Every year, hundreds of people gather in downtown L.A.’s cathedral for the Latino Theater Company’s annual holiday pageant, “La Virgen de Guadalupe, Dios Inantzin.”
The nonprofit theater company has put on its rendition of La Virgen de Guadalupe and Juan Diego’s story every December since the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels opened in 2002. Over the last two decades, the free performance has become one of the city’s biggest holiday events.
Founded in 1985, the Latino Theater Company is dedicated to portraying the Latino experience onstage year-round. The organization hosts around seven plays annually, but the holiday show is the only one it performs entirely in Spanish.
“For us, it’s a gift to the city. Spanish-speaking audiences don’t get much. So, during the holidays, it’s so important,” says Latino Theater Company Artistic Director José Luis Valenzuela. “People come every year, with their grandparents and their children. But, this year feels special.”
In light of the ongoing Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids and the amount of fear in L.A.’s Latino communities, Valenzuela, who directs the pageant every year, says now is the time when “we need to be together as a community.”
The Latino Theater Company will have its annual holiday performance, “La Virgen de Guadalupe, Dios Inantzin,” Friday and Saturday at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.
(Photo from Latino Theater Company)
Written by actor and playwright Evelina Fernández, the show is adapted directly from the mid-16th century text the “Nican Mopohua.” It tells the story of Juan Diego, a peasant of Chichimeca descent who was visited several times by the Virgin Mary. In 2002, he was canonized by Pope John Paul II, becoming the first Catholic saint from the Americas.
Over 100 actors, singers, Aztec dancers and local community members will take the stage to perform the miraculous tale through song and dance. De Los caught up with Valenzuela ahead the holiday show, taking place this Friday and Saturday. The event is free and open to the public.
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
There are only a few days until the performances. How are these final rehearsals feeling?
It’s a complicated show, because there are so many people. We have the children, the principals [lead actors], and the choir all rehearsing separately. This is the week when they all come together, and we have to work on coordinating all the sound, the lights, the blocking — everything.
This is all in the beauty of doing theater, though. It all has to be perfect. There are a lot of things that go into the final product, and right now, it’s a lot of moving parts.
You’ve been directing this same pageant for over 20 years. Will there be any new elements this year?
There will be a new song and some bigger dances. We have 30 children [in the play], which is the most we have ever had. They have a little song and dance. We usually have the choir sing it with them, because there weren’t enough children to be able to hear them. But this year, they’re going to do it without the help of the choir. I know it’ll be magical because it’s not only in Spanish, but there’s some Nahuatl in there.
But overall, we need to be together as a community. We’ve been so aggressively attacked and targeted [by recent ICE raids]. We’ve been reminded of who we are and have been told what our place in this society is. This year, the pageant is going to be more meaningful.
Even in my own theater, we brought in 80,000 people last year. This year, we lost 10,000 people because of the fear of gathering and being outside. It’s horrifying for the community to feel that way. What this production does is solidify the idea that we can come together and that we have dreams and desires.
The Latino Theater Company will have its annual holiday performance, “La Virgen de Guadalupe, Dios Inantzin,” this Friday and Saturday at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.
(Photo from Latino Theater Company)
Are you worried that the turnout might not be as big due to the ongoing ICE raids?
I hope that it’s going to be bigger. People know what this is, and they need to be in community. We need to be able to sing together, and see our culture with pride, with humanity, with love and with talent. We are not criminals.
Beyond the professional actors and dancers, this performance includes a bunch of local community members. What do you notice about those who volunteer to be in the show?
They renew their idea of faith, not only their faith in La Virgen, but faith in themselves, in their dignity and their own culture. That’s why they do it. I have people who have done it for all 20 years. We need to see ourselves in this production to see how beautiful and talented we are. We need to see how much the community wants to be together.
Thinking about the story of Juan Diego and La Virgen, why do you think it’s important to revisit it annually?
It’s all about understanding that through perseverance and courage, Juan Diego was able to succeed because he created the miracle. He persisted and never gave up. As I direct the show every year, I learn something new. There are some years, I focus on the doubts Juan Diego had, or his courage or his humility. But as we all change from year to year, there’s always something new to understand from it.
What have you learned from the story this year?
This year, I’ve noticed a need for compassion. The society that we live in right now is so hard. It’s all about blame and hate. But Juan Diego’s story can provide comfort and joy. There’s this idea that he was somehow understood and came out victorious by creating a great miracle.
Is there anything you hope people take away from this community performance?
I want people to understand that our history is amazing. It has been a history of struggle, but we go through our struggles with joy — we sing. That’s the beauty that I want people to walk away with.