Os Pido Posada ­ – A Hispanic Xmas Opportunity.

Welcome to Posada season! Every year Latino families across the country join their neighbors in recreating the procession of Joseph and Mary as they try to find hospice, or “posada.” The ritual started in sixteenth century when Spaniards brought to the tradition with them as part of their religious overhaul of the New World.

Posadas are supposed to start on the sixteenth day of December and continue for nine consecutive evenings until Christmas Eve. Due to time and financial constraints, however, a modern day posada will usually take place in one evening and rarely has the religious overtones of the past. In fact, Posadas have started to become very popular in Latino communities as an expression of culture, akin to Day of the Dead celebrations that are making a comeback. Cities like San Antonio, Phoenix and Los Angeles all have been having public posada celebrations for years.

The posada procession consists of Joseph, Mary and their followers singing hymns and engaging in the traditional Posada exchange with a variety of homes that they seek shelter from. The lyrics (you can find a copy on www.mexconnect.com) are a creative and entertaining way to teach people, especially children, about the birth of Jesus, charity, and above all the spirit of Christmas. In our colonia, the posada will usually start at one end of the neighborhood and end at the host’s home. This home is where the manger is built and the baby Jesus is finally put in the crib.

My grandmother’s 15-year-old ceramic baby Jesus has been used for the last twenty years during these processions. She had it blessed by a priest ten years ago at San Juan De Los Lagos, cementing his celebrity status during this time of the year. He has two missing fingers and a large gash in his right arm from being dropped by yours truly during one of my stints as Mary, but that never stops my aunts from buying him a new baptismal outfit every year for the posada celebrations. Once the Holy family has found shelter the real fun begins, with food, sweets, piñatas and alcoholic beverages making their way to the open neighborhood party. Mexican hot chocolate and tamales are a main-stay, as are bags of candy for the kids, called aginaldo.

A Retail Bounty

Why should this matter to your business? For one, the number of retail industries that this celebration touches is phenomenal. Clothes for the baby Jesus alone can help retailers stand out during the holiday season. Posada recordings for the processions, along with posada branded goody bags, plates and napkins are also a good promotion for companies like Hallmark or other gift/party/paper manufacturers. Do I need to mention the benefit to food retailers? And then you have the event itself. An excellent grassroots opportunity for a company to sponsor, create or give away to a community, especially those who are looking for better ways to build relationships in niche market places.

As with many Latino holidays, companies must be careful to respectfully integrate these traditions into their marketing mix to avoid insulting the religious origins of such celebrations. However, as Latino traditions become more popular as a means of heritage and culture, there is an opportunity to incorporate some of these tactics as promotional or corporate initiatives that can help you cut through the clutter with authenticity rather than the same old Spanish translations.

Courtesy of Erika Prosper
Director, Account Strategy
Garcia360
San Antonio TX