River of Tears/Rio de Lagrimas: An Evening of Women Supporting Women At Albuquerque Museum on September 13th

Sponsored by Mayor Martin J. Chávez, The City of Albuquerque Cultural Services Department, Lo Maduro de La Cultura and Eurovision Channel 16, the performance piece is presented by Las Meganenas, an outreach program of Teatro Nuevo Mexico.

Five women will tell the story of the Meso-American “Eve” and her journey from the colonization of Mexico to the present day. Her path begins in Mexico as La Malinche, who takes on the suffering of her people, and winds north along today’s Rio Grande, where she discovers hundreds of women working in factories on the El Paso/Juarez border. Along the way she is transformed and becomes the mythic figure of La Llorona. In an ultimate sacrifice, she becomes a factory worker herself to learn the painful reality of the present day mestizo woman.

The performance piece is trilingual, in English, Spanish and Nahutal””an official language in Mexico””with corresponding subtitles. Nahutal is spoken by more than 1/5 mllion people in Mexico, and many speakers of Nahutal are bilingual. Nahutal literature is extensive””probably the most extensive of all Indigenous languages of the Americas””and includes a relatively large corpus of poetry. Many words in modern-day English and Spanish are derivatives of the Nahutal language, such as “chocolate,” “coyote,” “tomato,” “tequila,” “posole,” “ocelot,” “chile,” “guacamole” and others.

Written by Soledad Marjon Hindi, directed by Sabina Zuniga-Varela and scored by Vivian Fernandez, Rio de Lagrimas will feature the following Las Meganenas repertory troupe members: Soledad Marjon Hindi, Vivian Fernandez, Apryl Sandoval, Valerie Borrego, Sabina Zuniga-Varela and Michelle Otero.

The performance will benefit two organizations working on behalf of the Maquiladora workers: Nuesras Hijas de Regreso a Casa, and Justicia Para Nuestras Hijas. The two organizations were founded and are run by the mothers of young women who have disappeared without a trace. The two organizations continue to push for investigations and to keep their story in the news.

According to Soledad Majon Hindi, playwright of the performance piece, “Over 3500 women who worked at manufacturing plants on the border, or Maquiladoras, have disappeared without a trace, with between 450 and 500 brutally slain bodies being found in the desert. Tragically, little has been done to identify and bring to justice the perpetrators, and there is some speculation that some of those involved include the authorities, either actively or in a cover-up. Whether or not that is true, the fact remains that these women’s lives seem to have little value in their world. Questions still go unanswered, and the disappearances and grisly discoveries go on.” She added, “The brave women who seek answers and justice for their daughters deserve our strongest support, and those who are abducting and killing the young women deserve our rage. We cannot continue to simply shrug our shoulders and walk away.”

Tickets will be available at the door: $8.00 Adults/$5.00 Seniors and Students. NOT APPROPRIATE FOR CHILDREN UNDER 13. For more information, visit www.cabq.gov/crs or call 311. For accessibility, call NM Voice Relay 1-800-659-8331 or 711.

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