Fundacion Huellas performs their production "La Morenita," portraying the story of Our Lady of Guadalupe at St. Mary of the Assumption Parish in Lawrence, Dec. 12. Pilot photo/Wes Cipolla
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LAWRENCE -- An armored conquistador works on a laptop in the former St. Mary of the Assumption School gymnasium in Lawrence, surrounded by the myriad knobs and switches of lighting consoles and digital sound mixers. A bishop in ballet slippers stands beside the conquistador, microphone in hand, waiting for his next solo. Dancers in billowing white gowns twirl on the stage above them.
By sitting at the laptop, the conquistador took control of "La Morenita," a touring interpretive-dance mariachi rock musical about St. Juan Diego and the Our Lady of Guadalupe, which came to Lawrence on her feast day, Dec. 12.
"It's a very beloved feast," Father Israel Rodriguez, pastor of St. Mary of the Assumption Parish, told The Pilot, adding: "The Virgin of Guadalupe is not only the patroness of Mexico, but the patroness of all the Americas. So, we are here and we honor her and we ask for her intercession."
"La Morenita" is a production of the Fundacion Huellas, an El Salvador-based charity that organizes food drives for shelters and orphanages and provides healthcare to impoverished areas. The Fundacion started in 1998 as a Catholic theater group.
"After seeing the needs in our country, we began to use the funds we gathered through this theater work of art for the needy people," Fundacion Huellas Administrator Marjorie Blanco told The Pilot. (Blanco gave her statements in Spanish. They were translated to The Pilot by her colleague, Maria Jose Estrada).
Blanco also performed in the show, wearing traditional Mexican attire. Before the conquistador took over, she sat at the laptop, helming the production while holding a costumed toddler in her lap.
"We are really devoted to Our Lady in El Salvador," she said. "We already had plays about Jesus and his life, but we thought we needed this play about Mary."
"La Morenita" premiered in 2005. With the help of spiritual advisors, Fundacion Huellas volunteers wrote the score, lyrics, and dialogue, which put a contemporary twist on traditional Mexican music and dance. This year's U.S. performances began on Dec. 5 and will continue until Dec. 27. After their show in Lawrence, the Fundacion performed for Hispanic communities in Long Island, Maryland, and Washington, D.C.
"They open their hearts because they didn't imagine that we're going to present something like this," Blanco said. "They imagine a social drama or something like it, but this is a new way to evangelize."
She said that Our Lady of Guadalupe's message, "Am I not here, I, who am your Mother?" continue to resonate through the centuries.
"We live in a world of a lot of difficulties right now," she said, adding: "Her words still comfort us."
Fundacion Huellas previously performed a passion play in Lawrence during Holy Week 2024.
"They received us very well," Estrada told The Pilot, adding: "We were really happy to go back again."
"We saw also the work they are doing with the poor and the needy," Father Rodriguez said, "and so everyone was very moved. So we thought that it was something beautiful to share in the mission they are doing, and also for us to be connected to the larger church, not only in the United States but all over the Americas."
St. Mary's is an overwhelmingly Hispanic parish that is one of the largest in the Archdiocese of Boston. An estimated 2,600 people come to Mass every Sunday. On the morning of Dec. 12, parishioners gathered at St. Mary's for a 6 a.m. rosary, followed by Mass at 7 a.m. and breakfast. Masses for the Virgin of Guadalupe continued throughout the day.
"We're blessed to have the people, but we need to continue catechizing and evangelizing, as they are doing," Father Rodriguez said, referring to the Fundacion.