A Hilarious Night at Tepotzotlán’s Live Pastorela

Sometimes in Mexico (and in life) you never know what you are going to get. But if you roll with it and forget your disappointment, you might just find something better. Or, at the very least, a very good story that, in time, will become family lore. 

We did just that when we booked a night in Tepotzotlán to see their Pastorela. 

My mother-in-law was coming to see us for a last trip in December. I asked her what she really wanted to do. My in-laws lived in Mexico City when my husband was a pre-teen, so she has seen a lot of Mexico. She said the one thing she loved was a live nativity enactment of Mary and Joseph. It was in the country, maybe in a bull ring, it definitely had a donkey and a camel and human pooper scooper. This is all I had to go on. I asked around, I googled, I asked older Mexicans, I asked ladies at our church. The consensus was she was talking about a Pastorela and the only one I could find was in Tepotzotlán. What a daughter-in-law!!

How to Book

I booked the tickets in September for the last Saturday before Christmas. I booked with Paseos Turisticos Tepotzotlán via WhatsApp +52 55 5494 3965. The Pastorela in 2024 took place from December 16-23. My husband’s work won’t let us drive at night, so we stayed the night at a hotel. I booked the City Express Marriott as it was easy and slept six people. If you take the second level toll highway, it’s a quick half hour drive there and back to Mexico City. 

Tepotzotlán not Tepotzlán

Tepotzotlán is somewhat known in the expat community as the Pueblo Magico tourists “think” they are going to for hiking and boutique hotels. But have gotten it mixed up with Tepotzlán.  Then they are disappointed with Tepotzotlán, which is essentially an extension of CDMX with warehouses and a highway teeming with trucks.

What to do in Tepotzotlán

We were pleasantly surprised and thought it worthy of a day trip. We easily found cheap ($50 pesos/day) parking next to the church. The Museo Nacional del Virreinato is in the Colegio de San Francisco Javier attached to the church. It’s $95 pesos a person. Bring your child’s student IDs if you live in Mexico, so they get in for free. Seniors with Mexican senior ID also get in free. It’s open Tuesday-Sunday, 9 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. Sundays are free for Mexicans and foreigners with Mexican ID.

We spent two hours here and really could have spent half a day. It was founded in 1580 by the Compañia de Jesús. They worked with the indigenous people and learned Otomi and Nahuatl languages, until their expulsion in 1767 by the King of Spain. The museum is full of artifacts, history, and artwork. Floors and many chambers are full with wonderful explanations in Spanish and English. The sanctuary is full of gold details. The side chapels and the novice chapels are so unique and beautiful and some of the best I’ve seen. 

There is also an outdoor market in front of the church. And an indoor artisan market one block away.

Where to Eat

We then walked for lunch to Pulpo Negro. It’s not on the main drag. You have to walk about four blocks from the church. When we walked down the small closed street, in a residential neighborhood, we wondered if we had the right place. A man on the street in a Pulpo Negro uniform asked us if we were looking for Pulpo Negro. We said yes and he radioed ahead and we were met and walked to the restaurant. (They have valet parking if you drive). It reminded us of a Canadian or UK gastro pub. It looks old, but is a new build built-for-purpose, and has an extensive menu. We had pizza, pasta, shrimp tacos and a chapata sandwich. Something for everyone and for those of us who live in Mexico, it was a nice change. Great for kids.

How to get to the Pastorela

After lunch, we went to the hotel to get changed. We knew the Pastorela was outside so we got into all our Canadian winter gear. We went back to the town. There are two parking lots by the Pemex near the church that stay open long enough to go to the pastorela (11 pm or longer).

We bought the tickets via the tourism company and they were $960 pesos per person for the show and supper. In their email they send you to their office to get the tickets. But you actually need to go to the Hostería del Convento de Tepotzotlán. This is where the tickets are and the event. The event starts at 7:30 p.m. We got there at 6:30 pm for a 7:30 pm start, and we were one of the last ones in line. If we did it again, I’d send one person at 5/5:30 to get the tickets and hold a spot in line.

The play takes place outside in the courtyard of the Hostería with bleachers and chair seating. You are greeted with ponche (traditional warm fruit Christmas drink) while you sit and wait. It gets cold, so dress warmly.

What to Expect

So the play was nothing at all like how my mother-in-law remembered it. It began with two narrators rhyming and singing and we quickly realized this was a panto! It was a slapstick, farce filled with men dressed as women, devils, the angel Gabriel (who I thought was a conquistador), and audience participation. 

The story is of a group of peregrines (shepherds) who were wandering and looking for the star. And every time they get close, three devils show up to thwart them. And every time Gabriel rescues them and shows them they are being deceived by the devils. There are horses, donkeys and a little lamb on a lead (no camels!).

In the end we see Mary and Joseph (real people, not statues) on a dias who are lifted up by five men on their shoulders. They are paraded outside the venue, down the cobblestone path to stop in front of the church. Meanwhile there is a full band. As well as mariachis and fireworks throughout.

At the end the whole crowd follows Mary and Joseph outside. So that when we come back into the courtyard, tables and chairs have been set up for an evening meal. There is also a piñata. My favourite part was the 8-year-old with the paper bull on his head full of fireworks. This was lit inside the archway of the courtyard while he ran around. 

We clearly didn’t have a clue what was going on, so by the time we got back there wasn’t one spot left at a table. I would guess there were maybe over 300 people there. Talk about no room at the inn! We had noticed some people didn’t go outside to follow the processions and they sat down to reserve tables.

By this time it was about 9:30 pm and we were all exhausted. However, the waiters very quickly and kindly set up a table for us. But, it was at the base of the stage lights and with the mariachis. The lights were so bright we couldn’t see a thing and the music so loud we were basically part of the band. At this point we just gave up and had a good laugh!!

Supper was pozole soup (delicious), a bun with shredded lettuce, a tamale with a sweet hard tortilla and candies. It also came with café de la olla and champurrado (hot chocolate made with corn, yummy!). Soft drinks and alcohol for an extra cost. 

We were very aware that we were the only tourists there. And now we were at the base of the stage lights with everyone watching us eat (or not eat!) supper.

If you understand Spanish you will get the jokes and what they are saying. In our group of six our Spanish ranges from basic+ to natively fluent.  And none of us  caught all of it. It’s fast and quick and filled with Spanish puns. But we still had a great time and got quite a few of the jokes!

But even with basic Spanish, it was a unique night out. It was so interesting to watch this hilarious show where the whole audience was in on the joke. Audience members were made fun of if they scuttled across the stage to the toilet. One guy was invited up to take a selfie with the cast mid-performance. We were all encouraged to boo or hiss the antics on stage. It was such a farcical show and real entertainment — what a show!

Midway through the show I was feeling so guilty. My mother-in-law wanted to see a calm, reflective journey to Bethlehem. And I took her to a madcap version filled with noise, fireworks, non-stop mariachis and devils! But in the end we had a great laugh and it made for an another zany experience. Sometimes you just never know.