Today you will learn the basics and
understand its relevance. Yes: )
La Pastorella is a very old New Mexican Christmas musical play
that depicts humble events that happen along the way as the shepherds walk towards
Bethlehem in search of Jesus, the newborn.
The musical play has its origins back in Spain around the
thirteen or fourteen century. Back in
the middle age the Catholic Church used simple drama/plays to teach religious
concepts and behaviors to poor peasants and their children.
The play was brought by the Spaniards when they conquered
Mexico in the fifteen century and was probably brought to New Mexico by the
Franciscan priests as a teaching tool when they started the indoctrination of
the natives in the Missions in the 16 and 17 hundreds.
There is no formal and standard documentation or publication
of the text of the play. It has been simply
preserved in family notebooks that are used in isolated communities and passed
through generations.
Today there are several versions, which are still
occasionally enacted during Christmas in a few small communities in New Mexico. The play is in Spanish, using very colorful
and colloquial expressions and language typical of rural uneducated humble
shepherds. There are also several
musicians who play guitars, a violin, and a chorus group made up by the wives
of the shepherds.
The play starts with the shepherds (about 10) in the back of
the gathering place, singing, one by one, about the newborn in Bethlehem and
the star that guides them. The shepherds
walk to the center stage and Bato, one of the key shepherds, suggests that they
stop to take a break for the evening. Gila,
a young lady, prepares dinner and once again each of the shepherds gets the
spotlight and sings or says a brief line as they receive something to eat.
At this point, one of the central shepherd characters in the
musical appears. He is Bartolo, a
shepherd who all he wants to do is lay down, drink and sleep. And indeed throughout the play he remains
lying down and refusing the attempts of his fellow shepherds to help him stand
up.
Soon the devil appears.
He has a colorful custom with the traditional image of the devil: a
flaming red cape, horns on his head, black pants, a long pointed tail, and he
holds a sharp pitchfork. He has a
devilish face, a thunderous voice and devilish antics. He claims that he controls and commands the sun,
the moon, and all the stars in the sky.
He attempts to lure the shepherds away from their walk to Bethlehem and invites
them to join in his parties. Gila, warns
Bato that the devil is trying to deceive him.
Now a hermit who is traveling with the shepherds kneels and
prays. The archangel Michael appears and
invites the shepherds to continue walking towards Bethlehem and to worship the
newborn in the manger.
The devil appears again and confronts the archangel
Michael. The devil threatens to destroy
the earth and reclaim his place as owner of his kingdom. He announces that he will play a trick on the
shepherds and will use the hermit for such a purpose.
The Hermit indeed awakens from what seems to be a nightmare. The devil soothes him and promises to help
him. The devil of course blackmails the
hermit by threatening to tell the shepherds that the hermit has robbed them in
the past. The devil tempts the hermit
with the potential pleasures of the flesh and persuades him to kidnap the young
Gila.
As soon as the hermit kidnaps the young lady Gila, the devil
awakens the shepherds and denounces the hermit.
All the shepherds beat and punish the hermit; even Bartolo the lazy
shepherd who has been lying down all the time.
The shepherds go back to sleep and the archangel Michael
appears one more time. He proclaims his
message of the annunciation of the birth of Jesus and once again invites the
shepherds to find the manger and adore the newborn.
The devil appears one last time and with a thunderous speech
attempts to finally persuade the shepherds as he sees that his power is
slipping away. A final and violent
struggle occurs between the devil and the archangel Michael. Eventually the devil is finished and is
forced to get away. The devil
acknowledges his defeat and says, “Learn oh flowers from me, what has happened
between yesterday and today, yesterday I was a marvel, and today I’m not even a
shadow of myself.”
The archangel Michael says that the devil has been defeated
by the powers of the Virgin Mary, and the shepherds start walking towards the
manger in Bethlehem as they sing praises.
As Bato announces that they have reached the manger where
the newborn is found, Joseph and Mary appear at the center of the stage and
Mary holds the newborn. Each of the
shepherds starts presenting the humble gift that they offer to Jesus: a
mattress, a rooster, a gourd water vessel, a pillow, a blanket, a clothesbasket,
swaddling bands, and some food.
I play the role of Alparado, one of the shepherds. As I present my gift I sing:
“Voy para Belen, con gusto infinito, al recien nacido, le
traigo un guajito.” This translates into
something like: “I am walking towards
Bethlehem with infinite pleasure, to the newborn I offer a drinking gourd container.”
After all the shepherds present their gifts the only one
missing is Bartolo the drunken lazy shepherd.
Each shepherd attempts to persuade him to join in the adoration and
presentation of gifts but to not avail.
This is a humorous portion of the play.
Each line of the shepherds is followed by cynical remarks from Bartolo,
the lazy shepherd which give the audience an opportunity to laugh. Eventually the shepherds manage to persuade
him to get up and Bartolo finally joins in the adoration and presentation of
gifts.
The play ends as the shepherds sing as a chorus several lullabies, praises and Christmas
songs and exit the stage.
I invite you to watch this play this coming December. Unfortunately there are very few places where
it is still shown. This is one of those
traditions that are quickly dying from the folkloric culture of New
Mexico. I enjoyed learning about this
folk tale and trust that you will enjoy watching the play.
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