Children race to grab candy from a piñata during the Navidad in La Bajada celebration on Dec. 13, 2025, at the Bataan Center. Photo by Camilo Diaz Jr
Christmas came early to La Bajada in the form of music, games, tacos and community.
Last weekend, the Josephine Torres Cultural and Community Center hosted Navidad in La Bajada at the historic Bataan Center in West Dallas. The Mexican-styleposada Christmascelebration brought the community together amid the center’s restoration, including a new outdoor pavilion waiting on City of Dallas permits to be constructed.
Volunteers prepare goodie bags filled with peanuts, crackers and tangerines to hand out to neighbors during the Navidad in La Bajada celebration. Photo by Camilo Diaz Jr.Community members greet each other during the Navidad in La Bajada event on Dec. 13, 2025, at the Josephine Torres Cultural and Community Center. Photo by Camilo Diaz Jr.University of Texas at Arlington students play life size Tetris on the Bataan basketball court. The students designed the pavilion that will be constructed at the center, under the guidance of their professor, Julia Lindgren. Photo by Camilo Diaz Jr.One of the activities at Navidad in La Bajada was Christmas cookie decoration. Photo by Camilo Diaz Jr.Fatima Martinez, right, serves a plate of tacos, rice and beans from Ramirez Tacos, a West Dallas company hired by Josephine Torres Cultural and Community Center for Navidad en La Bajada. Photo by Camilo Diaz Jr.At their pop-up newsroom, Dallas Free Press team members Jennie Trejo, Jeffrey Ruiz and David Silva Ramirez share information about the nonprofit newsroom with community members. Photo by Camilo Diaz Jr.A skit by the group Union por la Dignidad Latina about a family Christmas dinner interrupted by ICE explored themes dealing with Mexican-American communities and immigration. Photo by Camilo Diaz Jr.Children line up to hit a piñata at the Navidad in La Bajada celebration. Photo by Camilo Diaz Jr.Residents and volunteers mingle during the Navidad in La Bajada celebration on Dec. 13, 2025, at the Josephine Torres Cultural and Community Center at Bataan. Community members shared their ties with the Bataan Center over the decades, and volunteers helping to revitalize the center also were in attendance. The center is named for the late Josephine Torres, a prominent community leader in West Dallas. Photo by Camilo Diaz Jr.
