Marcos Loya: Chicana/o Studies Lecturer and Artist Celebrates Hope in “La Posada Magíca”

In addition to preparing final exams and tallying grades in December, lecturer Marcos Loya is performing in “La Posada Mágica,” the longest-running Latino-themed Christmas play in the United States. Loya was commissioned to compose the score for the 14-year-old tradition, which is performed at South Coast Repertory (SCR) in Costa Mesa in front of an exponentially growing audience of Latinos and non-Latinos.

“We’re a Christmas tradition at SCR,” says Loya. “There are people who have returned every year for 14 years. They bring different people all the time and those people bring more people. There are people from my neighborhood who come every year. At every performance, you see men and women weeping. After 14 years, there are parts in the play where I still choke up.”

The plot revolves around the Mexican American tradition of posadas, a Christmas celebration of Joseph and Mary’s search for shelter on Christmas night. The heroine is a young girl, who has become disillusioned due to the death of her young brother. Loya describes the girl’s journey back to finding her faith.

“The whole Christmas thing can get corny in a way,” he notes. “But what’s at the root of this play is a sense of healing. It’s a play about hope, resolve and community. She’s kind of lost in the beginning of the play, she’s not sure she wants to live. Her little brother passes away before Christmas even after she prays and lights the candles. But what happens [in the story] turns her from being a saboteur to being Joan of Arc. It’s through a sense of community that she finds her way. She herself is like an angel and doesn’t even realize it, and by the end of the play, she has healed and has helped everyone.”

In much the same way as the protagonist of “Posada,” Loya was discouraged as a youth and did not know what direction his life would take. As a lecturer in Chicana/o studies at Dominguez Hills and a musician who has performed with a wide range of artists from Plácido Domingo to Madonna, he now strives to mentor students who may be in the same shoes he once stood in.

“I went to college for three weeks,” recalls Loya. “What I try to share with [the students] is wisdom. My experience, both good and bad, has led me to where I’m at right now. I discuss in every class why are they here — in class, on campus, on earth. I tell them to find a career that they can sink their teeth and heart into. I tell them that from meager means, I’m teaching at a university.

“I teach them to start with themselves,” he says. “I tell them, ‘You make yourself strong so that for the next step, you make your family strong. From there, is the community, and then, humanity. You make the world a better place.’”

“La Posada Mágica” continues through Dec. 24. For more information, click here.

- Joanie Harmon