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LAS CRUCES - Since 1978, the town of Mesilla has displayed luminarias in the plaza on Christmas Eve, an event that brings in a lot of spectators and traditon that is a diversion for many area families.
"It's definitely a great draw to our little town and a great way to bring in the season and celebrate Christmas as a community," said Mesilla special events coordinator Ashley Echavarria.
Luminarias, which have been in New Mexico since the 15th century, are simple lanterns made up of just a paper bag, sand and a candle and comprise an elegant arrangement in numbers. But you may not realize that long hours and physical labor, including a lot of bending, shoveling and folding, go into creating that essentially New Mexican holiday magic.
That magnificent display of 10,000 to 15,000 luminarias is prepared and set up by Las Cruces High School Showcase Marching Band students and parents, who have been supplying Las Cruces with luminarias for 23 years as their major annual fundraiser. In addition to the Mesilla display, the band also sets up the 5,000 luminarias at the Noche de Luminarias event at NMSU and anywhere from 40,000 to 80,000 luminarias at homes around Las Cruces and Do a Ana County.
"We go everywhere from east of Sonoma Ranch to Picacho Hills, to Do a Ana to almost Mesquite, and every place in between," said David Goehler, an LCHS band parent who has coordinated the fundraiser for the past two years with his wife, Lynette. "It's a lot of work."
Funds
"Every time we leave the band room, it costs quite a bit of money," he said.
More than 95 percent of the band's 130 students participate in the fundraiser, he said, and their incentive to sell and distribute luminarias is to earn money toward their semester assessments. The more volunteer hours put in, the more students earn, due to the manpower and labor involved, he said.
An 'awesome amount of organization'
The fundraiser begins with sales in early November and ends Christmas Eve with the Mesilla display set-up, after a four-day-long "blitz" where crews of parents and students take orders to drop off and set up all over the community.
Though the numbers of luminarias set up on Noche de Luminarias and in Mesilla may seem overwhelming, it's those blitz days that are the craziest, Goehler said. To prepare for it, they began setting up in the LCHS band room on Friday for delivery Saturday through Tuesday.
Goehler said coordinating those four delivery days takes an "awesome amount of organization," involving giant maps in the band room which divide the city into eight quadrants for efficient delivery, a database of sale statistics, and communication between the crews of students and parents swarming the city with trucks filled with bags, sand and candles. While he and the other crews are out distributing, Lynette is back in the band room, coordinating between crews and discussing their progress and their needs, he said.
With 23 years of experience, they seem to have it down to a science. Band parents divide up roles, between driving, setting up and providing breakfast, lunch, hot chocolate and snacks for the crews, Goehler said. One parent is in charge of just folding bags ahead of time - which involves three to four months of folding the 80,000 to 100,000 bags needed, he said.
While Blanco keeps track of the online order forms, a new feature that just started this year, and acknowledges the top sellers in class, he credits the parents for running the operation.
"This fundraiser is really a parent-run fundraiser," Blanco said. "It's a huge feat for all these people to run it ... they have regular jobs just like you and me. It's a joint effort between all of them."
'Candled out'
Several band members said the work can be hard, but also a lot of fun - and they have a new appreciation for luminarias after the physical labor they put in to set them up.
"It's a lot of running around and shoveling," said freshman Michael Cort. "It's a lot more work than you think it is."
For freshman Parker Murphy, it's not hard at first, but the fatigue catches up to him after a while.
"It's pretty tiring at the end," he said.
"You bend down a lot," said sophomore Lauren Thompson. "But it's fun."
For Goehler, luminaria season is like another job - he estimates he puts in 30 to 40 hours per week, in addition to his regular full-time job. Set-up days are long days, beginning at 5:30 or 6 a.m. and running until sundown or later at 7 or 8 p.m., he said.
"By the end of it, I don't want to see another candle for six months. I'm candled out," he said with a laugh. But the hard work has also intensified his appreciation for luminarias.
"I love them. We've been seeing them for years, so it's kind of neat to be involved," he said.
Last year, about 40,000 luminarias were sold, he said, they expected to exceed that number. In the past, they've sold more than 80,000 luminarias in one year, and the goal for this year is high.
"I'm shooting for 60,000," Goehler said.
The fundraiser is a tradition for both band families and consumers - Blanco said there is one family who has continuously had a child in the band for 13 years, and some households that have been purchasing luminarias for almost two decades. He said he is grateful for the support the community has provided by purchasing luminarias, as well as the generosity of local restaurants like Roberto's and Durango Bagel, which have supplied food for hungry, hardworking band students.
"They've been very, very generous," Goehler said.
So if you head down to the Mesilla Plaza on Friday for Christmas Eve festivities (5:30 to 7:30 p.m.), appreciate the labor behind the lights. LCHS band students and parents would probably be grateful.
Freelance writer Sara Cobble can be reached at dancinra@gmail.com
