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California's musical heritage is sadly neglected, especially around Christmastime. That is the feeling of ethnomusicologist Elisabeth Waldo.
So for seven years Waldo has celebrated Noche Buena (Christmas Eve) with a festive production that emphasizes California's Southwestern roots. The event is held at Rancho Cordillera del Norte, the eight-acre ranch she moved to in 1950 with her late husband. The ranch is in Northridge at the corner of Wilbur Avenue and Nordhoff Street.
"I wanted to bring an awareness to the Valley of our real heritage," said Waldo, who lived in Latin America for many years. "Most Christmas settings done by churches are traditional European and they don't represent our true roots."
The annual Noche Buena celebration, which will begin at 5:30 p.m. Sunday, is marked by the ringing of ancient Spanish colonial bells from the tower of the New Mission Theatre at the historic estate. The land was a sheep farm on the sprawling old Mission San Fernando some 200 years ago.
It's followed by a procession of performers and the spectators who carry candles around the ranch grounds, decorated with softly glowing luminarias.
A patio buffet of fajitas and other Southwestern specialties follows, before the show moves to the nearby 150-seat theater.
A large wooden...