The Laboratorio de Teatro Campesino e Indigena Community Theater Workshop has announced the dates for its 2015 season, and a pre-season performance on November 23. From January 18 to March 8, every Sunday at 4 p.m., the village of X’ocen near Valladolid in eastern Yucatan hosts an extraordinary portrayal of Mayan traditions. Momentos Sagrados Mayas or Sacred Mayan Moments is brought to life by 270 actors of all ages hailing from seven different villages.
The Laboratorio de Teatro Campesino e Indigena (Theater Workshop for Farmers and Indigenous Groups) is an arts group that has been working with communities throughout Mexico for over 30 years and has received international acclaim for its projects. Its mission is to help preserve ancestral customs, bring them to the public eye through village performances and boost the community economy.
The colorful and moving 90-minute representation of Mayan culture takes place in a natural open-air setting and features scenes from daily life such as farming in the corn fields and making tortillas to the celebration of a saint’s day. There is a ceremony conducted by the hmen or Mayan priest, a procession and the finale is the Vaqueria or village fiesta with music, dance and celebrations. Admission is $150 pesos per person.
If you would like to see this community theater production, you can book a private tour with Thomas More Travel, combining it with a visit to the colonial town of Valladolid, a tour of cenotes in the area, the Mayan sites of Chichen Itza and Ek Balam or even an early-morning excursion to see the birds in the Rio Lagartos Biosphere Reserve.
