Victor Alvarez' Multicultural Fest Productions will be hosting their annual Posada & Snow Fantasy event at the area store.

"It's a way to enrich everybody's traditions by learning from other cultures," said Alvarez, the organizer of the event. "Also, it's a great way to introduce the Mexican culture of this tradition to people."

Live music by Tejano performer Jimmy Gonzales and Mexican marimba player Fausto Banos will provide the sound while a snow machine will provide the sights of Christmas at the free event.

The Posada is a religious-themed event recreating the journey of Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem to find a safe place. In Mexico, families and neighbors travel to each other's homes, sing the customary song and culminate the event with the breaking of the piñata.

"The Posada does have religious connotations but it's also about friendship, families and nurturing the culture," said Merche Shannon, PR account supervisor.

In Mexico, this procession is repeated for days. Tonight's event will be a more inclusive celebration, merging the Mexican traditions with other cultures.

"We're re-enacting that with some of the traditional elements but Victor is always trying to do these event so that they're not Mexican, but multicultural," said Shannon. "He wants all cultures to come together and see all of these different things."

While the religious theme of the Posada remains intact for tonight's bilingual presentation, the cultural symbolism is expanded, said Shannon.

"What we're trying to do is bring something that's very traditional to Mexicans but kind of open it up to all kinds of different cultures," she said.

Tonight's Posada will also serve as a way for Hispanics to remember their own traditions during the holiday season, said Fletcher.

"It's a very old tradition dating back to colonial times and it's very firmly established in Mexico, (but) a lot of people kind of forget it when they come to the United States," she said.

Remembering their culture and maintaining their traditions have become a new mindset for newer immigrants and the Posada, said Fletcher, is a way to celebrate that.

"What we're seeing more and more that people are realizing you can maintain a cultural identity in a different country and still be a part of that country," she said. "This is a little of continuing to be a part of what is American without losing all of your heritage and all of your traditions."

"It's very important that the roots of different cultures are kept and maintained," added Alvarez.

Alvarez sees the event as more than a cultural, religious tradition. The family, he said, is the real celebration.

"When crowds behave the way they do when they are carrying their child in their arms and grandma is next to them, that's the reward after all the work."
yorozco@hcnonline.com