A rhyming dictionary is Milta Ortiz’s friend.
A very necessary friend.
The playwright penned Borderlands Theater’s annual “A Tucson Pastorela.” And, as tradition dictates, it’s in rhyme.
A sampling — these words are spoken by Satan, who, working with his boss Lucifer, hopes to waylay the shepherds’ journey to Bethlehem to greet the baby Jesus. He is convinced he has what it takes to turn them to the dark side:
“It’s time to go back to the days of old/ We were bold and had them in a stronghold/ We erected statues in the backlash of civil rights/ To remind young and old about the power of whites.”
This is not a breeze to write, even though the story is basically the same each year: The shepherds head out to Bethlehem, get tempted by Lucifer and friends, but overcome the evil to finally pay homage to the newborn babe.
As is also traditional with pastorelas, current events, popular culture and famous contemporary figures are woven into the story.
“Doing all the research to know what’s going on is challenging,” says Ortiz.
And while there is political content, pastorelas are more satire — they are folk plays designed to help you laugh.
Ortiz generally starts writing in September, but she got a late start this year, sitting down to create the script in October.
“That pressure made me think outside of the box,” she says.
The result is one of the favorite pastorela scripts she’s written.
Of course, current events gave her plenty of material to work with.
She started out weaving in Harvey Weinstein. But then the sexual harassment accusations started flying and those accused started falling. “We’ve had to update the script,” she says.
Each year, Lucifer calls on a deadly sin to help him woo the shepherds.
“How relevant is it that lust is the deadly sin this year?” Ortiz says. “And that was before it all came out.”
In addition to sexual harassment’s appearance, Ortiz has woven in climate change, white supremacy, Russia’s Vladimir Putin and fake news.
Ortiz says it’s the funniest pastorela she’s written. And, as always, it is very family friendly.
There are a few other traditions with “A Tucson Pastorela:” All the children in the audience break a piñata at the play’s end, Christmas carols are in both English and Spanish, and the music is provided by Gertie and the T.O. Boyz. This year will be the first without the band’s Eric Garcia, who died on Christmas Eve last year.
Ortiz has a line in the play referring to Garcia. The shepherds are rejoicing at the bright star in the heavens, the one that has helped guide them. A shepherd spots a second star and says, “And look, there’s another one in sight/ In honor of Eric Garcia it shines bright.”
“This pastorela is very much for him,” Ortiz says.
