Celebrate Las Posadas in Pilsen
Alvaro Obregon
Published: December 2, 2009
The Posadas en Pilsen festival will be a daylong event on Saturday, December 12th along 18th Street and extending into some arterial streets in Pilsen, the heart of Chicago’s Mexican community. The event is being organized by the Pilsen Commerce Roundtable, a group of small businesses united to expand and strengthen commerce in Pilsen.
Traditionally, Las Posadas is a nine-day celebration with origins in Spain. It is a yearly tradition for many Catholic Mexicans and some other Latin Americans and symbolizes the trials which Mary and Joseph endured before finding a place to stay where Jesus could be born, based on the passage in the New Testament, the Gospel of Luke (2:1-9). Typically, each family in a neighborhood will schedule a night for the Posada to be held at their home. Every home has a nativity scene and the hosts of the Posada act as the innkeepers.
The Posadas en Pilsen festival’s activities begin at 5:00 a.m. with the celebration of La Virgen de Guadalupe, at the neighboring churches with music and mass. Attendees will be given the opportunity to eat a traditional Mexican breakfasts at participating restaurants and cafes. Patron saint to Mexico, The Virgen de Guadalupe is a symbol of significant importance to Mexican Catholics. She is perhaps Mexico's most popular religious and cultural image and has been consistently celebrated since her taled appearance to Saint Juan Diego on the hill of Tepeyac near Mexico City between December 9 and December 12, 1531.
Walking Tour of Local Businesses
Beginning at noon, participants will be able to enjoy the highlight of the event, a walking tour along 18th Street, the main commercial corridor in Pilsen. Attendees will have the opportunity to visit 25 participating businesses and sample traditional Ponche, a Mexican hot beverage consisting of sugar cane, fruits and cinnamon, while judging nativity scenes either hand crafted by local artists or by the business. There will be awards given to both the best Ponche and Nativity Scene.
The celebration will culminate at an outdoor festival at Plaza Tenochtitlan on the intersection of 18th Street and Blue Island Ave., where attendees will be given a complimentary Aguinaldo, a traditional gift-bag filled with various traditional candies and fruits for those who made the pilgrimage throughout Pilsen. Children will be given the opportunity to participate in breaking of a piñata that same evening.
“We wanted to create this event for Pilsen because it’s one of Chicago’s largest Mexican communities, and the Posada tradition is very important to the Mexican and Latino community,” said Hector Saldana, one of the event’s organizers.
A variety of businesses from Pilsen have signed up to participate and compete including restaurants, cafes, galleries and other local businesses.
www.pilsenportal.org/posadas
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