POSA-GASTAR
The posada is a traditional part of Mexican culture in which friends and family come together to celebrate the joys of Christmas. In San Pedro however, these gatherings are less about spreading holiday cheer, and more about thousands of pesos on creating an expensive, extravagant night, all the while promoting rivalry between some groups.
The “old-fashioned” posada, where people come together to eat churros and drink hot chocolate, has become a custom in which Sampetrinos empty their wallets to have a legendary borrachera. Posadas bring together loved ones to celebrate the arrival of Jesus. Singing “En el nombre del cielo” while holding candles and figures of Mary and Joseph, swinging at piñatas, eating tamales, and opening presents make up this tradition that, through the years, has been losing its original purpose in today’s youth.
Contrary to the religious elements that used to define these get-togethers, now “alcohol,” “dates,” “hoodies,” and “spending” is what students Alonso Bringas, Juan Diego Gonzalez, and Roberta Saldaña first thought of when these parties were mentioned. Planning for these events starts as early as October, the creation of a catchy slogan, and the infamous spreadsheets where potential dates are “apartados”. But above all, it requires paying large sums of money.
From the approximate $1.5 million peso overall budget, $609,081 will be used by boys, and $619,070 by girls. The general trend also demonstrates that the younger the student is, the more he or she will spend. 12th grade David Heckmuller explained that “the parties have gotten bigger while our budget has become smaller because through the years we have been able to spend ‘intelligently.’ We have stopped spending money on expensive things, found cheaper contacts, and through trial and error have stopped buying things we find unnecessary.” Still, a fair percentage of the posadas’ money is invested on needless items like hoodies or thermoses, but also on more eccentric additions such as extravagant drinks, ice sculptures, or farm animals.
From the average of 600,000 pesos that boys and girls each spend on their posadas, $165,000 and $103,894 are spent on alcohol respectively. When put together, this amounts to $295,894 pesos, or 19 percent of the entire cost. The individual spending of each posada on liquor varies from groups that choose not to provide drinks, to others who are willing to spend up to $30,000 on beverages alone, and also on the amount of people who will attend. It is important to note that these numbers only include posadas that are made up of students from other schools as well as ASFM students nevertheless, this phenomenon occurs in schools across San Pedro. Nevertheless the costs still range from 16,000 to 100,000 pesos per event.
In the words of 11th grader Balbina Cantú: “It is a lot of money, but I can’t say I’m surprised. We are spoiled teenagers, fresas, that don’t have anything better to do with our money or time.”
But this is not the case with every group, and these parties are something most people look forward to every year, but we need to question the motives behind the event itself. Have we lost the capacity to enjoy ourselves without the need to spend an excessive amount of money?