This past September, some 400 people died in the series of earthquakes and aftershocks that struck Mexico. Dozens of buildings collapsed, and the damage could be nearly a billion euros. It especially devastated the Mexican states of Oaxaca and Chiapas.
With this in mind, and certainly also missing Christmas back home, a Mexican resident of Leipzig decided to throw a party in December to benefit the earthquakes’ victims.
Thelma Torres is active in the local Mexican community, being admin of the Facebook group Mexicanos en Leipzig. She’s getting together with group members, friends and volunteers to host a Christmas posada in Leipzig on 16 December.
That’s precisely the day the annual posada celebrations traditionally start in Mexico, running for nine evenings until Christmas Eve. They symbolize the length of the journey Mary and Joseph undertook from Nazareth to Bethlehem, or the number of months of Mary’s gestation.
“This will be a Christmas posada of family coexistence for the benefit of the victims of the earthquakes last September in my country,” Thelma told me. “We want to send the proceeds to Oaxaca, Mexico, where many houses and schools were destroyed, fertile land was lost, etc. Unfortunately, the aid until today is not enough.”
The party’s Facebook page lists a number of family-friendly activities.
Some of them, besides keeping the kids busy and entertained, can give them skills to become little helpers in future parties. A piñata workshop will teach children “how to make a piñata and dress it up with colorful wrapping.” In a tortilla workshop, they “can have fun making tortillas with corn dough and can learn the art of putting together a good homemade taco.” And finally, in a dance workshop, besides “learning a Christmas choreography with children’s music in Spanish,” children will craft a “character that will accompany them in the final presentation.”
Parents can also have a nice time by trying traditional Mexican snacks and drinking punch. And perhaps it can be for people without children, too, who might want to feel a bit of a Mexican vibe on a Saturday afternoon in German winter.
Mexikanische Posada
Date: Saturday, 16 December 2017
Time: 11 am-5 pm
Place: Mütterzentrum e.V. Leipzig – Kita “Treffpunkt Linde” – Merseburger Str. 14, 04229 Leipzig
Donations: According to the organizer, “all proceeds from this event will be sent to the victims of the earthquakes last September in Oaxaca, Mexico.”
Registration: Those wanting to attend must write to organizer Thelma Torres at thelmatorresco@hotmail.com to reserve their spot.