Okay, so the new year in Pastorela work is upon us. Well, as a matter of fact it has been going on since last year. Meeting with a small group of Yakima folks we are now the Pastorela Yakima! And we are in the middle of casting.

Last week end, Oct 31 and Nov 1 we auditioned about twenty people and are well on our way to casting the newly revised script.

What to expect this year? A better story a couple more devils- they just keep multiplying and more music. We have Guillermo Monter on board leading a children's choir as well as two dance groups. So the community arts showcase element of the show should be excellent.

Funding is coming along through the efforts of community fund raisers and the generosity of DXM supporters. All is going well.

Archangel Gabriel-"Come ye to Yakima and celebrate La Pastorela" As you can see the costumes are on and the lights are up so all that is needed is you all to come and celebrate.

It has been an excellent four weeks of rehearsals and we are now getting all thirty six cast members headed in the right direction. Music has been learned and the pan dulce is on order. What more do we need?

Well ahead in the rehearsals

We are now a couple of weeks into the rehearsals for La Pastorela St. Joseph 2008. All is running smooth this year as we are a bit more used to doing the thing. We hope it will be bigger- already the case with an increase in cast to 34 characters and better- better sound better scenic events, better in a word.

We have added the very talented Jen Zeyl to the design team as well as Adam Michard in the Technical Director role. Add them to Mary Kloster on costumers, Diane Baas with lights and Ashley Sparks in direction, Gaston Perez with music, Los Bailadores del Sol dancing again and you are in for a PARTY!

Today we rehearse more with the major devils and their child side kicks. Excellent.

No picture but some great news.

Well, the UnRegistered has been taking all of the DXM attention for the past months. And now it is done! What a fantastic success. All the collaborators on and off stage were terrific, we played to standing room only crowds for all three nights and we loved it. There will be more on this blog soon.

One Year in Yakima.

The home of the best tortillas in Yakima.


Since the last posting, which was far too long ago, the following items have happened-

DXM has celebrated one year in Yakima! It has been a year of happiness, expansion, development and meeting a whole lot of new people. Thank you Yakima for the year together.

We have finished the info collection for the Seattle October show entitled The UnRegistered; A 2008 Election Cabaret. Many interviews about American voting habits and voting futures in Seattle. The playwrights Andrea Allen and David Schmader are writing away on it as I write this.

The planning for the 2008 Pastorela is well under weigh. Director Ashley Sparks is in Yakima for a set of meetings as we head towards making it all bigger and better and easier to hear this year.

We are doing yet another round of community partner events in preparation for La Pastorela. Weekend retreat with young Hispanic adults, a two week drama workshop with women and their children at La Casa Hogar as well as further interviews on the immigrant experience of the white population of Yakima as well. All going to make the Pastorela 2008 that much richer.

Finally, we are now beginning with playwright Bruce Hurlbut to do research on Tieton Washington, location of our 2009 project. Great partners and a very interesting town. We will see what turns up.

And so to Puebla

I was so happy being in Puebla. We stayed at the Royalty, which is right downtown on the main square. Puebla is the most Mexican feeling town I have ever visited in Mexico. That is to say the buildings, the lights, the people all are very alive and the city has such a vibrant feeling about it. Granted we were there on Palm Sunday weekend and so was half of Mexico. And seeing the Mexicans on vacation is another part of my work. It was great to be there at the beginning of Holy Week a time of the year when everyone who can afford to goes home to be with family for the week.


Poblanos have a reputation for being very stuck up on account of the long and glorious history of the place and the beautiful buildings that line the streets. They have some reason for being proud of the latter. The photo above was taken in the small side chapel of the Dominican church. I have never seen so much gilt in my life. We were packed in there with the French of course. Yes, even more French in Puebla than when France actually occupied the city in the 1800's


Prior to the Suppression of the their order, the Jesuits had a huge college and center here. We found the church and the old college is now a state university. The above is from the church. Once again it is hard and wonderful to imagine a country with this deep a history. I am not sure why we all flock to Europe for this feeling when we could head south and feel it with our neighbors.

An excellent trip and important to the work we are doing here as I try to get a better idea of what immigrant folks here leave when the leave. What shape is the longing for return to their homes?

Oaxaca yes, that is how you spell it.

And so we went south. Six hours in a Mexican bus. Now, here we are right up against some misconceptions. Before I started traveling in Mexico the words "Mexican" and "Bus" meant "sitting on the back of an open truck on a crate of chickens." Wrong! Wrong! Ignorant Gringo! The bus system in Mexico is fantastic! Comfortable seats. Videos. Soft Drinks. A small sandwich! This is why I travel south!

We arrived in Oaxaca. The best light in Mexico fills one of the leafiest central squares. Pretty good cathedral even if the light fixtures are a bit iffy.


This town is home to one of the most elaborate Dominican Monasteries in the world. We spent hours wandering from room to room and then out into the open courtyards. The interior is so very excellent. Oaxaca is a university town so lots of life on the streets which we loved.



And of course, the food. And the churches. And the textiles. And the carvings. Whew!. Yes, there was a lot of culture, lots to see. And a lot to think about when I meet folks from Oaxaca. And there are a lot of them here in the USA.