INDIGENOUS WOMEN’S INTERVENTION
Noting the lack of female participation among the Kaiapó and Maxacalí, Mapuché playwright, actress, and activist, Luisa Calcumil, accompanied by the Mayan Chiapanecas Petrona de la Cruz Cruz and Isabel Juárez Espinoza, founders of Fortaleza de la Mujer Maya (FOMMA), staged an intervention that foregrounded the universality as well as the particularity of the experience of indigenous women.
Calcumil addressed the Kaiapó women in Mapudungun then spoke in Spanish of the commonalities of indigenous women, encouraging them not to be “quiet,” but rather ”to sing.” She then presented them with a loaf of bread. Her message was translated into Portuguese. Megaron Txucaramãe re-translated it to the women who at times responded with nervous laughter.
Kaiapó men gestured to and prodded the women, who surprised the audience with a performance. The audience was unsure when to clap; the performers were unsure of how to proceed when premature applause interrupted their performance.
The confusions of this transnational social drama snowballed as more participants joined in. Juárez recited an oration in a Maya language then in Spanish. Not speaking Spanish or Portuguese, during an awkward silence, North American Larrie Yazzie expressed heartfelt thanks in English and prepared to dance. Unfortunately the women had not finished. In Spanish, De la Cruz encouraged the Kaiapó women to participate and Calcumil asked for and announced their names. She requested that Analei Kontí and Panieu sing with her. Despite the physical and verbal encouragement of the Kaiapó men (which earned them the “shhhhhs” of other audience members), they did not sing.
The previous night, during her performance “Es bueno mirarse en la própia sombra,” Calcumil announced she had planned to give her gift to the women, mildly, indirectly chastising the audience for their complacency with their silence and marginalization. However, as they were not present, she gave the bread instead to a man “who looked like he needed it.”
Links
FOMMA Petrona de la Cruz and Isabel Juárez Espinosa interviewed by Diana Taylor
FOMMA – From Holy Terrors Web Cuaderno.
Fortaleza de la Mujer Maya (FOMMA)
Interview with FOMMA and the Coatlicue Theater Company (text)