MECA’s Fiesta Guadalupana Kicks off the Christmas Holidays with Music, Theatre, and Dance

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Multicultural Education and Counseling through the Arts (MECA) will kickoff the holidays with Fiesta Guadalupana on Tuesday, December 12, 8 p.m., 1900 Kane Street. The holiday celebration in honor of Mexico’s Lady of Guadalupe, will feature traditional Mexican music, a theatrical performance and art exhibit by the Children’s Prison Art Project.

“Our Lady of Guadalupe is an important part of Mexican culture and tradition”

The free event forms part of MECA’s Cullen Trust for the Performing Arts Concert Series. Mexican hot chocolate and sweet breads will also be served.

Our Lady of Guadalupe is Mexico's most popular religious icon. Considered by many as a manifestation of the Virgin Mary, her feast day, December 12, commemorates her appearance to Indian St. Juan Diego on the hill of Tepeyac near Mexico City. St. Juan Diego became the first indigenous American saint in the Catholic Church when Pope John Paul II canonized him in 2002.

Feast day celebrations in Mexico end on December 16, which marks the beginning of the Christmas season.

The event will begin with a gathering around the statue of the Virgin by artist Paul Kittelson, and will include music by Mariachi MECA and a performance by MECA’s Ballet Folkorico. The procession will then move to the auditorium for a theatrical performance of the Virgin’s visitation to St. Juan Diego.

“Our Lady of Guadalupe is an important part of Mexican culture and tradition,” says Julio Lopez, choreographer for the Ballet Folklorico and screenplay writer of the Virgin’s visitation play. “It’s as an opportunity for spiritual reflection, as well as a celebration of new things to come. Audience members will see a small, but rich sampling of folk music and indigenous dances as performed throughout Mexico this time of year. It’s the perfect way for friends and family to start Christmas,” says Lopez.

The event will also open an exhibit displaying artwork of the Virgin from the Children’s Prison Arts Project, a non-profit organization that provides a forum for at-risk youth in correctional facilities to use art to express their thoughts and visions in constructive ways. The exhibit will be on display at MECA till the end of the year.

MECA promotes the healthy social, cultural, and academic development of at-risk, inner-city youth through education in the arts.

For more information: 713-802-9370 www.meca-houston.org.