When a random, mysterious airplane part falls from the sky and crashes through the roof of their church just two days before Christmas, security guard Gio and local residents Alma, Danny, Rocio and Samuel are thrown into a tizzy. Adding insult to injury, parish priest Edgar  has been called back to Mexico for his mother’s funeral. Who will lead the service, even if that old cynic José the roofer can get the hole fixed in time? Meanwhile Johnny and Alex are both in love with José’s daughter, local zumba instructor and single mom Flor, and Flor’s aging neighbor Diana, who babysits Flor’s son, has been trying for years to bring the old man around.

24th STreet Theatre’s Teatro del Pueblo (“Theater of the Village”) returns in 2014 with the world premiere of La Víspera (The Eve), a warm, funny and unique holiday play about love and sacrifice created from stories shared by members of the local immigrant community during workshops with professional theater artists.

Written by Victor Vazquez, co-directed by Jesús Castaños-Chima and Sayda Trujillo, and supported by The James Irvine Foundation Exploring Engagement Fund, La Víspera gets four performances Dec. 6 through Dec. 14 at 24th Street Theatre in downtown Los Angeles.

All performances are in Spanish with English supertitles, and admission is only 24 cents.

Following each performance, the audience will be invited to join the performers for a Posada (Christmas procession) around the neighborhood before heading back to the theater for homemade tamales, warmponche (punch) and a traditional star-shaped piñata.

La Víspera started out as series of “story circles” in which local residents were invited to share their personal stories.

“I recognized a common theme right away,” says playwright Vazquez, who was commissioned by 24th Street to write a play inspired by local stories. “The pain of families separated by borders, and the joy of the new families they create in another country. I wanted to honor both those realities.”

Appropriate for all ages.