TIME HONORED FOLK DRAMAS VIRTUAL LOS PASTORES PRODUCTION 2020
TAO S N E W S F I L E P H OTO S
By Ka thr y n M . Có r d o va
T
his year, the 39 year of the Los Pasth
tores tradition begun in Taos, the cast of Sangre de Cristo Liturgies and Las Pistoleras, both of Taos, plans to present a virtual, creative and innovative piece that observes the current COVID-19 protocols of social distancing. Director Theresa Córdova, Kathryn Córdova’s daughter, is working with the Southwest studies department of Colorado College in Colorado Springs, Colorado, to produce the annual production despite the pandemic. “We are not giving up, but we are also mindful that our audience must be safe and healthy,” said Córdova. The college offers Los Pastores via the Southwest Studies YouTube channel.
Los Pastores is a traditional folk play about the shepherds’ search for the newborn Christ Child. The drama dates to the Middle Ages as part of a sequence of plays called auto sacramentales or Acts of Faith. Twelve days comprised the complete spiritual cycle. Franciscan priests and Spanish and Mexican settlers brought the plays to New Mexico during Colonial times. Three types of plays illustrated lessons of faith to the Christians and remained an important vehicle for sharing because few people in the area could read at the time. Plays consisted of the following types: mystery plays (about the life of Christ); miracle plays (about wondrous signs and events); and morality plays (about the battle between good and evil). c o n t i n ue s p a g e 1 0
TOP: Jimena Ballesteros photographed in her Miguel Arcangel costume in her family’s church, Lluvias de Gracia in 2014. Jimena played the Archangel in the Los Pastores that was held at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church. TOP LEFT: Lucifer shakes his pitchfork at the shepherds in the annual folk drama Los Pastores. LEFT: Little Lamb Sirena Quezada performs in the traditional Christmastime play Los Pastores at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in 2014.
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TAOS AGLOW 2020
