Pastorela
The Kapampángan Christmas wouldn’t be complete without the spectacular singing of the pastorela in Mabalacat, where it is made more dramatic with their violin renditions of Latin and Greek church hymns!
PASTORÉLA • (puhs-toh-REH-luh)
Misa Pastorela, songs sung by the parish choir during the 9-day Simbang Béngi (nightly Christmas masses)
Pastoréla of Mabalacat
The Our Lady of Grace Parish in Mabalacat City is one of the few parishes where they still sing the Misa Pastorela, Latin and Greek church hymns (such as Kyrie, Gloria, Agnus Dei) sung during the 9-day Simbang Béngi (nightly Christmas masses). The practice was brought from Spain and Mexico during colonial times and was adopted by local musicians who made them more spectacular and melodramatic, with an operatic flourish and high drama complete with violins.
Etymology
From Spanish pastorela, “a traditional Mexican theater performance that chronicles the journeys of shepherds and shepherdesses on the way to visit the newborn Jesus, typically performed during Advent”.
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