Nochebuena – Christmas Eve in Mexico

Celebrate the holidays at home with this vibrant evening of music and dance featuring two of L.A.’s most acclaimed performance ensembles: Ballet Folklórico de Los Ángeles and Mariachi Garibaldi de Jaime Cuéllar. Before the performance, join Artistic Director Kareli Montaya and Music Director Jimmy K. Cuéllar for a live Q&A about the performance and holiday traditions.

In Mexico, Christmas is not just a single day, but a whole season of Christmas-re­lated celebrations. Today, the Christmas traditions in Mexico are a blend of indige­nous culture, Spanish heritage, and many other influences. On Nochebuena (Christmas Eve), it is tradition for Mexican families to attend midnight mass before returning home to a late-night feast that includes foods like bacalao, ham, turkey, tamales, and mole, with ponche to drink and lots of music! Gifts are not usually given at this time, but this is changing with increasing cultural influence from the USA. Santa Claus has started coming to Mexico! In this concert, we’ll go through some of the traditions that people in Mexico celebrate during Christmas time, but keep in mind that many of these customs and their celebration vary across region to region. Many of them are also changing with the influence of other cultures (most notably that of the United States).