Description
Book SynopsisElizabeth C. Ramirez and Catherine Casiano bring together a collection of plays and performance pieces by innovative Latina playwrights. Surveying Latina theatre in the United States from the 1980s to the twenty-first century, the editors present works displaying a variety of forms, themes, and genres, expanding the field of Latina theatre while situating it in the larger spectrum of American stage and performance studies. Ramirez and Casiano provide historical context and a production history for each work and a biography of, and artistic statement from, each playwright. Contributors: Yareli Arizmendi, Josefina Baez, The Colorado Sisters, Migdalia Cruz, Evelina Fernandez, Cherrie Moraga, Carmen Pelaez, Carmen Rivera, Celia H. Rodriguez, Diane Rodriguez, and Milcha Sanchez-Scott. The volume also includes commentary by Kathy Perkins and Caridad Svich.
Trade Review"
La Voz Latina makes visible and accessible a panoply of performance texts that show the remarkable range and ability of Latina playwrights. It demonstrates the vibrant diversity, transnational influences, and high volume of activity in Latina theatre in both the past and present."--
Theatre Journal"A fine representation of the some of the most vital and important Latina playwrights writing and performing today. Publishing many plays for the first time, this significant collection will be of interest to students and scholars of theatre, Latina studies, and American studies."--Jorge Huerta, author of
Chicano Drama: Performance, Society, and Myth"Apart from the performance pieces themselves, the artists' comments about the circumstances under which the works were created makes the collection a very valuable tool for documenting Latina cultural production since the 1980s."--Tamara L. Underiner, author of
Contemporary Theatre in Mayan Mexico: Death-Defying ActsTable of ContentsAcknowledgments ix
Introduction: Latinas Take the Stage 1
1. CREATING A PERFORMANCE VOICE: THEMES OF FAMILY, RELIGION, AND COMMUNITY 25
1. Milcha Sanchez-Scott's
Roosters 31
2. Cherrie Moraga's
Waiting for Da God 68
II. CHICANAS AND CHICANO TEATRO: STAGING IDENTITY 87
3. Diane Rodriguez's
The Path to Divadom, Or How to Make Fat-free Tamales in G Minor 93
4. Yareli Arizmendi's
Who Buys Your Shoes? 103
III. LA INDIGENA/THE INDIGENOUS: STAGING MYTH 119
5. Celia Herrera Rodriguez's
Cositas Quebradas: Performance Codex 125
6. The Colorado Sisters'
Chicomoztoc: Mimixcoa-Cloud Serpent 140
IV. "RACE MATTERS" 165
7. Josefina Baez's
Dominicanish 171
8. Evelina Fernandez's
Luminarias 188
V. WHERE IS HOME AND HOW DO WE GET THERE? 237
9. Carmen Pelaez's
El Postre de Estrada Palma and
My Cuba 239
10. Carmen Rivera's
La Gringa 254
11. Migdalia Cruz's
Another Part of the House 305
VI. COMMENTARY ON LATINA THEATRE IN THE UNITED STATES 357
12. Contributions by Women of Color - Kathy Perkins 359
13. No Passport: Dreaming the Americas - Caridad Svich 362
