Los Angeles – The Latino Theater Company will stage its annual holiday pageant, “La Virgen de Guadalupe, Dios Inantzin,” this Friday and Saturday at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, offering a vibrant cultural experience amidst heightened anxieties for the local Latino community. The performance, a long-standing tradition now entering its 20th year, aims to provide a space for unity and cultural pride.
The production blends professional actors and dancers with a meaningful number of local community volunteers, retelling the story of Juan Diego and La Virgen de Guadalupe. This year’s performance takes on added significance as it unfolds against a backdrop of ongoing ICE raids, prompting organizers to hope for an even larger turnout as a demonstration of community strength.
“People know what this is, and they need to be in community,” said the director. ”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.”
The director emphasized the transformative effect participation has on the community volunteers. “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. We need to see ourselves in this production to see how gorgeous and talented we are.”
revisiting the story annually allows for new interpretations, the director explained. “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.”
This year, the director found a particular resonance in the story’s message of compassion. “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.”
Ultimately, the director hopes audiences will leave with a renewed recognition for their history. ”I want people to understand that our history is amazing. It has been a history of struggle, but we go thru our struggles with joy – we sing. That’s the beauty that I want people to walk away with.”
