Old Town’s La Posada attracts hundreds

Candlelight brightened the path Sunday evening for hundreds of people who sought shelter from shopkeepers for Mary and Joseph in the annual La Posada in Old Town.

In its 63rd straight year at the state park, the Mexican tradition attracted locals and tourists who participated in the symbolic event. Each year, actors lead visitors in a search for a place for baby Jesus to be born, said Julia Simms, an organizer.

In the Bible, and in La Posada, the couple is rejected multiple times until someone offers them a barn in which to sleep, said Eric Minella, who played Joseph and is a historic interpreter for Fiesta de Reyes shops. In Spanish the word Posada means lodging, it has also come to symbolize the nine-night celebration commemorating the couple’s search. In Old Town, the crowd visits nine establishments before being invited in.

“I find meaning in providing an opportunity for people to connect to the tradition,” Minella said. “It’s about religion, tradition, history and human nature.”

Canadians Lin and Doug Beardsley participated for the first time. The couple is spending a few days in the city before going on to Puerto Vallarta for the holidays. In Canada, they said, saying “Merry Christmas” is not allowed in public so they chose to travel to Mexico because it is a Catholic country like they are.

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April Fisher, who is playing an angel, sings as people watch and take pictures of the live nativity scene at the conclusion of the 63rd Annual Las Posadas Celebration at Old Town in San Diego on Sunday, December 15, 2013.  (Hayne Palmour IV / UT San Diego)

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Eleven-year-old Jolai Parris holds a candle before the start of the 63rd Annual Las Posadas Celebration at Old Town.  (Hayne Palmour IV / UT San Diego)

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Austyn Myers, 17, sings and plays guitar while he, Eveylt Delger, 10, left, and Eveylt’s younger brother Joshua Delger, 8, get ready to lead the procession as angels.  (Hayne Palmour IV / UT San Diego)

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Five-year-old Evan Mainwaring holds a candle as he, his brother Elliott Mainwarning, 7, right, and mother and father attend the 63rd Annual Las Posadas Celebration.  (Hayne Palmour IV / UT San Diego)

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Joseph, played by Eric Minella, calls out to an inn owner asking him for a room for him and wife Mary, right, played by Aminah-al-Jabber.  (Hayne Palmour IV / UT San Diego)

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Mary, played by Aminah-al-Jabber, rides a donkey in the procession as she and husband Joseph look for a room to stay in a reenactment.  (Hayne Palmour IV / UT San Diego)

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Six-year-old Abigail Costello sits on the shoulders of her father Paul Costello.  (Hayne Palmour IV / UT San Diego)

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Austyn Myers, 17, sings and plays guitar while he, Eveylt Delger, 10, left, and Eveylt’s younger brother Joshua Delger, 8, lead the procession as angels.  (Hayne Palmour IV / UT San Diego)

The Beardsleys had never heard of the Las Posadas tradition but joined with excitement.

“It means taking the commercialism out of it and restoring why we are celebrating,” said Lin Beardsley. “We come here to celebrate our beliefs. It’s terrific, an added bonus for us.”

Elizabeth Eberle brought her son, two nieces and her mother to the Posada for the first time.

Eberle’s mother, Maria Contreras, remembers making food, candy and pinatas during Las Posadas in her native Michoacan, Mexico. For her the event is about the Virgin Mary’s search for shelter. For her adult grandchildren, the gathering was about culture, a way to celebrate a Mexican custom, and to be with family.

“I am glad they want to be part of the tradition,” said Contreras, of Chula Vista.

This year was the third time for Escondido’s Krista Williams, her husband and their three children.

“We are not religious at all, but we like our kids to be part of the culture and experience the different traditions of the holidays,” she said, while waiting for the nativity program to begin after the final shopkeeper visited by the processional invited Mary and Joseph in.