San Martin
– She said so with grace and humility, but Jasmine Jimenez is
clear about why she was selected to play Maria in last week’s
posada at the Boccardo Family Living Center.
San Martin – She said so with grace and humility, but Jasmine Jimenez is clear about why she was selected to play Maria in last week’s posada at the Boccardo Family Living Center.
“I was picked to be Maria because Patricia said I have a beautiful face,” said 10-year-old Jasmine, whose performing career began at home, where she like to sing in front of the family Christmas tree.
Patricia is Patricia Vasquez, a case manager at Boccardo, who helped organize Friday night’s event. About 30 kids participated in the posada, which reenacts the end of Mary and Joseph’s arduous journey to Bethlehem, where they are denied shelter three times before settling in the manger where Mary gave birth to Jesus.
The event is a holy and solemn one, but when the cast is made up of dozens of elementary school-aged kids, it’s also rambunctious and chaotic. The children were reveling in the start of their Christmas vacation. As they waited anxiously for the procession to begin, the flock attending to Mary and Joseph made good use of their staffs to harass each other around the courtyard. Squeals and swordplay were rampant, even though organizers used the posada as a way to teach the kids some behavior and life skills.
Jasmine’s 9-year-old brother, Robert Jimenez, who played Joseph, said that the posada taught him some behavior skills.
“I learned to respect and not to fight with other kids and not take drugs,” he said. “The posada is all about God and respect.”
Posadas are sung performances in which Los Peregrinos, San José y la Virgen MarÃa, travel from house to house, or inns, looking for a bed for the night. Singing of their weariness, they implore residents to let them in, but are driven away from each before one “innkeeper” takes pity on them and allows them to sleep in a manger.
After Jesus is born, the shepherds gather around the manger and sing the holiday songs, “Los Peces en el Rio,” “Los Pastores,” “El Niño del Tambor,” which is similar to “The Little Drummer Boy,” and “Feliz Navidad.”
“I liked singing the songs and holding the baby Jesus,” Jasmine said.
The posada is something that residents of Boccardo understand well. Boccardo provides transitional housing for people trying to get off the streets and emergency housing for farmworkers. Residents are allowed to stay for as long as two years and pay 30 percent of their income in rent.
Jasmine and Robert have lived at the shelter with their parents for eight months. Before that, they lived in Santa Clara. Their father, Hugo DeLeon, works at Christopher Ranch in Gilroy.
Their mother, Hermila Salazar, said that this was her children’s first posada.
Baby Jesus was played by Joseph Gaeta, who will turn 1 on Dec. 30.
His mother, Monique Herrera, said that “the posada was great. It was an honor to have my son there.”
Herrera, who is expecting a new child any day, has lived at Boccardo since August.
“This place gave us the chance to get my family together and get on our feet,” she said. “The things they do for people, they’re like angels. It’s a gift.”
After the posada there were piñatas for the kids, who also played musical chairs, music for the adults and mounds of food for all. Robert said he loved the tamales and the milk rice.
Neighborhood Posada
• When: Thursday, Dec. 23, from 5:30 to 8pm.
• Where: 896 Alder St., two blocks north of Santa Teresa Boulevard, at Thomas Street
