Latino Theater Group to Give Nativity Play

Teatro Chirmol cast

Teatro Chirmol, a bilingual theater group at Eastern Mennonite University, will present a Christmas play, "La Pastorela," at 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 10-11, in the mainstage theater of the University Commons.

The cast includes local Latino high school students, EMU students and bilingual community members.

"La Pastorela" is a traditional Mexican Christmas nativity play that tells the story of a group of shepherds who are visited by angels. The angels tell the shepherds about the birth of the Christ Child and ask them to take the journey to Bethlehem. They embark on their journey, but on the way they face many struggles and obstacles to achieving their goal.

Teatro Chirmol, in its third year, "seeks to give authentic voice to the local Latino community, integrate Latino youth with university students and provide community education about the assets and challenges of living biculturally in the Shenandoah Valley," according to play directors Silvia Romero and Marcos Quintana.

Tickets are $4 for adults and $2 for students and children at the door.