La Gran Posada de San Fernando Cathedral
There is a Christmas tradition in San Antonio, that has been going on since the Spanish first settled here in the early 1800’s. That tradition is La Gran Posada and, with the exception of: the clothing styles of the participants, the addition of a hi-tech sound system duct-taped to a golf-cart, and a fake donkey (which I think is older than me) the Posada remains unchanged. The route of the procession through the streets of downtown San Antonio and the songs that are sung continue to link all Posadas with those that have gone before.
Although this tradition has been going on for almost 200 years and I have lived in San Antonio for the last 25, I am ashamed to say that this was my first Posada. Mostly because, like so many others, the pridefulness of youth caused me to reject my heritage and cultural traditions in the name of not being seen as "weird" or “ghetto.” Last night I went to the Posada for the first time because, also like so many others, the hindsight of age has given me an appreciation for/a desire to -- reclaim my “roots.”
As I walked along in the procession with my fellow peregrinos, I was hit full-on by the humanity of the story. My thoughts kept going back to what it must have been like for the Holy Family to have gone so far for so long, only to arrive in an overcrowded city with no rooms for rent. Poor Mary, being pregnant for the first time, probably not exactly sure what to expect, riding on a donkey for that long, and in that condition! If she hadn’t done anything other than make that trip pregnant, Mary would still deserve to be called “blessed amongst women.”
[Tangent Alert: When my wife was seven months pregnant with our second son, I had the brilliant idea of driving to see my mom in California. [I know all of the moms reading this are cursing me under their breath and I would appreciate it if you would not use that type of language in my blog space, thank you -- do you kiss your mothers with those mouths?] So, we piled into our Ford Escort rental car and drove for 20 hours. Did I also mention that I am the stereotypical male when it comes to road trips? I am obsessed with making “good-time” so we only stopped in one hotel on the way. Now that I am older and wiser, I look back and see how miserable and uncomfortable my poor wife was that entire trip. I can’t imagine traveling for even longer and doing it on the back of a donkey! Now that I reflect on it, my wife may deserve to be called “blessed” simply for putting up with me.]
As the procession snaked its way through downtown, we stopped at different locations (Mi Tiera, The Spanish Governor’s House, City Hall, and The County Courthouse) and sang to the people inside asking for a “posada.” This is of course to symbolize the Holy Family’s quest for a place to stay when they arrived in the crowded streets of Bethlehem. At each stop we were turned away (traditionally the procession is symbolically and comically turned away from each stop until it gets to the planned location for the celebration that follows the “posada”) until we got to San Fernando Cathedral.
At the cathedral, the Holy Family was given “posada” and everyone went inside to sing Christmas carols. After a few songs there was musica, pinatas, and hot cocoa in the courtyard. It was a truly moving time and did wonders to improve my “Christmas Spirit” of lack of in my case. As my son and I were walking back to the car, I continued thinking about the Holy Family and their search for a place to sleep.
As I moved on auto-pilot back to my car -- wrapped up in my thoughts -- I noticed a dark lump on the ground up ahead. I moved closer to the lump and noticed that it was a man covered with a horse blanket and huddled near the door of a downtown shop, attempting to seek shelter from the cold.
For so many tonight there still is “no room in the inn.”
Padre en cielo, be with those who do not have “posada” and are hungry. Use me to give comfort to them. En el nombre de su hijo Jesus Cristo, amen. 
P.S. If you would like, there are pictures from La Gran posada on the right.
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