>> Ana Maria Jomolca:
Hi everyone. Oh my goodness.
Hello, hello, hello.
Such a thrill to be here.
My name is Ana Maria Rodriguez
Jomolca Balto Travioso
[Laughter]
Who knew?
I am a teaching artist
and an actress
for Literature to Life, and I also
had the incredible privilege of
adapting this novel to stage
and also directing it.
So what Literature to Life
does is we take books, classics,
and then we adapt them to shows,
to solo shows, and then we perform
them around the country,
sometimes even globally
as one person shows.
So has anyone here seen a
solo show? One person show?
Oh, you in for a treat.
So question for you. Why would
we do a show without huge props
or staging or set design, or
all these fancy things where
you just have a chair
and somebody telling a story.
What might that actually spark?
What did--
>> Focus on the narrator.
>> Ana Maria Jomolca:
Focus on the narrator.
And what is the narrator doing?
>> Telling a story.
>> Telling a story.
So what leads here, the story?
Not the fancy,
all the other stuff.
The other reason why we do that is
because it's incredibly portable.
We can take our shows.
I have actually performed in
the supply closet of a school
to three beautiful little Mexican
girls who were raptly paying
attention. So the point of all
of this is that we want to make
literature accessible to a
population that normally
does not have access, and maybe
will never be able to go to the
theater. So we bring the books
to them, and in turn,
that actually inspires them
to go and read the book.
I also had the privilege of
and Sandra Cisneros is here.
So I was like, oh my God,
can I say hello to her?
I performed "The House on
Mango Street" for ten years.
So yes, it was a thrill.
It was a thrill.
So "I Am Not Your
Perfect Mexican Daughter."
Say that fast three times.
Who here has heard of the book?
Wow. Did not expect that.
That's awesome. That's great.
Read the book?
Amazing, wonderful.
So this particular book we are
doing in partnership with an
organization called Freedom Reads.
Now, Freedom Reads is an
organization that is installing
libraries in our correctional
facilities all around the country.
Yeah.
[Applause]
Crazy. Yeah.
So this particular title is
in collaboration with them.
And they have, I think to
date about 345 libraries.
So, and counting.
So anyways, so what you're
going to see today is an excerpt.
This is really early on in
our rehearsal process like
weeks like you know,
there's still placenta.
So and it's a 25 minute passage of
what will be a full 60 minute passage.
So we are boldly, bravely and
wanting to share it with you.
And I think that-- What else
my cheat sheet says? That's it.
Oh, yes. And one question.
When you're watching the
performance, I want you to think
about what it might be
or perhaps you've experienced
this already, what it would be
to live in the shadow of
someone or something.
It doesn't have to be a person.
It could be a cultural expectation.
You know, for me, I'm Cuban.
I was expected to be a mother.
I forgot to have children,
so I failed.
But, you know, a shadow can
be a person dead or alive, but
it can also be expectations
of our culture.
So just keep that in your back
pocket when you're watching
this. So, all right, without any
further ado, I present to you--
"I Am Not Your Perfect
Mexican Daughter"
with my Literature
to Life. Take care.
[Applause]
>> Elizabeth Raquel Ramirez:
What surprises me most
about seeing my sister dead is
the lingering smirk on her face.
Her pale lips are turned up
ever so slightly, and someone
has filled in her patchy eyebrows
with a black pencil.
The top half of her face is angry,
like she's ready to stab
someone, and the bottom
is almost smug.
This is not the Olga I know.
I want her to wear the pretty
purple dress that doesn't hide
her body, but Ama chooses the
bright yellow one with pink flowers.
It makes her look
4 or 80 years old.
The bruises and gashes on her
cheeks are masked with thick coats
of cheap foundation.
Her face is haggard
even though she is--
Was only 22.
God, where'd they
find this mortician?
The flea market?
Olga was a grown ass woman, and
all she did was was go to work
and stay at home with our
parents and take one class a
semester at the local community
college and watch horrible
romantic comedies about
adorable, clumsy blonde woman
who fall in love with architects
in the streets of New York City.
Olga cooked, cleaned,
never stayed out late,
and I wondered if she'd stay
with our parents forever.
Like that Tita from,
"Like Water for Chocolate."
What kind of life is that?
Don't you want more?
Don't you want to go out and
grab the world by the balls?
God, ever since I could pick up a pen,
I wanted to be a famous writer.
I want to be so good that
people stop me in the street.
Oh, my God, are you Julia
Reyes, the greatest writer
to ever grace this earth?
All I know is that I'm going to
pack my bags when I graduate.
And peace out, motherfuckers.
"Mija! Mija!" Ama wails and
practically climbs into the casket,
and Apa sits in the back
of the room all day,
silent as a stone,
staring off into nothing.
His mustache quivers, but his
eyes stay dry and clear as glass.
Olga is with Jesus now,
Tia Cuca tells Ama.
She can finally be in peace.
Look for me under your boot soles.
Walt Whitman said about death.
Olga's body will turn to dirt
and grow into trees, and someone
in the future will step
on her fallen leaves.
Ah!
Ah!
Ama doesn't get out of bed for
almost two weeks, only to drink
water and use the bathroom and
eat those Mexican cookies
that taste like styrofoam.
And she wears the same frumpy
nightgown and hasn't showered
this entire time.
And Apa works at a candy
factory all day, and then comes
home and sits on the couch
with a bottle of beer.
And we have roaches and
the dishes are piled high
and there are crumbs
all over the table.
And I am so hungry.
I boil the potatoes and eat
them with salt and pepper.
But I daydream about
dancing hamburgers.
A slice of pizza makes me weep.
Ama?
Ama?
I peek inside my parents bedroom.
The sour smell
almost knocks me over.
Ama? I flick on the light.
Eh! Aye! What do you want?
Are you okay?
Yes. I'm fine. Please leave
me alone. I want to rest.
You haven't eaten or
showered this entire time.
How would you know?
Are you here watching
me every hour of the day?
How can you live like this?
Funny how my slob of a daughter
is suddenly so concerned with
cleanliness. Since when have
you ever cared about that?
Olga was the clean one.
Olga is gone.
All you have is me now. Sorry.
I want Ama to tell me that
she loves me and that we'll
get through this together.
And I stand there waiting.
And waiting.
I dig through her purse and I
pull out a $5 bill, and I go to
the taco place, and I guzzle
a bucket sized horchata until I
feel sick and when I 
come back home.
Ama's freshly showered
and smells like fake roses.
You're going to have a quinceanera.
Wait, what?
A party? Don't you
want a nice party?
I'm already 15.
I never got to give
Olga a quinceanera.
So you're just using me to
make yourself feel better?
Hey, Julia, what's wrong with you?
What kind of a girl doesn't want
to celebrate her 15th birthday?
But I'm already 15.
That's too bad.
Olga would have wanted you
to help me with school instead.
You don't know anything about
what Olga would have wanted.
I'm already 15.
I already called the priest.
Where are you going
to get the money?
Don't worry about it.
It's not your problem.
This fucking sucks.
Watch your mouth or I'll slap
you so hard I'll break your teeth.
When I can't sleep, I
crawl into Olga's bed.
Even though Ama tells me to
never, ever go inside her room.
Ama keeps it exactly
the way Olga left it.
Olga's bed still smells like her.
Lavender lotion
and fabric softener.
And her sweet cumin scent.
Olga smells like a meadow.
There's a picture on her
dresser of us in Mexico.
And we're smiling and
squinting in the sun.
And Olga has her arm wrapped
around my neck so tight as if
choking me. God, I remember
that day so clearly.
We swim in the river for hours
and eat Hawaiian hamburgers
right from the cart.
I wonder who my sister was.
Is.
Dusk.
Flesh. Vespers.
Serendipitous.
Write down your favorite word.
Mr. Engman, my English teacher
says, I have loved words
ever since I learned how to read.
But how do you pick just one?
Dazzle.
Wisteria.
Kaleidoscope.
Sputter.
So what was yours, Julia?
He always says my name
exactly the way I pronounce it.
The Spanish way.
Well, I had lots of words,
but in the end, I picked 'Wisteria.'
What do you like about that word?
It's a flower.
And it just sounds beautiful.
Also, it rhymes with hysteria.
And this might sound weird, but
when I say it, I like the way it
feels in my mouth.
All the boys start laughing.
Okay, calm down, guys, calm down.
Let's show Julia some respect.
If you can't do that,
I'll ask you to leave.
Now, in this class, I want you
to learn to appreciate.
No. I want you to love language.
Now, what does that mean?
It means that you will learn to
speak and write in a way that
gives you authority.
Now, does that mean you can't
say on fleek or whatever it is
you kids are saying these days?
Absolutely not.
But would it be helpful to
speak that way in a job interview?
I want you to leave this
class with the tools to
compete with the kids in the
suburbs, because you're just as
capable, just as smart.
Get up, Huevona.
You don't have the
right to be tired.
You don't work cleaning
houses all day like I do.
It's a weird thing to call a
girl Huevona, if you really think
about it. Okay. Huevos means
eggs, so it means that your
eggs, your balls, are so big that they
drag you down and make you lazy.
[Laughter]
Telling a girl her balls are
too heavy is bizarre, but
I never point this out to her
because I know it'll piss her off.
When I come into the kitchen,
Ama has already covered all
the tables and counters with
rolled out tortillas, and she's
bent over the table, rolling out
a little ball of dough
into a perfect circle.
Put on an apron and
start heating these up.
How do I know when
they're done?
You'll just know.
I don't know what that means.
What kind of a girl doesn't
know when a tortilla is done?
Me. I don't.
Please just tell me.
You'll figure it out.
It's common sense.
I studied the tortillas as they
heat up on the comal
and try to flip them
before they burn.
I turned the first one.
I've left it too long.
That one is almost burnt.
And that one's too pale.
You need to leave it on longer.
But when I do, it gets too crisp.
I burn the third one completely.
Just roll them out instead
while I heat them up.
I take a rolling pin, and I
tried to roll the balls of dough
into perfect circles.
That one looks like a chancla.
[Laughter]
Ama is looking at my worst one.
It's not perfect, but it doesn't
look like a sandal. Jesus.
I don't want to fight with
her because I heard her
crying in their bedroom last night.
They have to be perfect.
Why? We're just going to eat them.
If you're going to do something,
you have to do it right.
Or you shouldn't do it at all.
Olga's were always
so nice and round.
I don't care
about Olga's tortillas.
I don't care about any of this.
I don't understand why we have
to go through all this trouble
when we can just buy
them at the store.
Get back here!
What kind of woman are you
going to be if you can't even
make a tortilla?
Lorena dyes and highlights her
hair until it's a mixture of
yellow and orange and red.
And when she puts her hair up
in a ponytail, she looks like a torch.
And God, she looks
better with darker hair.
But, I mean, she
doesn't listen to me.
She says, you don't know what
the hell you're talking about.
And why should I listen to you when
you dress like a homeless lesbian?
[Laughter]
Ama think she's wild and
slutty like her mother.
That old lady that runs around
like a quinceanera.
No shame.
With her high heels and her
skintight black dress and
way too much makeup.
Lorena is ghetto loud and and
acts ignorant as hell sometimes.
But she is my best friend.
And when I tell her
that my Tias
all blame me for what happened,
and that I want to punch all the
windows out with my bare fists.
She says, fuck those nosy viejas.
Waves her hand and
shoots them eye daggers.
Tio we got this.
Yes, Uncle mustache.
This house smells of
old fruit and wet dog.
Even though Jon Peters has been
dead for like three years.
Los Bukis blast on the stereo while
kids run in and out of the house.
I kiss everyone and then
go to the living room to read
The Catcher in the Rye, which I
had to smuggle in because Ama
always complains
when I read at parties.
Why do you have to
be so disrespectful?
Why can't you just be at
peace with your family?
I get to the part where Holden drops
and shatters his sister's records.
When my dad and
uncles all pile in
and bust out the expensive tequila.
Oh, how I miss my little town.
Chingado Tio Octavio!
I remember when we used to skip
school and go swimming in the river.
Tio Cayetano says as he pours,
I wish I never would have left.
Apa says,
come here.
Tio Micortez pulls me towards him
and wraps his arm around my neck,
and his breath smells like tequila
and cigarettes and something deeper.
Apa looks into his drink.
What are you doing here in the
living room all by yourself?
I'm trying to finish my book.
What do you want
books for at a party?
Go outside and talk
to your cousins.
I like to read.
For what?
I want to be a writer.
I want to write books.
Are you excited about
your quinceanera?
[Laughter]
Your parents are making
a big sacrifice for you.
A sacrifice I don't want.
You know, in this life, you
won't make it without your family.
Now that you're almost
grown up, it's time you learn
to be a nice senorita
just like your sister was.
May she rest in peace.
Ama comes in, her lips pursed
like she's bitten into a sour onion.
You're all a bunch of sorry drunks.
Look at this one with a cactus
on her forehead, and she can
barely speak Spanish.
This country is ruining
your children, sister.
Everyone is silent and
Apa looks in his drink.
I place my hand on my forehead
and imagine a spindly cactus there.
And my face bloody like Jesus.
I will pay $0 of the
suggested donation,
I tell the lady at the Art
Institute of Chicago.
Don't we all have a right to art?
She eyeballs me and
hands me my ticket.
I walk over to Artemisia Gentileschi's
Judith Slaying Holofernes.
My painting teacher,
Miss Schwartz, told us
something bad happened to her
but wouldn't tell us what.
And it turns out that her painting
teacher raped her when she was 17.
Scumbag.
All the Renaissance and Baroque
paintings we study in class
are all of baby Jesus.
So when I see Artemisia
Gentileschi's painting of
biblical woman killing all those
horrible men, my heart trembles.
Every time I see it
I notice something new.
What I love most is that Judith
and her maid are slicing
this man's head off.
But they don't look scared.
Totally casual.
As if they're washing dishes.
God, when I see a beautiful
painting, I feel happy and
scared and excited
and sad. All at once.
It's like when I read an Emily
Dickinson poem. I throw my book
across the room. It's so good,
it makes me angry.
[Applause]
Thank you. Thank you.
[Applause]
>> Ana Maria Jomolca: Wow. A round
of applause again for Elizabeth Raquel.
[Applause]
Right on.
[Applause]
Wonderful. Thank you, thank you.
She'll come up in momentarily.
You can come up right now.
Absolutely.
Share this stage.
Wonderful. Yes.
Soak it in.
>> Elizabeth Raquel Ramirez: I will.
>> Ana Maria Jomolca: We have been
working round the clock, and this is
just a section, a
little bit of the book.
So, it's going to be a
really cool journey ahead.
So anyways, first I would love,
love, love to get some,
some thoughts how things
landed. For those of you
who read the book, what did it
feel like to see it in character
embodied, you know, 3D, loud,
and what did that feel like for you?
I haven't read it, but I want to
know what happened to the poor sister.
>> Oh, tell me to be a spoiler,
but I want to know.
You mean what?
>> Ana Maria Jomolca:
The fate of the sister.
Yeah, yeah.
>> Elizabeth Raquel Ramirez:
Got it.
>> Ana Maria Jomolca: Yeah,
well, I won't. Spoiler alert.
Because if you and anyone else if
that question inspires you to go
read the book, great, great.
Fully support it.
So yes, back there.
Can you come up to the mic?
Because we're recording and
we want to hear the amazing
question. No pressure
that you're about to ask.
[Laughing]
>> It's more like two comments.
One is glad to see a lot of women
in the room because, again,
as I think about my own
role as a Latino male,
I think about the double standards
where growing up I was always a
bookish, nerdy kid, but I could
comfortably take a book with me
and go off to the distance,
not engage. But as a young Latina,
you have to maintain a social grace.
You have to greet everyone.
Say hello to everyone in the room.
Always be present, always
be smiling. And that's
absolutely a double standard.
My other comment was about
women in conversation with other
women. You mentioned the
Italian portrait and painter,
portraitist and painter Artemisia.
I think it's fascinating
that as a young Latina,
this character is in conversation
with other women who have
brushed against the grain.
And just reminds us how
important it is to find books
that allow us to
engage with other voices
across the time span. So thank you.
>> Ana Maria Jomolca:
Thank you. Wait, wait, wait.
That was great.
What's your name again?
>> Francisco.
>> Ana Maria Jomolca: Francisco.
First of all, thank you so much for
recognizing the the standards that,
you know, there's always two rules,
two sets of rules, you know,
in the house,
one for the boys and one
for the girls, you know.
So thank you for recognizing that.
And this point that you bring up
about in conversation and how
we seek out our tribe, right?
Our tribe is--
Do you have an
example from your life?
What is your tribe?
Someone that you sought out.
>> So, as a queer Latino
myself, I engage a lot with--
I'll mention two.
Chavela Vargas, who was a
Costa Rican nationalized Mexican
who said that Mexicans can be
born anywhere they want.
That's the PG
version of that quote.
[Laughter]
And then also Sor Juana Inés de
la Cruz, first published women
in Latin America.
She was a religious person who,
well, she pursued religious life
because as a woman, she was
going to be married off and
would have not been allowed to
pursue a life of the intellect.
And so she pursued a religious
life to be able to continue
reading and maintaining
this intellectual life.
And a lot of scholars would say that
she may have been queer as well.
>> Ana Maria Jomolca:
Thank you so much for that.
Thank you. What a great point?
[Applause]
>> Elizabeth Raquel Ramirez: 15.
>> Ana Maria Jomolca: Thank you, Iris,
that was really gentle 15 minutes. Wow.
Anyone else? Comments?
Yes. Please.
>> Elizabeth Raquel Ramirez:
Come to the mic.
>> Ana Maria Jomolca:
Come to the podium.
>> Elizabeth Raquel Ramirez: Yeah.
>> Well, what he said was
very deep and very engaging.
Mine is not that deep.
>> Ana Maria Jomolca:
Don't undersell yourself.
>> My favorite word is Wisteria
as well. So that was pretty good.
>> Elizabeth Raquel Ramirez: Yeah.
>> Yeah.
>> Elizabeth Raquel
Ramirez: All right.
>> Thank you.
>> You're welcome.
[Laughter]
>> Ana Maria Jomolca:
That's the best comment.
I'm going to make
T-shirts of Wisteria.
Yes.
>> Elizabeth Raquel
There you go. Yeah. Yeah yeah, yeah.
>> Ana Maria Jomolca:
Tell us your name first.
>> My name is Luka.
>> Elizabeth Raquel Ramirez:
Hi, Luka. So good to meet you.
>> I thought that the
difference between telling the
story as, like, the narrator
and saying, like, oh, I walked
this way, or I felt this way
and seeing all the different
thoughts and emotions that
come like, like pinballs, like
crazily rather than a a play
where you have to sort of look
at their expressions and guess,
it was more of a-- you're trying
to piece together the pieces
rather than like look through
the fog and figure out what's
going on in their mind.
So it's a much different sort
of experience as an audience.
And I thought that was really cool.
>> Ana Maria Jomolca: A question. Was
there anything that was new to you
in watching this that
was different than the
experience of the book, something
that you discovered or like, huh?
>> I thought it was very
interesting how your--
There's like the book which you're
reading the words and you're
reading her talking about how
much she loves the words versus
speaking the words and seeing
that rather than seeing like
wisteria, dazzle on the page,
you can hear the different ways
that she says it. And I think
that was a really good detail.
>> Ana Maria Jomolca:
Thank you for that.
Because there is that like how
language feels in our mouths.
And yeah. So thank you.
>> Like the different pronunciations
of words, how
the main characters sort of
accent is less pronounced
or like specific
words like tortilla.
She says like more
with a Spanish accent.
>> Elizabeth Raquel Ramirez:
Tortilla.
>> Yeah.
>> Elizabeth Raquel Ramirez: Yeah.
[Laughter]
>> So it's cool.
>> Ana Maria Jomolca:
Tortilla's alluded. Thank you.
Thank you. Would anyone else?
Yes.
>> Hi.
>> Hello.
>> Oh, my name is Alexa.
>> Hi, Alexa.
>> Hi, Alexa.
>> I have two---
>> Ana Maria Jomolca:
Alexa, turn off the music.
Oh, I'm sure you get plenty.
>> That's a good one. Thank you.
>> Ana Maria Jomolca:
Sorry that was so bad.
You probably want to
punch me in the face.
I don't blame you.
I'll be standing over there
after the show so you can do it.
Go ahead.
>> Well, my first question is, do
you ever perform this in Spanish?
I know it's originally
written in English, but.
>> Ana Maria Jomolca:
We haven't performed it.
Well, this is our
first performance.
>> Elizabeth Raquel Ramirez:
Yeah, this is the first one.
So yeah. Thank you guys so much.
Because this is, I
mean, you're amazing.
I'm so honored to be here.
Okay. Yes. So...
>> Ana Maria Jomolca:
We have not performed it.
There is actually a Spanish version,
a translation of the book, and
I'm Cuban American, and so
I love infusing Spanish.
There are certain words that
are just much more powerful
in their native language,
in their mother tongue.
So we're playing around, but,
you know, it's going to be
predominantly in English, you know.
Would you like to see it in Spanish?
>> Well, I read this to my students
in Spanish with my fluent speakers.
I'm a Spanish teacher.
>> Ana Maria Jomolca: Oh my God.
>> Yeah, they loved this
book when we did it.
So, yeah.
>> Ana Maria Jomolca: So are
your students Spanish speaking?
>> Yeah, they're fluent speakers.
>> Ana Maria Jomolca: Fluent speakers.
Do they also speak English?
>> Most of them.
>> Ana Maria Jomolca: That's
amazing. What grade? What age?
>> High school.
>> Oh, amazing.
Wow, that's so wonderful to hear
that you are teaching this.
>> Yeah. Thank you.
>> Yeah.
>> Yeah.
That leads me to
my second question.
Will this be
available online later?
Because I want to
show this to them.
>> Ana Maria Jomolca:
This? Yeah, absolutely.
>> Elizabeth Raquel Ramirez:
Yes, it's being recorded.
Everyone say hi.
>> Ana Maria Jomolca:
We are on the--
>> Elizabeth Raquel Ramirez:
It'll be available.
>> Ana Maria Jomolca: We are
on the permanent archive of
the Library of Congress.
[Laughter]
Hi, mommy.
[Laughter]
So, yes, it will be. It will be.
I don't know what the timeline is
or when it's going to be available.
>> Elizabeth Raquel Ramirez:
We'll post it on our website.
We also have, shameless plug.
We also have been here. This is
our third year here, so we have--
Last year we did The Great
Gatsby and before that we did
Oscar Wilde, The Giver and...
Oscar Wilde, Black Boy and...
And If Beale Street Could Talk,
James Baldwin's. Yeah, yeah.
So we do quite a few titles.
we have been over the years.
If Beale Street Could
Talk is one of them.
But yes, to answer
your question, yes.
And thank you for
the work that you do.
>> Yes.
>> Right on.
Thank you.
>> Elizabeth Raquel Ramirez:
So we've got ten minutes.
[Applause]
>> Ana Maria Jomolca:
Iris, you're so smooth.
Come on. Ten minutes we've got.
>> Elizabeth Raquel Ramirez:
Should we go here, here, here?
>> Ana Maria Jomolca:
Yes. Oh, wait. We'll take turns.
>> Elizabeth Raquel Ramirez:
Yes. Yes, yes.
Bouncing. Yeah.
>> I love-- so I read the book.
It's been a minute, but a big
fan of Erica Sanchez.
I'm also from Chicago,
so I always love my city.
Two things that stood out.
I love like the feeling of, like,
Greek tragedy and like how
your interpretation of it,
like both the monologue and
reenacting like it was just
really interesting to kind of
like, think of new works and
adapt like one-person shows
or like how to do that.
So that was that was really
fascinating for me.
And the second was I remember
reading and the character always
felt really sad and angry, but like
more sad and like
seeing the angry part,
I was like, oh yeah, I think I
kind of missed that as a reader
and I like saw it more
brought to life on stage.
So I was like, oh yeah. And I'm
like, I'm curious to learn more
about you as an actor and how
you got ready for this role and
steps that you took.
>> Elizabeth Raquel Ramirez: Yeah,
it's certainly deep, deep work.
And I've been working with Ana Maria
and we've been doing,
since it's a one-person show,
we do these things called
character interviews.
So not only am I embodying the
life of Julia, but I am creating
these fully fledged humans.
You know, you kind of
write them off like,
oh, Ama, she's and Apa, oh he just...
But we found so much life
within them, within these
interviews we did.
Ama. Apa. Lorena.
Which you only got a
little taste of her here.
But it's just been the most gruelling
but also rewarding process.
Finding her anger
and her excitement and
her love and her passion
and she's a fighter.
Julia is a fighter.
So through all of it,
you find her fight.
She's never defeated.
I came in kind of, oh, you know.
Oh, and Ana Maria was like,
no, she is a fighter.
So it's been an amazing process.
So thank you for asking about that.
>> Ana Maria Jomolca:
Yeah, that was a great comment.
And also underneath the anger,
I mean, what is really
always underneath the anger.
And it's incredible like
some sadness in there.
Like we just don't know what to do.
So we get angry because
angry feels powerful.
So we're working through those
layers during the rehearsal
process, too, because she's
also grieving her sister and she
doesn't have anyone
to help her grieve.
So she's kind of lost.
So, so wonderful observation.
>> Thank you.
>> Thank you.
>> And the intention of, like,
even the props like her journal
and like the book.
Right. Like. Yeah. Like.
Yeah. Beautiful.
>> Thank you so much.
>> Thank you. Thank you. Yes.
[Applause]
>> Hi. Thank you for doing this.
First of all, it makes these
books so much more accessible.
I saw the James Baldwin and the
Junot Diaz two years ago.
My question is, and I had this
question then that I had no one
to ask. How do you
decide what to perform?
Like what pieces of
the book to perform?
And you have five minutes
to answer that. I'm so sorry.
>> Ana Maria Jomolca: Oh, God.
We kill a lot of darlings.
You know, what we do is
we have to choose what is,
what is a complete--
What is a journey here?
What is the story
that needs to be told?
And we started with a
two hour long script.
And then little by little, shaving.
And you know the point
what we try to get is to
the essence of her journey.
And what are the what are the
crucial relationships in that journey?
And it's Ama, it's Apa
and it's Olga, the deceased,
the sister who's not there,
but is there very much so.
So, it's not always easy, but if,
I mean, a good thing to think
about is if it interrupts
the rhythm and the action
and the moving forward
and the urgency,
then it's got to go.
Or you say, maybe we'll just
put you aside for now, but,
you know, don't get offended.
But it's a process.
I mean, Elise is our co-artistic
director and she's been doing
adaptation for years.
So including "The House on Mango
Street," like, what would you say
is the single most important
thing when we are adapting?
She also did the adaptation for Oscar
Wilde, which was like epic.
Truth.
So truth.
Following that.
Yeah. Great question.
>> Thank you so much.
>> Thank you. Yes.
>> Hi. I thought you were
wonderful, by the way.
>> Elizabeth Raquel Ramirez:
Thank you.
I had a comment and a question.
My comment was that watching this
for me was a little bit bizarre
as a second generation Latino
who grew up very cut off
from my culture because
the main character does seem,
you know, a little bit resistant
to embracing the
culture the way her
family wants her to.
And as somebody who
grew up desperate for that
cultural connection, it was
a little bit bizarre to watch.
But then something that
kind of hit me really hard
is that the common thread between
my experience and your
character's is that we all need
to find out what our personal
connection to the culture is,
and what the culture means to us.
And I just wanted to thank you
for that, because that was a
really beautiful
realization for me to have.
>> Elizabeth Raquel Ramirez:
Thank you.
Yes. I'm so happy for you. Yes.
>> Thank you.
>> Yeah. Of course.
My question is, do you
guys see this becoming like a
full stage adaptation at
any point in the future?
>> Ana Maria Jomolca: It will be
a 60 minute adaptation, solo show.
And we will be once, like.
Like I said, we're early
on in the process.
We have about half of it
there, but absolutely yes.
Obviously we can't put the
whole book in, but it will be a
complete. And then then
we will tour it around.
We'll maybe be back here as well.
And I hope that you can see that.
So yeah, in answer to your question,
but you said something
that was really interesting,
that sort of circles back to my
first comment, which
is, you know, how do we--
I's a great question. How do we honor
our ancestry, our heritage, and also
forge our own truth
and our own path?
How do we do that?
I was, you know, I was raised
in Miami, Cuban parents.
And my father forbade us to to
speak anything but Spanish
in the house, and it
would piss me off.
Now, thank you, dad.
But back then, it was
like I felt like I was--
They were dragging me into
their roots, into their story.
But I speak Spanish today,
so that's a great question.
How do we honor our ancestry
and be genuine with our path?
So thank you.
It's a great question.
I have no answer.
[Laughter]
>> Well thank you both for
your wonderful work and I'm
so excited to see
the full production.
>> Yes.
>> Wonderful.
>> Thank you so much.
>> Thank you.
Thank you.
[Applause]
We have two minutes.
That's a long time in film.
[Laughter]
Yes.
>> Hi. When you first said,
what do you think is the,
you know, value of having a one-
person show based on a book?
And I actually haven't read the
book yet, but I definitely will.
My first thought
was like, oh, okay.
It's like having a real live
audiobook, you know,
presented to you. But now I see that
it's like so much more than that.
And I really think that this,
you mentioned that this may be,
is easier to to take around
and take theater to
places and make it
accessible to more people.
But I also think that as an art
form, this should be an art form
in its own right, and it might
make participating in theater
more accessible to more people.
And I think, I think
that would be marvelous.
And I just wanted to note that
where you ended this excerpt was
really amazing to get all those
emotions via the Emily
Dickinson poem and how
it impacted the character.
I felt like it just gave us a
capsule of the character
in that one amazing expression.
I also wanted to say,
I don't know if this was
intended, but I feel like this
has brought together so many
themes of of all the other
panels I attended today.
So there's no way you could
have known that, but it's true.
>> Oh, thank you.
>> Thank you.
>> Thank you so much.
>> Ana Maria Jomolca: What a
great, great place to wrap it up?
There's literally a card
that said wrap it up.
[Laughter]
Thank you, Iris.
You're such a gentle wrap it upper.
>> I know.
>> Ana Maria Jomolca: Thank you.
And thank you for that.
Yes. Yes, this is, I mean,
we've been doing this for about
close to 20, maybe a little
over 20 years now.
This bringing solo shows,
taking a book, adapting it to a
solo show and performing it
one person. Storytelling.
Oral storytelling.
Remember we used to
hang around the fire.
That's what we did.
We're very tribal.
So that's what we're doing.
We're bringing it back. And
we would love your support.
How you can help this is, you know,
follow us on social media.
I got it in, Lisa. I got it in.
Instagram at lit2life.
We also have a Facebook
page, Literature to Life.
And please, please,
please spread the word.
You know, it makes such
a difference to make this
accessible to those populations.
And students that don't have
accessibility to this kind of
material or this
kind of experience.
So please, please, please share it,
spread it, and bring us back.
>> Yeah.
>> Thank you.
>> Thank you, guys.
>> Thank you, Elizabeth.
>> Thank you.
>> All right.
[Applause]
>> Elizabeth Raquel Ramirez: Yes.
[Applause]
[Upbeat Music]