Originally performed on December 5, 1999, La Transformación is a pastorela, or pastoral play, that was written specifically for Kingsville's annual La Procesión de la Posada y Pastorela. A pastorela is a play in which there is a conflict between good and evil, usually set within a religious context, in which good ultimately triumphs.

La Transformación is set in Mexico in 1520 and deals with the historical realities that occurred when the Spaniards attempted to convert las indigenas to Christianity. Bartolomé, modeled and named after Bartolomé de las Casas, is the good priest, while Juan, modeled and named after Juan Gines de Sepulveda, is the evil priest. Engaging de las Casas in a debate, de Sepulveda argued that the "Indians" were inferior to the Spaniards and that military conquest of them was natural. These attitudes resulted in the Spanish beating "lazy" indigenas and cutting out the tongues of those who refused to learn Spanish.

All this context and background leads to a play about Juan, a priest who, overzealous in his attempts to convert the "Indians" he encounters, strays from the path. Eventually realizing the error of his ways, Juan discovers the true Spirit of Christmas. He experiences La Transformación.

Juan experienced La Transformación by living through it, but you can experience it in a number of ways:

Read the script
View the program
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