“Pastorela Mechicana” is a short Christmas play that represents the Mexican Nativity and belongs to an old Mexican tradition. The roots of the Pastorela go back to Medieval Spain. The first Spanish missionaries used the Pastorela to indoctrinate the Mexicas. The natives of Mexico were used to festivities and carnivals. Also, they performed dance, music and theater. Therefore they accepted sacramental festivities and thus began the process of a unique cultural syncretism. “La Pastorela Mechicana” draws on this long tradition and pays tribute to the pre-Columbian origin of the Mexican people. Also it incorporates the myth of the Virgin of Guadalupe in the plot. The plot of “La Pastorela Mechicana” focuses on the shepherds that live close to Ramona in San Diego County. They know about the birth of Jesus Christ through dreams and prophecies, and then travel to Santa Ysabel to find the place where Jesus is to be born. Along the way they encounter Leviathan, an evil prince with his two female companions who tempt the shepherds (seven of them represent the seven mortal sins). However, in the end the shepherds are able to resist the temptations. Finally they reach their destination to see the Christ Child. The traditional Pastorela has gone through adaptations since the 16^th century to our times. Nonetheless, this version offers a new and refreshing perspective as well as a challenge to conventional interpretations.

The Tropa SubUrbana and Molcajete performed for the first time this play in 2005, and was directed by Amilcar Chavez, Nadia Cabuto and Diana Cabuto. The play has been performed in the Center for the Arts in Escondido in 2006 and 2007.  La Pastorela Mechicana was published in the anthology Teatro del Norte vol. 6 from the UABC in Tijuana (2006).