Womyn

of the

Americas

a community teatro curriculum

edited by georgina cecilia pérez Founder & Director of Tu Libro

in collaboration with Wise Latinas International

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Table of Contents

About Wise Latinas 3

About Tu Libro 3

Background, Purpose, & Goal 4

Reviews 5

List of Characters 6

About the “Yo Soy” Teatro Mujeres 10

Character Dialogue 11

Critical / Multicultural / Antiracist Critical Reflection & Transforming Realities

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Musical Resources

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Yo Soy Song by Piero 19

Character Resources 20

Teatro Resources 25

Más Mujeres 26

Libros 27

“Womyn of the Americas” Coloring Book 29

About the Artist 46

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About Wise Latinas International Mission

Wise Latina International’s mission is to educate

and empower Latinas and women of all walks of

life to overcome barriers, to be self-reliant to

become leaders and to act as agents of change

in their communities through arts and

entertainment.

Vision

Wise Latina International’s vision is to advocate and strive towards equality for

Latinas and women in all aspects of life thereby acquiring parity, power and

influence in education, health care, civil rights, social and economic justice. Thus,

building a strong sisterhood and presence in all areas of government,

community and family.

Liz Chavez, President & Founder of Wise Latinas International

http://wiselatinainternational.org/

About Tu Libro Tu Libro is a culturally and historically responsive literacy campaign which provides books to and builds libraries for children and families in barrio and colonia communities. Tu Libro believes that education is a fundamental human right and literacy is the key to a lifetime of learning, building beautiful community relationships, and transforming realities. Literacy is crucial in the fight to reduce infant mortality rates, achieve gender equality, ensure sustainable community economies, peace and social justice. Literacy enables families to overcome poverty, gain health care access, accomplish goals and build bolder dreams.

georgina cecilia perez, Founder & Director of Tu Libro www.TuLibro915.com

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Background

Teatro is the voice of the disenfranchised and marginalized, acting out the need for economic,

political, and social change. In teatro, the audience becomes part of rather than spectators of the

“play.” The teatro should bring the audience not only into the portrayal of the characters, but also

bring them to boisterous laughter, painful tears, and most importantly – to share their own

experiences.

The spirit of teatro is in each of us – Chicanas, Latinas, Tejanas, Americanas.

The performances of each of the characters will reveal the human essence of our barrios, colonias,

pueblos, campos, escuelas, hogares… Our joys, suffering, disappointments, aspirations – and those

of our gente.

Purpose

Teatro is an empowering act providing information via

entertainment and the opportunity of understanding self

and others. It is a source of courage, dignity, kindness,

generosity, and hope – to act as a more capable protagonist

of one’s own life. Each of these do not happen

independently, but simultaneously.

As a collective, we should experience feelings and emotions

based on our own lives, our own experiences in

circumstances related to / by similarity or opposition to the

text. We should each validate (or question, expand) our

experience with the knowledge being shared… leading us to

our own individual critical reflection (we see ourselves in the

material, enabling us to become active participants in our

learning experiences and communities).

Goal

Tell your own story.

They thought they buried us…

they didn’t realize we are seeds.

~ Mexican Proverb

by georgina cecilia pérez Founder & Director of Tu Libro

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Reviews

“Womyn of the Americas is a treasure of a book, illuminating the lives, dreams, and activism of women across time and across the Americas. Using teatro as “an empowering act,” georgina cecilia pérez, and the other contributors to this book reveal a profound history of mujeres who, although often absent from mainstream books, changed the world. As importantly, Womyn of the Americas asks us to look in the mirror and tell our own stories. By doing so, they fulfil one of the great responsibilities of the teacher according to ancestral Mexican thought—they serve our community as a tetezcahuiani, the one who places a mirror in front her student’s faces, planting the seed of conciencia, and encouraging us to truly see ourselves. By making connections between the past and the present, and by allowing us to envision a more just future, Womyn of the Americas brings us hope and inspiration while allowing us to experience the lives of women who came before us.”

Yolanda Chávez Leyva, Ph.D. Associate Professor of History

The University of Texas at El Paso

"I didn’t find out about the lives of extraordinary women, like Teresa Urrea and Carmelita Torres, until I was an adult and doing research for my book about the history of the U.S.-Mexico border. I had never heard about their fascinating histories before, even though they had lived in the same place where I was raised. I remember feeling surprised and angry that nobody had ever taught me anything about them in school. Why hadn’t they? Their stories are important and extremely relevant not only to fronterizas and fronterizos—those of us who live on borders and who travel back and forth between all kinds of realities—but to people from all over the world. Now, thanks to Womyn of the Americas, their personal and collective stories will be taught in school. Finally."

David Dorado Romo Author of Ringside Seat to A Revolution

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List of Characters

Mujer Mexica In the 14th century, the Mexicas (renamed ‘Aztecs’ by the Spaniard colonizers) founded the great city of Tenochitlan, now Mexico City. Women are central to many of their creation stories. Mexicas believe that the life-giving power of the universe is a duality, Omecihuatl and Ometecuhtli.

La Malinche, Malintzin (1496-1529) Malintzin Tenepal, a woman from a Nahuatl village in Veracruz, held captive upon the arrival of the conquistadores and impregnated by Hernán Cortéz, shaped the a narrative about the Mother of Mestizos, who we know today as, La Malinche. Not only did Malintzin witness the savagery of the colonizers destroy Mexico City and the waters of Texcoco turn red with the blood of her people, but much later saw her only son by Cortez, Martín, strangled by the Spanish Inquisition… an area of 18 million Mexicans massacred to fewer than one million.

Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz (1648-1695) Born: Juana Ramírez de Abaje She broke every sexist rule laid down by Imperial Spain and the Church. She was a philosopher, poet, playwright, mathematician and scientist. She left behind many biting poems addressed to “foolish men who accused women without reason.”

Lucy González Parsons (1853-1942) Born in Texas of Black, Native Mexican American parents, she was a warrior who lead a march of 80,000 workers in 1886 on behalf of workers’ rights and against police brutality. She died in 1942; despite being blind, she never stopped fighting against oppression.

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Teresita Urrea (1873-1906) Born of a fifteen-year-old Tehuecan Indian girl and wealthy rancher, she was a healer gifted with the ability to cure people. Known for denouncing exploitation of the poor by the government and church she lived in El Paso for some time, her home in the Segundo Barrio is now a historical landmark.

Herlinda Wong Chew (1893-1939) Known as Honorary Chinese Consul of El Paso, Herlinda overcame sexism, tradition, the Chinese Exclusionary Act and Mexican Revolution to help people as advocate and leader. She was born of Aztec and Chinese parents, grew up speaking Spanish, Chinese, French and English.

Graciela Olmos (1895-1962) “La Bandida” fought alongside Francisco Villa like many women who were fearless and in the trenches. Nurses, messengers, soldiers, these women made the revolution possible. A composer, she used music to chronicle the revolution and as an outlet for the mind/soul.

Gabriela Mistral (1889-1957) Born: Lucila de Maria del Perpetuo Socorro Gody Alcayaga A Chilean poet, the first Latina to win the Literature Nobel Prize, 1945. An educator, diplomat and feminist with a deep commitment to the poor, particularly children. Gabriela is considered one of the greatest humanistic voices of our time. “Desolaciόn” is one of her major works.

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Carmelita Torres (1900-???) “The Bath Riots” A 17 year-old Mexican maid who refused the ‘disinfection baths’ on the Santa Fe Bridge, Juárez/El Paso, 1917. Over 127,000 Mexicans were subjected to El Paso Mayor, Tom Lea’s, Disinfection Campaign that year alone. The disinfections continued through the late 1950’s. Despite several articles written about Carmelita Torres and the “Bath Riots,” a photograph of Carmelita Torres has yet to be discovered. See Character Resources

Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) A Mexican surrealist and artist; she painted her own reality. “Unos Cuantos Piquetitos,” relates the wounds and bruises of her life providing a mirrored imagery of her warrior spirit. Surviving a tragic accident that left her crippled she was a fighter that loved life. Viva la Vida!

Emma Tenayuca (1916-1999) La Pasionaria, born in San Antonio, known for her leadership in the San Antonio Pecan Shellers Strike of 1938; the first major victory in the Chicano Civil Rights Movement. Her activism focused on livable wages, brutality by the US border patrol, education, and women’s rights. "I never thought in terms of fear. I thought in terms of justice."

Dolores Huerta (1930-present) Born: Dolores Clara Fernandez Huerta Founded the United Farm Workers Union alongside Cesar Chavez in 1962. A fearless, committed organizer, advocating for social justice for women, children and the under-served. She continues to develop leadership in under-represented communities through her Foundation.

Gloria Anzaldua (1942-2004) A self-described "Chicana dyke-feminist, Tejana Patlache poet, writer, and cultural theorist," a guiding force in the Chican@ Movement and lesbian/queer theory. She wove together languages, prose, poetry, autobiography, theory, and experimental writing to explore issues of identity, sexuality, immigration, and more.

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Comandanta Ramona (1959-2006) Zapatista leader from Chiapas who advocated for the rights of Indigenous women and children in Mexico through the passing of the Ley Revolucionaria de la Mujer, the Revolutionary Law for Women. She advocated for clinics, access to reproductive care, and social justice.

La Llorona Cihuacoalt, an indigenous Meso-American goddess re-named, "La Llorona", known to the pre-colonized world as the entity who comforted mourning mothers and guided children to the next world. The demented version that is known in most Mexican/Latin American families is "about a woman who killed her children and continues to haunt by rivers with the threat of abducting them.

Sonia Sotomayor (1954-present) First Latina Supreme Court Justice of the United State of America. A Nuyorican, born in New York City in 1954, she grew up in the projects in the south Bronx. She graduated from Princeton and then from Yale with a law degree. When interviewed by U.S. Senators during her nomination for Supreme Court Justice, she stated “I would hope that a wise Latina with the richness of my experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life."

Me Write Your Story

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Mujer Mexica Music - the sound of the conch

Soy Mujer Mexica. Soy el humo del copal que vive en tu memoria, levanto flores con mis canciones. El pulso de la tierra, dirige mi danza. Ofrendo con los ciclos de la luna, la sangre sagrada de mi matríz. I live on in your history. Soy la que vive en tu historia, esa mujer que exije que regreses a la tierra. Nunca te olvides de mi. Nevero forget me. Cihuatl, Mujer. Somos creadoras, sabias, talentosas, y ponderosas. Somos Mujeres Mexicas.

Dialogue by Sandra Iturbe

La Malinche, (1496-1529)

Yo soy la Malinche. My people called me Malintzin Tenepal, the Spaniards knew me as Doña Marina. I came to be known as Malinche and soon that came to mean traitor. Me convertí en la Malinche, nombre que significa hoy traidora. They called me Chingada ..Chingada! Of noble ancestry, I was sold into slavery by MY ROYAL FAMILY so my brother could get MY inheritance. The omens began, a god, a new civilization…the downfall of our empire. And then he came…my Hernán Cortéz to share his civilization. I began to dream…I saw…I acted. I saw our world, and his and then another. Yes, I helped you Hernán against the Emperor Moctezuma Xocoyotzin himself! I was interpreter, advisor and lover. But no one would have it, me at your level? So they claimed I was raped, used, and history would call me Chingada…but traitor I was not. I saw a dream and I reached it...another world…La Raza… LA RAAAAA ZAAAAA !

Interpretation of Carmen Tafolla’s “La Malinche”

Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, (1648-1695)

“Hombres necios que acusais a la mujer sin razόn, sin ver que sois la ocasiόn de lo mismo que culpáis. Yo Soy Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz… I am a writer, philosopher, mathematician and scientist. I chose to become a nun so that I could continue to study as I wished. I broke every sexist rule set by Imperial Spain and the Church. I was strong and independent way before my time…my courage and perseverance led me to create an array of writings, and biting poems…many giving a voice to a woman’s right to education. “You stubborn men, you men-so very adept at wrongly faulting womankind, not seeing you are alone to blame for faults you plant in woman’s mind.” I left behind many eloquent answers to many things I questioned… Dejé respuestas a tantas injusticias que cuestioné …but above all I left inspiration for all women. Inspiration transcending all time.

Dialogue by Jen Lucero

Character Dialogue

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Lucy Parsons, (1853-1942)

Negra, Indigena, Mexicana. Born a slave on a plantation. Yo So Lucy Parsons. My origins are blanketed in mystery. Most accounts tell that I was born to slave parents in Texas, 1853. Birth certificates for us were more like stock certificates for slave owners in the Old South. Soon, slavery evolved into a modern-day servitude called CAPITALISM. I dedicated my life to end this system which only serves a few, maintaining a power structure for the dominating class… while the working class, the pillars of this nation, live in squalor. United, we can take hold of the means of production. We must Organize! Act! Strike! Huelga! Together, as a collective, we have the power to tear down the system and put an end to oppression… by any means necessary. I refused to assume the role of homemaker. I was arrested many times, but I was NEVER silenced. I never stopped fighting for the rights of the poor and the power of the masses. After my death, my library of over 1500 books and all of my writings were confiscated by the FBI - to silence my voice and to erase me from history. Yo soy Lucia Eldine Gonzalez Parsons and my legacy is more dangerous than a thousand rioters.

Dialogue by Celia Aguilar

Teresita Urrea, (1873-1906)

They call me the Saint of Cabora…Yo soy Teresita Urrea la Santa de Cabora, luz de la revolucion. My people proclaimed me a saint because I… who have spoken to God, who has risen from the dead, and was reborn a holy woman, was blessed with the great knowledge of our grandmothers… spiritual powers that allowed me to heal my people. Mi Corazon, quebrado en pedazos, enraged by the massacre of my people in Tomochic, lives to serve as a voice and hope for the poor. My name resonates across the mountains of Chihuahua against those who try to dictate and overpower us, and when I plant my feet upon the ground, no man can move me! It was my name that ignited the first sparks in the fire that would rage against the power of Porfirio Diaz. I am el espiritu, punta de la historia...soy belleza…yes I am a healer, mother and warrior. I am Teresita Urrea, la Santa de Cabora, muse of the revolution and heir of the Yaquis. Soy herredera de los Yaquis.

Dialogue by Tiffany Deveze

Herlinda Wong Chew, (1893-1939)

I am the jade of two continents: heir of the Aztecs. Yo Soy Herlinda Wong Chew. China’s grandiosity runs through my blood… corre en mi sangre la grandeza de China. I speak four languages and protect my people against murder and eviction… para que no nos expulsen de América. Soy la Nueva Meztiza Mestiza…an entrepreneur… attorney with no formal education. An immigrant… I navigate three cultures. Conozco al dedillo la Ley de Exclusiόn de los Chinos and I know how to circumvent it so America will open its doors to my kin. I’ve overcome tradition, sexism, the Chinese Exclusionary Act and the Mexican Revolution to help people as advocate and leader. Escuchen… Listen: those are the sounds of the revolution. Federales y alzados buscan a los chinos para desquitarse de sus propias penas. No se asusten, don’t despair…I will guide you and take you to safety.

Dialogue by Dr. Selfa Chew

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Soldadera, Graciela Olmos, (1895-1962)

Singing: “Y si Adelita se fuera con otro, la seguiría por tierra y por mar. Si por mar en un buque de Guerra, si por tierra en un tren militar…” Soy soldadera, a soldier during the Mexican Revolution. I am Graciela Olmos. A composer...cantaba y tocaba con mi guitara para cantarle a mi pueblo sobre lo que veía y vivía…I sang to my people about what I saw and lived through every day. I wrote popular songs. Compuse canciones que artistas como Javier Solís y los tradicionales Tríos popularizaran como esta: Singing: “Ay Corazόn me lastima tu latir, “Corazόn por qué te empeñas…en hacerme sufrir” Yo anduve con el General Francisco Villa and I wrote this song: El Siete Leguas para recordar a su caballo que un día le salvό la vida al sacarlo del peligro My guitar was my weapon…Con ella le cantaba a la vida, al amor, y a la muerte. Que Viva La Revoluciόn…Long Live the Revolution! Que Viva!

Dialogue by Lucia Carmona

Gabriela Mistral,

(1889-1957)

“Piececitos de niño, dos joyitas sufrientes, pasan sin veros las gentes!... I am known as a great humanitarian… Yo soy Gabriela Mistral. Ante el mundo conocida como la gran humanitaria…enbajadora, Ambassador of Chile. A poet, diplomat, educator and feminist, I was the first Latin American to be awarded the Nobel Prize for my beloved craft… literatura. I am a world advocate and protector of children…jugaba a ser maestra desde niña, para inspirar a los niños de todo el mundo a expresar lo que pensaban y alcanzar sus sueños…. ayudé a transformar la educacíon en México …and in 1946 at the urging of the United Nations mi llamado para que el mundo ayudara a los niños en todo el mundo…my appeal to help children everywhere…became what we know as UNICEF today... organizaciόn que enfatiza los derechos de los niños. En “Su Nombre Es Hoy” escribí “We are guilty of many errors and many faults, but our worst crime is abandoning the children, reflecting the fountain of life.” Soy Gabriela Mistral.

Dialogue by Elena Garza

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Carmelita Torres, (1900-?)

I was 17 the morning I refused the bath! The damned inspections and disinfections! Soy Carmelita Torres, a maid - and like many mujeres, I crossed the border every day to clean the homes of white people in El Paso. On January 28, 1917, border crossers were now “illegals.” For some time, we had been forced to strip naked because they say we are dirty and spread diseases; second-class humans in need of cleansing. The baths started with gasoline, kerosene, but quickly became DDT and Zyklon-B. Our clothes were sterilized with hot steam, our shoes melted to our dresses, our garments were drenched with hydrogen cyanide. While we were naked, inspectors would photograph us and sell the pictures to El Paso cantinas. Our hairy parts were checked for lice, and when inspectors decided, we were shaved head to toe, then drenched in kerosene. The baths were Mayor Tom Lea’s Disinfection Campaign, praised by Hitler in 1924; adopted at Auschwitz in 1930. There are reports that I was arrested on this day. The El Paso Morning Times described me as an auburn-haired Amazon that lead a feminine outbreak… but there are no pictures of me and I am not in history textbooks. And just like the baths intended - I was wiped out, erased, and disappeared. But I stood against injustice this day. Thousands of maids, field workers and demonstrators joined me at the Santa Fe Bridge, the “Bath Riots. My actions inspired others to stand up… and that ordinary day we were all extraordinary. I was 17.

Dialogue by georgina cecilia pérez, Founder & Director of Tu Libro

Frida Kahlo, (1907-1954)

Music – Paloma Negra Pintora, revolucionaria, rebelde. I was born with a revolution. Yo soy… I am Frida Kahlo. People should know. It was in that fire that I was born… led by the impulse of the revolution until I saw the light. Que lo sepan! Fue en ese fuego donde nací, llevada por el impulso de la revuelta hasta el momento de ver la luz. As a little girl I witnessed with my own eyes Zapata’s peasants battle against the Carrancistas. The light burned. It enveloped me for the rest of my life. As an adult I was a flame of fire. I am truly the daughter of a revolution there is no doubt about that, de eso no hay duda, and of the ancient god of fire that my ancestors revered. I was born in 1910. It was summer. Era verano. Soon Emilano Zapata, the Great Insurgent, would rise in the South. Yo tuve esa suerte…I had that luck: 1910 was my year. Que Viva la Reforma! Que Viva el Pueblo!

Dialogue by Frida Kahlo

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Emma Tenayuca,

(1916-1999)

When I was 16, I challenged injustice. No es justo! Yo soy, Emma Tenayuca. When I was 21, I organized one of the largest labor strikes in U.S. history, The San Antonio Pecan Sheller’s Strike, una huelga that was over 12,000 workers strong, most of them Mexicanas, Tejanas. Grower’s wanted to cut our wages in half. La Huelga lasted over 3 months. We were sprayed with pesticides, tear gas, and were brutalized by local police… and still La Huelga endured hasta que ganábamos!!! Our wages were increased and this LUCHA was one of the first significant victories in the Mexican American struggle for political and economic equality. When I was 23, I spoke at San Antonio’s Municipal Auditorium, calling on ALL mujeres to stand up for their rights to effective education, to vote in all elections, and demand fair wages! The KKK rioted and burned San Antonio’s mayor in effigy. Still today, this is the largest riot in San Antonio’s history. Soon after, I was forced to leave my home. I relocated in the Bay Area of San Francisco, and became a public school teacher. Nunca deje de luchar por me gente! Por la justicia! “It’s the women who have led, and I feel very strongly that if ever this world is to be civilized, it will be because of the work of women.” Me llaman La Pasionaria. Activista. Maestra. I never thought in terms of fear. I thought in terms of justice. Dialogue by Kate Pritchard & georgina cecilia pérez, Founder & Director of Tu Libro

Dolores Huerta, (1930-present)

Singing – “Unidos en la lucha! No no nos moverán. Unidos e la lucha! No nos moverán, y el que no quiera que haga la prueba… No nos moverán…” No Nos Moverán! Chicana labor and civil rights leader. Farmworker advocate, teacher, activist mother and grandmother. Yo Soy Dolores Huerta. Co-founder of the United Farmworkers of America, fundamos la Union de Trabajadores Agricolas and the National Farm Workers Association along-side Cesar Chavez. We organized boycotts demanding farmworkers’ rights to fair labor practices. Huelga! Huelga! He dedicado mi vida…I have dedicated my life to organizing and creating communities of conscience by training future leaders in low-income and underrepresented communities. Si Se Puede! Seguro que Si! I am the president of the Dolores Huerta Foundation, a veterana en la Causa for social justice! Que Viva la Uniόn! Que Viva!

Dialogue by Gina Nuñez, PhD

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Gloria Anzaldua,

(1942-2004)

For years I’ve been writing this poem. I am Gloria Anzaldúa… yo soy teorista, profesora, poeta, escritora, a veces ni puedo terminar un poema. Writing is like looking into a mirror, y tengo miedo que no me va a gustar lo que veo en el espejo. No te creas, I am strong. Ever since I was a young woman, I would say, “si mama, estoy segura de lo que quiero en la vida. She’d respond, “y Gloria, cuando te casas? Se te va pasar el tren.” Y yo le decia, “Pos, si me caso, no va ser con un hombre.” Si soy hija de la Chingada. I have always been her daughter. Hija terca… rebelde, I left home pero nunca me olvidé quién soy. Soy una herida abierta, a battlefield, con lengua de viboras, skin of cracked desert, and hair of barbed wire. Soy Tejana, Chicana. Mestiza, a borderland. I must face the beast, plunge in and look in the mirror. For years I have been writing this poem. Yo soy, I am Gloria.

Dialogue by Andrea Alejandra Gordillo Marquina

Comandanta Ramona,

(1959-2006)

Yo Soy Comandante Ramona, Zapatista. In Chiapas we raised our voices in protest, and the world heard. As women we came together and wrote the revolutionary law DE LA MUJER!! We have the right to choose what happens to our bodies, how many children we want to have, and who we want to spend our lives with. Our women are dying every day in dirty, disease-ridden clinics. We need healthcare! We need clean clinics! It is a shame that we’ve lost so many women and babies who die during childbirth. My kidneys failed and I needed surgery. There were no clinics for me. There are no clinics for my people. We women refuse to suffer violence and mistreatment .We organize so all women know their rights and defend themselves. Our Lucha has been for justice. JUSTICIA! While we remain with our arms crossed, our people will have a free nation. The pain and struggle of our lives was not in vain. Que Viva La Mujer!!

Dialogue by Sofia C. Pérez

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La Llorona Cihuacoatl

(cee wah CO otl)

Yo soy La Llorona, pero prefiero que me llamen La Gritona. I cry and moan because words are not yet born to describe the massacres on the land I roam. Haunting the borderlands, I stand for more than the story shows. I cry for people who struggled to find themselves, for people without a home. Hollering in the winds of violence, I pray, pray, pray for peace. I cry for women who die in silence, their nameless bodies listed as deceased. Blame, shame, my ‘damned soul!- a la Chingada it’s time to step away from that old role…I place an offering upon our sacred altar, A Medicine Bundle, rue, sage, water and ash, smudging the air with the past; Singing a forbidden song. Doesn’t make me wrong. I offer a way to go back home, a way to dictate where we roam, a way to break the chains, a way to be set free from this male dominated destiny. I cry for women who bear children they cannot feed but die trying; I shed the tears that fill the rivers before dying, Nourishing the farms, barren wastelands, It feels like the whole world is dying in my cold wet hands. My nightly wails twirl all sides of the moon and then you hear me weeping in the corner of your room. But, I am not always what I seem. I am a goddess, Cihuacoatl. I am a Ceremony. I carry your children to the next world, and comfort mourning mothers. Colonization Un-Civilized me. But, I continue to cry for my children…And I will always scream against injustice.

Dialogue by Cemelli De Aztlan

Sonia Sotomayor, (1954-present)

I was born in New York City, 1954 – a Nuyorican girl from the south Bronx projects. I am Sonia Sotomayor, y tranquila nunca fui. I worked weekends and summers to help my mother after my father died. I applied to Princeton University. My first history essay was a disaster. “She can’t even write an essay!” someone said. I wondered if I should go back home, but I couldn’t let my mother down. I went back to my books, learned grammar, took writing classes, spent long hours in the library and taught myself to write. I joined Yale University to study law and became the editor of the Yale Law Journal. I worked for the district attorney’s office in Manhattan, joined a law firm, became a federal judge, and was promoted to judge in the Second Circuit. Critiqued for being a woman, Latina, and Catholic. I was ”too liberal.” In 2009, President Obama announced my candidacy for the Supreme Court of the United States. He said that I was a “woman that inspires others” who had “an extraordinary trajectory.” The critiques started again. When asked why I would be a good Supreme Court Judge, I said, “because I am a Wise Latina.” They laughed and mocked me when I said that “I would hope that a wise Latina with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life." On the 6th of August 2009, the U.S. Senate voted and I, as American as a mango pie, became the first Latina elected judge to the Supreme Court of the United State of America. Now, when I talk to students I tell them “I have achieved a lot and you can do it too, you just have to work hard for it.”

Monologue adopted from: Sonia Sotomayor: Jueza de la Corte Suprema por Carmen T. Bernier-Grand . 2010 and Sonia Sotomayor: My Beloved World 2014.

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What do I know now that will empower me?

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In which ways do I understand my reality better?

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How can I act to transform my inner self?

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How can I act to transform my social reality?

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What can I do in a situation like the one in the text?

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In which ways will I speak/act differently now?

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How can I improve my life/conditions/relations?

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Critical / Multicultural / Antiracist

Critical Reflection & Transforming Realities

by georgina cecilia pérez Founder & Director of Tu Libro

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Quiquizoani (kee kee ZO anee)

Conch Shell Trumpeter

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ih49EH1KA8U

“No Nos Moveran” performed by Joan Baez

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYXV0XqqEdM

Dolores Huerta and unified women at an open-air mass for striking farm workers

during the Grape Strike, Delano California, 1966.

“Paloma Negra” performed by Chavela Vargas

(Frida soundtrack)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n72_PEQK2IU

Musical Resources

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At the conclusion of the teatro, all of the womyn join together to sing, “Yo Soy” by Piero. Letra y Musica de “Yo Soy”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0a2TzAii3HU

soy agua, playa, cielo, casa, planta,

soy mar, Atlántico, viento y América,

soy un montón de cosas santas

mezclado con cosas humanas

como te explico . . . cosas mundanas.

Fui niño, cuna , teta, techo, manta,

más miedo, cuco, grito, llanto, raza,

después cambiaron las palabras

se escapaban las miradas

algo pasó . . . no entendí nada.

Vamos, contame, decime,

todo lo que a vos te está pasando ahora,

porque sino cuando está el alma sóla llora

hay que sacarlo todo afuera, como la primavera

nadie quiere que adentro algo se muera

hablar mirándose a los ojos sacar lo que se puede afuera

para que adentro nazcan cosas nuevas, nuevas, nuevas… nuevas.

Piero de Benedictis was born in Italy, 1945. An Argentine

singer/songwriter who has a Latin Grammy for Best Latin

Children’s Album, Piero has dedicated the profits from his artistic

work to the Social Justice Organizations in Argentina.

You can read more about Piero on his official web page here:

http://www.pieroonline.com

Yo Soy

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Mujer Mexica

Hombre Mexica, Mujer Mexica http://www.mexicolore.co.uk/aztecs/aztec-life/hombre-mexica-mujer-mexica

La Malinche, (1496-1529)

Malinali Tenepal

Doña Marina, Cortés Translator http://chnm.gmu.edu/wwh/modules/lesson6/lesson6.php?s=0 La Malinche – Translator and Companion to Cortés http://www.mexonline.com/history-lamalinche.htm San Antonio Poet Laureate, Carmen Tafolla reading her poem, “La Malinche” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LV9eMp43xx0

Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz,

(1648-1695)

Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz Biography http://www.biography.com/people/sor-juana-in%C3%A9s-de-la-cruz-38178 Poet, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz http://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poet/sor-juana-in%C3%A9s-de-la-cruz Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz (Juana Ramírez de Abaje) http://www.latin-american.cam.ac.uk/SorJuana/

Lucy Parsons, (1853-1942

Lucy Parsons: Woman of Will http://lucyparsons.org/biography-iww.php Lucy Parsons Biography http://www.biography.com/people/lucy-parsons-214112 Parson, Lucy Gonzales https://zinnedproject.org/materials/lucy-gonzales-parsons/

Character Resources

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Teresita Urrea, (1873-1906)

Texas State Historical Association https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fur04 Saint Teresita of Cabora http://www.luisurrea.com/teres/teresita.php Slideshow: Teresita Urrea, the Saint of Cabora https://vimeo.com/41589009

Herlinda Wong Chew, (1893-1939)

The Chew Legacy: The Story of Herlinda Wong Chew 27 (2009) http://epcc.libguides.com/content.php?pid=309255&sid=2891614 Herlinda Wong Chew. http://beta.worldcat.org/archivegrid/collection/data/49701875 From the Senator’s Desk http://shapleigh.org/news/3767-from-the-senator-s-desk

Soldadera, Graciela Olmos, (1895-1962)

A la luz, la increíble historia de Graciela Olmos, La Bandida http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2007/06/13/index.php?section=espectaculos&article=a06n1esp Graciela Olmos, de revolucionaria a dueña de un burdel http://cernicalo-mispublicacionesrecientes.blogspot.com/2012/10/graciela-olmos-de-revolucionaria-duena.html Biografia subterránea de la cultura mexicana http://www.siempre.com.mx/2012/11/biografia-subterranea-de-la-cultura-mexicana/

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Gabriela Mistral, (1889-1957)

The Poetry Foundation http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/gabriela-mistral Nobel Prize http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1945/mistral-facts.html Gabriela Mistral Foundation http://www.gabrielamistralfoundation.org/web/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9&Itemid=15

Carmelita Torres, (1900-?)

Indignity on the border https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Nz-253RaQo Crossing the line http://articles.latimes.com/2006/feb/27/opinion/oe-romo27 The Gas bath Riot and Other Tales of Mexican American Resistance http://www.counterpunch.org/2012/08/30/the-gas-bath-riot-and-other-tales-of-mexican-american-resistance/ Tales from the Morgue http://elpasotimes.typepad.com/morgue/2008/10/order-to-bathe.html Injecting Racist Hysteria http://scalar.usc.edu/works/injecting-racist-hysteria-how-media-coverage-of-the-2009-h1n1-swine-flu-virus-raises-questions-about-border-security-nafta-and-mexican-representation-in-us-culture-/coming-to-associate-disease-with-mexico The Bath Riots https://zinnedproject.org/materials/ringside-seat-to-a-revolution/

Frida Kahlo, (1907-1954)

Frida Kahlo Website http://www.fridakahlo.com/ The Frida Kahlo Foundation http://www.frida-kahlo-foundation.org/ Frida Kahlo and her paintings http://www.fridakahlo.org/

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Emma Tenayuca, (1916-1999)

Americans who Tell the Truth http://www.americanswhotellthetruth.org/portraits/emma-tenayuca The Civil Rights Movement http://www.houstonculture.org/hispanic/tenayuca.html Zinn Education Project https://zinnedproject.org/materials/thats-not-fair-no-es-justo/

Dolores Huerta, (1930-present)

Dolores Huerta Foundation http://doloreshuerta.org/dolores-huerta/ Dolores Huerta Biography http://www.biography.com/people/dolores-huerta-188850 National Women’s History Museum https://www.nwhm.org/education-resources/biography/biographies/dolores-fernandez-huerta/

Gloria Anzaldua, (1942-2004)

Gloria Anzaldua Biography http://voices.cla.umn.edu/artistpages/anzaldua.php Chicana Feminist Writer http://womenshistory.about.com/od/feministpoetry/a/gloria_anzaldua.htm Gloria Anzaldua: Reflections from the Borderland https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rI6AGsbHMFc The Poetry Foundation http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/gloria-e-anzaldua

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Comandanta Ramona,

(1959-2006)

Revolutionary Women http://www.agirlsguidetotakingovertheworld.co.uk/#!comandante-ramona/c1qkm Who is Comandanta Ramona? http://schoolsforchiapas.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Who-is-Comandanta-Ramona_.pdf Adventures in Feministory http://bitchmagazine.org/post/adventures-in-feministory-comandante-ramona-zapatista

La Lorona

Cihuacoatl, The Goddess of the Earth http://www.zoesaadia.com/historia-en-el-calmecac/cihuacoatl-the-goddess-of-the-earth/ Cihuacoatl http://www.pantheon.org/articles/c/cihuacoatl.html

Sonia Sotomayor,

(1954-present)

Sonia Sotomayor Biography http://www.biography.com/people/sonia-sotomayor-453906 Supreme Court of the United States http://www.supremecourt.gov/about/biographies.aspx PBS News Hour http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/8-things-didnt-know-supreme-court-justice-sonia-sotomayor/

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Forum Theatre – Oppression in the Educational System

Julian Boal Joker's this forum theatre presentation at the University of Puerto Rico as part of New York University's Educational Theatre Program Study Abroad

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecwFetYMy5Y&list=PLbeMzaJmLS4jHnrCeGhzsbFu5WlZ6VFe8&index=5

Theatre of the Oppressed: The State of Equity

A short video produced in Portland, OR of a Legislative Forum Theatre with community real stories performed to engage people to seek collective solutions for situations of oppression: "Doulas", "Don't Blame Me", "Patron, Amigo o Ladron?", "Corporate World", guided by Theatre of the Oppressed Joker

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VbjSTAIOOE&list=PLbeMzaJmLS4jHnrCeGhzsbFu5WlZ6VFe8&index=6

Theater of the Oppressed – NYC

A short video demonstrating the process of creating and presenting a Theatre of the Oppressed/Forum Theatre play. From "It Could Happen to You" by the Jan Hus Homeless Theatre Troupe, facilitated by Katy Rubin.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vi1HfSiMxCU&list=PLbeMzaJmLS4jHnrCeGhzsbFu5WlZ6VFe

8

Teatro Resources

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Mas Mujeres

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Libros

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Libros

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Womyn

of the

Americas

Coloring Book Images by CIMI

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Mujer Mexica

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Malintzin

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Sor Juana

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Lucia Gonzalez Parsons

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Teresa Urrea

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Herlinda Wong Chew

Carmelita Torres

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Graciela Olmos

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Carmelita Torres

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Frida Kahlo

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Emma Tenayuca

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Dolores Huerta

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Gloria Anzaldua

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Comandanta Ramona

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La Llorona

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Sonia Sotomayor

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Me

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About the Artist

Jesus “CIMI” Alvarado is an El Paso, Texas native,

and began his artistic career experimenting with

graffiti art. Following his studies under Gaspar

Enriquez at Bowie High School, Alvarado delved

into public art projects, which often included

educational components and community

involvement. His efforts have included an

intensive, ongoing mural education program in

Dallas, Texas; two full-scale murals created with

students from the El Paso, Texas Juvenile

Detention Center; and two large murals depicting

the history and culture of El Paso,

Texas. Alvarado’s recent public works involved

community brainstorming, input, and inspiration

through both community meetings and written,

anonymous surveys. Alvarado’s artwork has been

featured in shows in Mexico City; Buenos Aires,

Argentina; the El Paso Museum of Art; the

University of Arkansas at Little Rock; and Cd.

Juárez, Mexico - “Binational Art Exhibit” Instituto

Nacional de Bellas Artes.

You can learn more about CIMI and his artistry here: http://www.cimione.com/about/