Monday, October 26, 2009
Posadas at Abby Court
I think it is important to celebrate Las Posadas at Abby Court because it serves as a new cultural experience for people. The Latino and American community live so close to each other yet sometimes it seems like their so distant. Traditional events such as Posadas allows communities to come together and share in such a fun traditional event. It allows both communities to share their customs and what they mean to them. This is really important because when people learn about other people's culture they may begin to see more clearly and understand people they might not be too familiar with. I think that knowledge opens a lot of doors especially when it comes to learning about other people and their culture because it allows them to view things distinctively and feel comfortable.
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I think it is very important that we begin to embrace other peoples cultures. The United States is a melting pot of cultures, religions and people and in order to accept one another we need to understand one another. Embracing and understanding anothers culture does not, by any means, mean changing ones own culture. Celebrating Las Posadas in Abbey Court would not only make the residents extrememely happy but it will give them hope. It will show them that despite all the hardships they may be facing at work or their personal lives that there are people out there who care about them.
As project 2 for me, I couldn't be part of a better community project. At the start, it was just a mere discussion about MAYBE doing a celebration for the abbey court community. But as discussion went on, it was clear that this was something that could potentially be an annual event. Las Pasadas is something that both children of Abbey courts and us, as coordinators for this celebration, can and would enjoy the pure happiness it brings to everyone in this special time of year.
Of course there are many things that has to be done in order to create a successful event, but so far, everything has been smooth sailing. We have so many people on the committee that takes care of different aspects of the event such as gift bags,and pinatas. A big thank you is due to Professor Blau for working with the Abbey court community for so many things such as food and finding a Horse! I am glad to be able to help by having a friend help us communicate with the Burmese residents in order to have them participate in our Celebration.
Las Pasadas is a event that successfully incorporates our goals as a class of social and economical justice into the community around us. We, as students, are helping the community come together and celebrate with each other, regardless of each person's differences. Las Pasadas does justice to everyone by giving them a chance to be happy.
Before this class, I had never heard of Las Posadas. However, through our class discussion and looking the event up online, I immediately knew I wanted to be a part of this and felt that this would be a great way to end of the semester and start a new tradition for this class. As my 2nd project, I am on the Los Posadas committee and am helping create bags with candy for the children, it has been very exciting thus far, and can’t wait for the actual event. In fact I found this very informative powerpoint which can be accessed at: www.u.arizona.edu/~monicas2/lasposadas.ppt
On Mexonline.com I was able to learn a lot more about how the event is celebrated in Mexico. One of the passages that summarizes the event:
“The ritual often begins in the afternoon or at dinner time when the family shares a rosca or two (a rosca is a sweet, ring-shaped loaf with a ceramic muneca (doll) representing the Christ child baked inside). Unlike a cracker-jack box where the winner takes all, whoever is unlucky enough to get the doll has to throw a party on February 2 (Dia de Candelaria) for all the others present. In this case, the "winner", who has to foot the time and expense, is often the loser. (Note: on the afternoon of Dia de Candelaria, dancers gather for a performance in the churchyard. Sometimes as many as six different dance groups perform at the same time. The dancers are divided among those portraying Christians and Moors, each competing for the most attention. Other groups are represented as well. In small towns where this festival is held, there's also a special market on that day.) The party itself usually includes some favorite dish spiced with a zesty regional mole sauce.”
I have really enjoyed being a part of the Las Posadas Committee. I am really looking forward to the reactions of all of the children and overall, getting to experience a holiday from a new cultural perspective.
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