Las Posadas returns to Plaza -- without devils

Dec. 12—After a three-year hiatus, Las Posadas returned to the Santa Fe Plaza on Sunday evening, with a large crowd gathering for a procession around the square to reenact the nativity of Jesus.

The traditional event drew locals and tourists, who stuck around the Plaza gazebo to sing Christmas carols and eat biscochitos after the procession.

"They turn on the lights, and we come," longtime Santa Fe resident Nance, who attended with her husband Ramon and their young grandsons, said. "We like to see the wonder through their eyes."

Española residents Mario and Renée Vigil found themselves holding candles and joining in the procession by accident while they were visiting the Plaza. They had attended the Española Light Parade on Saturday night, making for a full weekend of colorful Christmas festivities.

"We were just coming to see the lights, so it was just by chance," Renée said.

Portraying Joseph and Mary were the married couple Andrew and Cassandra Chavez, both 32, of Alcalde, who both said they felt blessed for the opportunity to honor the longstanding tradition.

The Chavezes met while attending high school in Española, where they both participated in mariachi band. She works as a school counselor at Española Valley High School and he is a research technician at Los Alamos National Laboratory.

"I've been attending the Posadas since I was a little girl," Cassandra Chavez said. "Culture and tradition are very important to us, as well as music."

The Chavezes are members of La Iglesia de Santa Cruz de la Cañada, the Española church responsible for the event along with the New Mexico History Museum. The two said they have played in bands for Las Posadas — Cassandra on the guitar and Andrew on the vihuela — for years.

Starting next week, the Santa Cruz church will host Las Posadas for nine nights straight, ending on Christmas Eve.

"This is like a prelude," church member Christella Ulibarri said of Sunday's event at the Plaza. "It's a play. Ours is like a prayer."

The event is a Spanish and Latin American tradition that goes back centuries.

For years, the City Different featured its own eccentric take on Las Posadas: Devils — complete with red makeup and horns — portrayed the innkeepers who stood atop the Plaza storefronts and yelled down to Mary and Joseph, "No hay posada!"

This year, the people involved in putting on the event — including performers and musicians from the Santa Cruz church — took a vote on whether or not to include devils in Las Posadas. Just as devils had been discarded for the 2019 event, they lost again and may be gone for good.

James Rivera, who played the third innkeeper on Sunday, said the unique Santa Fe tradition evolved from a literal interpretation of an innkeeper character named Lucifer.

"The church wanted to return to the traditional story," Rivera said.

Taye Balenovic, the New Mexico History Museum's event organizer, said as much about the end of the devil era for Las Posadas as well.

"It's a very solemn procession," Balenovic said. "They didn't want it commercialized. They wanted to go back to what it was, which is a biblical narrative."

Balenovic said this was the 46th year for the event on the Santa Fe Plaza, where it moved from its previous location on Canyon Road to accommodate a larger crowd.

After the procession and caroling, attendees were treated to cookies and cider from Panaderia Y Tortilleria Sani and Henry & the Fish, respectively.

"What looks very simple to a crowd is an enormous amount of activity behind the scenes," Balenovic said. "It takes a lot of little moving parts that add up to a very special night."