Brujería for Beginners

On December 12th of every year, I braid ribbons into black hair. I am in a fog of incense and roses. I am celebrating the indigeneity in me and grappling with the Catholicism around me. On El Dia de la Guadalupana, hundreds of Mexicanos dance and sing the praises of La Virgen de Guadalupe.  For years, scholars have compared the Mexican devotion to La Virgen to the many indigenous goddesses that were stripped of us through colonization. This forgetting of spirituality has always pushed me to imagine what is left. I come from a people who are fiercely dedicated to God, I am a child who is fiercely dedicated to them. To the story of my family, the villages and mountains we’re from. These tensions: the holy magic of my people, their denial and fear of naming it all work together to create the concept for the show: Brujeria for Beginners. This play explores what it might mean to re-imagine Mexican people as complex, magical, and in touch with the reality of their Mestizx spirituality. The play follows a family while grief is closing in around them. As they try to process their worlds, they explore Catholicism, witchcraft, and indigenous spirituality to find their way to the holy. Guided by spirits, love for each other, and ancestors (always) they find their way to claiming power and possibility. For me, this work is so urgent. In an age where dehumanization is the norm for our people, an offering of healing and truth that is rooted in our forgotten indigeneity is paramount.

I have been named as one of the 20% Theatre’s Q-Stage artists, meaning this work will be produced in May of 2019.  Though the program provides monies, this production cannot happen without your help. The play casts seven Latinx performers of all different ethnicities, ages, and identities. I am also hiring the  Marcela Michelle as the director and Eric Gonzalez as the sound designer. All of this means that I have to raise more funds than the Q-Stage program is  able to provide to be able to pay equitably. Part of the reason that I am asking for more resources is because Latinx performers, directors, and designers deserve to be paid well for their work.  I am also attempting to pay myself in this project as the playwright and lead artist. Too often, young playwrights go unpaid to see their work put on- this is a cycle I do not intend to participate in. I see my worth, I see the stories that I am meant to share, and I know they are valuable.


The generosity of the 20% Theatre coupled with community power can make this dream a reality. Thank you in advance for your gift.  If you are able to give $50 or more, I will be thanking you with a copy of What I Have Left To Eat, my latest script in zine format 


I am so eternally grateful for my life as an artist, for my parents who have always fed my imagination, and for you- my community. I am yours and happy to be. Gracias!

Photo credit: the incomparable Jenny Zander