The Miracle at Tepeyac Brings "Different Kind of Nativity Story" to Su Teatro

Amid the usual holiday cheer and festive productions, Su Teatro's The Miracle at Tepeyac emerges as a compelling outlier in Denver's December theater scene.

Running through Sunday, December 17, the folk drama is penned and directed by the renowned Tony Garcia, executive artistic director at Su Teatro. The historical tale journeys back to 1531, ten years after the Spanish arrival in Tenochtitlan (now Mexico City), where the peasant Juan Diego encounters a vision of the Virgen de Guadalupe, or Saint Mary, the mother of Jesus. That narrative is interlaced with a contemporary storyline that tackles such issues as homelessness and immigration, set in a small southern Colorado town where the local community grapples with an expanding tourist industry's impact. When Garcia originally wrote the play in 1976 as a favor for Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, it only focused on the miracle.

"They always gave us rehearsal space at the church and supported us; we were a pretty ragtag company," Garcia says. "One day the priest said, ‘Now you can pay me back. I want you to write a play about the apparition of the Virgen de Guadalupe to the Indio Juan Diego.'

"Being an agnostic and somebody who grew up a Catholic, I had a lot of reason to dislike it," he adds. "I didn't want to do this, but I owed it to him. He said, ‘I'll tell you what: Give me the miracle, and you could put your other stuff in it.’ And I agreed, so the church paid for it and we did it. I was all of 23, and it was pretty obnoxious."

Garcia recalls being scolded by church ladies for his performance as Juan Diego. "As rehearsal finished up, the church ladies who had been cleaning came up to me and asked, ‘You're playing Juan Diego?’ I told them, 'Yes.' Then they said, ‘You can't talk like that if you want to play Diego.’ They chewed me out pretty good and let me know if I was representing the miracle, I had to carry it out deeper. That stuck with me, but I don't know how much it changed what I was doing with the play. It wasn't until the next time we did the play that it started evolving into something a little bit different."
Su Teatro staged The Miracle at Tepeyac several times after that, including in St. Cajetan's Church on the University of Colorado Denver's campus as part of the St. Cajetan Reunification Project. "The goal was to bring families back onto the campus, so we did it there for a few years. This was also when we introduced modern elements to the script," Garcia notes.

"It was during a time when the world was suffering. We were dealing with issues of immigrants living out on the street, starving and being ostracized, as well as the AIDS epidemic and the anti-gay hysteria that was taking place," he continues. "So, to me, the two things came together when I discovered an ancient book in the library written in Spanish, English and Nahuatl — which is the language of the Aztecs — and it told of the apparition. There were things in it that gave it an authenticity that I didn't have before just hearing the story. People dedicated to this cultish thing didn't work for me, but I strongly resonated with the story's message of hope."

The play's evolution over the years, including the addition of Azteca dance by Grupo Tlaloc Danza Azteca a few years ago, helps keep the performance fresh. Su Teatro veterans and returning cast members David Carrasco, Yolanda Ortega, Jesse Ogás, Jordan Hull, Lorenzo Gonzalez and Angel Mendez-Soto bring depth and authenticity to their roles and help newcomers Giselle Gonzalez and Andrea Rojas understand the play's significance.
"In the ’70s and ’80s, Su Teatro's relationship with Our Lady of Guadalupe Church was extremely relevant," recalls Ortega, who plays the church housekeeper, Señora Maria Galbadón. "I was a member there. I used to sing for one of the masses, and I knew all these characters. … In terms of my relationship with Our Lady Guadalupe, I have a special devotion to her, myself. Whether I stray or not, she’s been a constant in my life, so that relationship is very personal and spiritual. Guadalupe is also the patron of the whole Americas, and her devotion to the Indigenous communities and those who are marginalized remains relevant."

Ortega's character, which is based on a real person who took care of the church, embodies the intersection of faith, devotion and the everyday struggles of marginalized communities. Meanwhile, Carrasco reflects on his experiences as a gay Catholic and the importance of a story in which LGBTQ+ people are welcomed into the church.

"I know what it's like to be a gay Catholic and not be accepted," says Carrasco, who plays Juan Diego. "Being a gay man who lived through the AIDS epidemic, I was shunned from the church and not welcomed, so I understand that part of the story very well, too. I've always enjoyed doing this; I've worked with Su Teatro now for going on nineteen years. I love working with Tony and Mica [Garcia de Benavidez], but getting the Denver audience to come out and see anything that has Spanish language is like pulling teeth. It doesn't happen. I've done theater here in Denver since the early ’80s, and I can count on one hand the number of my theatrical friends from other theaters that will come out to Su Teatro; it just doesn't happen, no matter how much we try."

To expand the play's outreach, Su Teatro's opening-night performance of The Miracle at Tepeyac on December 7 benefited the Birdseed Collective. On its closing night, December 17, the company has prepared a celebration of AARP members to pay tribute to their community elders.

Whether you're actually religious or just religiously devoted to the theater, Garcia's visionary direction, coupled with the heartfelt performances of the cast, elevates this play beyond a historical recount or a seasonal spectacle. In the words of Hull, who plays La Virgen de Guadalupe: "Everyone has seen the story of the Nativity, so come see a different kind of Nativity story."

The Miracle at Tepeyac runs through Sunday, December 17, at Su Teatro, 721 Santa Fe Drive. Get tickets at suteatro.org.