Retelling Dis/appearing Tales

Created by
‘Stories, Bodies, Movements’ Class (GLOS 3900 & GLOS 5993)
University of Minnesota, Spring 2017

On Stage:

Siddharth Bharath
Jada Brown
Devleena Chatterjee
Esmae Heveron*
Rebecca Lieser*
Sara Musaifer
Richa Nagar*
Naimah Petigny*
Nithya Rajan
Lisa Santosa*
Maria Schwedhelm
Alaina Szostkowski

The scenes, ‘Wall of Names’ and ‘Ramallah Goddam’ seeded in an in-class workshop with:
Esther Ouray

Artistic Direction:
Tarun Kumar

Course Conceptualization, Organization, & Facilitation:

Richa Nagar

*Rebecca Lieser, Naimah Petigny, and Lisa Santosa participated in the creation of the play in Spring
2017 and performed in it at the end of the semester on 8 May 2017. Esmae Heveron and Richa Nagar
performed the roles played by Rebecca, Naimah, and Lisa when the play was selected for the CLA
Arts Quarter and restaged on 11 October 2017 as part of that event.

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Opening

LISA

Lisa enters the stage.

LISA: Hello everyone! I am Lisa. Thank you for joining us today for our
performance, ‘Retelling Dis/appearing Tales.’ This presentation has
emerged from our Global Studies class, ‘Stories, Bodies, Movements.’
We want to begin by acknowledging what it means for us to be on this
land with its violent history, entangled with places and people, near and far.
In our class, we have grappled with what it means to do justice to stories of
violence. As a part of this work, we have asked what might it feel like to
let go of our stories, and to move with stories so that they can become
resonant with all of our lives, and our variously inherited histories and
geographies. How might we learn to own a story collectively in order to do
justice to it? We have only begun to take small steps towards answering
these questions, but we are eager to share a piece of our journey with you.

Lights fade out. Lights fade in.

Scene 1: Stepping into Maria’s Story

NARRATOR MARIA, NARRATOR ANA, ANA, MARIA, OLGA, GABI

Narrator Maria and Narrator Ana are sitting on chairs, chatting with each other, and then they
engage the audience.

NARRATOR MARIA: Hello! We are here to share with you a story about Maria’s family that spans
several generations. However, over several weeks of writing and rewriting,
acting and reenacting, this has become a story that belongs to all of us. Our
story is set in Mexico City, but it is not confined by borders or boundaries
… (looks at Narrator Ana) How do we begin to tell this story that we have
thought about and talked about so much for the past few weeks?

NARRATOR ANA: We could try by becoming narrators of the story – Narrator Maria and
Narrator Ana! I want to be Narrator Ana!

NARRATOR MARIA: Why do you want to be Ana, and not the main character Maria?

NARRATOR ANA: Well, Ana is the singer… (starts humming) “Zindagi ke safar mein guzar
jate hain jo maqaam, wo phir nahin aate...”

Ana appears on stage and joins Narrator Ana in the humming. Narrator Ana gets up and Ana

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occupies her chair.

NARRATOR ANA: Now we need Narrator Maria! Any volunteers?

NARRATOR MARIA: Could I be Narrator Maria?

NARRATOR ANA: Yes, why not? You become Narrator Maria!

Maria enters the stage and places her hand on Narrator Maria’s shoulder.

MARIA: Hello, I’m Maria!

NARRATOR MARIA: Hi, I am Narrator Maria!

Narrator Maria gets up and Maria occupies her chair. Narrator Maria, Maria, Narrator Ana, and
Ana face the audience.

MARIA: Hello, I am Maria, a PhD student in curriculum and instruction at the

University of Minnesota. And this is my older sister, Ana.

Meanwhile, Lisa continuously updates the slides that show the growing family tree. As the
performance advances, the family tree is extended to include the characters appearing on stage.
At present, it is MARIA, Ana, Gabi, and Olga. Lisa capitalizes Maria’s name because the story is
from her perspective.

NARRATOR MARIA: Shall we share our story?

NARRATOR ANA: Yes. I am ready!

Maria and Ana exit.

NARRATOR ANA: Now! Let’s start this properly. We are set in Mexico City…. Our story
revolves around our grandmother, Olga, whom we lovingly called, Abue.
Abue was a very happy and friendly person. She had a distinctive and
unforgettable laugh. She could also sing, whistle and touch her nose with
the tip of her tongue! Every time she came to our house, she would
announce her arrival with a whistle and a loud, “Yuhuuu.”

Olga enters from the left wing and sings and whistles ‘yuhuuu.’ Maria and Ana come running from
the right wing. Olga touches her nose with the tip of her tongue.

NARRATOR MARIA: Then Ana and I would come running and wait our turn to swing back and
forth in a hug while she sang in our ears.

While hugging Ana and singing to her, Olga screeches in her ear. This scares Ana. Grandma and
Maria laugh with amusement.

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NARRATOR MARIA: She however didn’t lose an opportunity to tell us about the hardships of life.
“How is life?” she would ask.

Olga walks over to her daughter, Gabi. Maria and Ana follow their Abue.

OLGA: Gabi, Gabi, you need to teach your daughters about life!

OLGA: My dearest granddaughters, ¿Cómo es la vida?

MARIA & ANA: Cruel y sangrienta!

NARRATOR MARIA: How is life, Abue would ask…

NARRATOR ANA: …Cruel and bloody! We would answer obediently in chorus.

Flustered, Gabi looks disbelievingly at Olga.

OLGA (to Gabi): But it is true, Gabi!

NARRATOR ANA: We thought that if it was funny enough to make Abue laugh, it couldn’t be
that bad!

Lights fade out.

Scene 2: Restaurant

OLGA, GABI, MARIA, ANA, NARRATOR MARIA, PATRON (1), PATRON (2), NARRATOR ANA

Gabi, Olga, Maria, and Ana are sitting in a restaurant across from two other patrons. Olga
excitedly motions to the girls.

NARRATOR MARIA: Grandma enjoyed teasing all, friends and strangers alike, like when she blew
spit balls in restaurants.

Olga blows a spitball and then looks the other way as the patrons send angry looks at Ana and
Maria. Gabi looks away in exasperation.

PATRON (1): Hey! What are you two doing?

MARIA: It wasn’t us!

PATRON (2): Yeah, right!

GABI: We’re really sorry!

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MARIA (to Olga): Grandma! Why are you always doing this?

PATRON (1) (to her friend): Wait, was it those kids?

PATRON (2): No, I think it was that old lady over there.

Lights fade out.

NARRATOR ANA: Whenever Grandma found mice in her house, she would chase them with a
broom, kill them and then run after us holding the dead mouse by the tail.
Or she would put them in delicate gift boxes, and send them to her friends
with an affectionate note!

OLGA: Ana! Maria! Here, give this little gift to your Tio Manolo. He will love it!
Tell him it’s from me, with all my love.

MARIA: Abue, are you sure?

OLGA: Go, go, go! Hurry now. and don’t forget to tell me what he says!

Lights fade out

Scene 3: Manolo’s House

ANA, MARIA, TIO MANOLO

Maria and Ana arrive at Tio Manolo’s house with the box. Manolo is in his garden reading a
newspaper.

ANA: Hi Tio!

MANOLO: Ana! Maria! Hello, hello! So lovely to see you two. How is my dear friend,
Olga?

ANA & MARIA: She is well... She sent you this.

MANOLO: What is it?

ANA & MARIA: Chicharrón!

MANOLO (cautiously, as if he is unsure whether to believe them): Wow! Your grandmother is

such a dear and thoughtful friend. I’ve always loved your grandma’s
chicharrónes…(Opens box, sees a dead mouse, throws away the box, and
falls down, then stands up again) Aaah! Dead mouse. That Olga! She will

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 never change. She still plays pranks as if she is a little girl! Don’t fall into
her tricks, girls! Be off now. You two, don’t get involved in this kind of
mischief!

ANA & MARIA: Okay, Tio Manolo!

Lights fade out.

Scene 4: Car on the Road

MARIA, ANA, OLGA, GABI, NARRATOR ANA

Olga is driving a car with Gabi seated next to her. Maria and Ana are playing with drums and
singing in the backseat.

NARRATOR ANA: And then there was the dancing car. Grandma carried multiple instruments
in the back—sticks, dry seed pods, and other percussions and while we all
sang together and made loud music, we would start shouting:

ANA & MARIA: “Qué baile, qué baile!!” [Make it dance!!]

OLGA: Qué baile?

NARRATOR ANA: At which point Grandma would swing the car rhythmically left and right
and right and left with laughter as we sisters cried in excitement and our
mom protested in fear.

GABI (in panic): Mama, drive properly! What’s wrong with you?

Lights fade out.

Scene 5: House
NARRATOR MARIA, OLGA, MARIA

NARRATOR MARIA: I remember a time when Abue was 72. That’s when she took me to a black
market, a Tepito, in Mexico City.

Olga is sitting in a chair reading a newspaper. Maria is stressed and restless. She tries to catch
Olga’s attention.

OLGA: What’s wrong?

MARIA: Abue, I have an art project for school. I’m never going to find everything I

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 need. It’s hopeless!

OLGA: No, no. What do you need?

MARIA: I need a bunch of different colors of metals to assemble a sculpture.

OLGA: Say no more! I know exactly where to get it! Come, let’s go.

Olga grabs Maria’s hand and both exit stage. Sharp fade out.

Scene 6-A: Black Marketplace

NARRATOR MARIA, JADA, VENDOR (1)

Olga and Maria enter the stage.

NARRATOR MARIA: As we navigated the labyrinths of indoor and outdoor hallways of pirated,
illegal, or other stolen merchandise, I found out how many people knew my
grandmother. They would greet each other by first name, with deep
affection and she would chat endlessly about their families.

JADA: Hi Doña Olga!!

OLGA: Hello Doña Jada! How are you?

JADA: Why look at this beautiful young lady. Who is she?

OLGA: My granddaughter! Doña Jada, do you still sell old antique stuff?

VENDOR (1): Doña Olga, ¿cómo está? What are you doing here today?

OLGA: Hey Doña Rosa, we’re looking for some scrap metal. This is my
granddaughter, Maria.

VENDOR (1): Your granddaughter!! Whose daughter is she?

OLGA: Gabi’s!

VENDOR (1): Gabi! This is insane. It seems like yesterday when Gabi was her age. How
time flies by! How is she doing?

OLGA: She’s great. How is your husband? Your children?

VENDOR (1): They are all well.

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OLGA: I am glad to hear that. Please do say hi from me!

MARIA: Abue…(impatiently pulls at Olga’s sweater and motions to continue

walking)

VENDOR (1): So you said you needed scrap metal? I have just what you need!

VENDOR (1) (talks as she leads Maria and Olga): I tell you, Doña Olga, that NAFTA is going to
screw us all over! I am not even sure if Tepito will be around much longer.

OLGA (uninterested): Yes, yes... What are we going to do without Tepito?

Vendor (1) pauses for a second and stands still as Olga walks past her. She then grabs Olga by
the arm.

VENDOR: Doña Olga, did you hear about the unrest in Chiapas? So many people were
killed and they won’t even report the deaths in the news. Those poor people.
They are falling dead like flies and nobody even cares!

All the characters freeze in the background.

NARRATOR MARIA: How do we acknowledge and honor the nameless lives lost in countless
wars and tragedies?

Lights fade out. Lights come back on slowly.

Scene 6-B: Wall of Names

SIDDHARTH, SARA, REBECCA, MARIA, JADA are on the stage, lined up shoulder to shoulder
in the form of wall. All are chanting names, loudly, with their voices overlapping.

REBECCA: Frank Muehlbauer, Bernice Herman, Theresa Lieser, Mark Enninga.

SIDDHARTH: Rosemary, Rani, Philando Castile, Landu Jarika, Mukta Bankira, Waseem
Ahmad, Rohith Vemula, Muthu Krishnan, Pehlu Khan.

MARIA: Cirino Tejeda Meza, Luis Ángel Abarca Castillo, Marco Antonio Gómez
Molina, Felipe Arnulfo Rosa, Abel García Hernández, Jorge Aníbal Cruz
Mendoza.

SARA: ‫ عبدهللا‬-‫ سلمان العشبان‬-‫ حسين جاسم‬-‫ عبدهللا فخرو‬-‫ إبراهيم المدهون‬-‫فرحات خورشيد‬
‫ يوسف المناعي‬-‫ محمود مشيمع‬-‫ عمار العطاوي‬-‫الصالح‬

JADA: Lozen, Bella Laboucan-Mclean, Josephine Griffis, Tony Bork.

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Jada steps forward. Siddharth, Sara, Rebecca, and Maria continue to chant names at very
low volume. These four gradually make space between themselves by inching forward or
backward. As Jada moves and speaks, she interacts with the wall by weaving between
bodies. Siddharth, Sara, Rebecca, and Maria are dynamic with their voices and at times
become louder and drown out Jada’s. Throughout the scene, the voices fight and negotiate
with one another.

JADA: Yet I speak out,

Because fortunately I am able to
Without fear of my tongue
That my ancestors died upon
Or shunned their own voice,
Was it worth it? I’m sorry

Wall moves apart, two take a step forward, two take a step back to make space for Jada to weave
in between.
For I am somewhat safer
Today, but will never be able to fully
Communicate or relate to
Them,
Caught in pictures,
They,
must be living because I swear
I feel their face to my
Face haunting, demanding
“That we be accountable to people who
Have not counted in the historical and public
Record.”
Those turned into wall

Wall moves back together and is complete.

A wall of thousands of names

Name chanting becomes louder.

Standing
next to a tank double the size,
maybe if I got inside and aimed and…

Volume of chanting drops

Free those names and ghosts trapped

In the laments of war,
Those not able to have a choice in
War as one day they woke up

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 To bombs and blood, Flood
the memories of Tunnels…

Lights fade out.

Scene 6-C: Back in the Black Market

VENDOR (1), OLGA, MARIA, VENDOR (2)

Vendor (1) and Olga walk swiftly onto the stage, with their arms interlocked. Maria is behind
them, trying to catch up.

VENDOR (1): Hey look who I found.

VENDOR (2): Oh Doña Olga! It’s good to see you!

VENDOR (1): Senora Lisa, Doña Olga is looking for some scrap metal. I will go find her
some while you two catch up!

VENDOR (2): We have just the thing for you. We got a huge shipment of scrap metal. All
the wars are really great for scrap metal business! Some of it could even be
fresh from the Gulf War.

Vendor (1) runs back with a big box of metal scraps and hands it over to Maria.

VENDOR (1): Here you go, Señorita!

MARIA: Wow, this is just perfect for my project!

VENDOR (1): Señorita, we also have some genuine antique scrap metal from World War
II.

MARIA: No, Thank you. No World War II, III or IV. This will work just fine.

OLGA: Oh, thank you so much! How much will it be?

VENDOR (2): Oh nothing, nothing at all! We can’t charge you for the spoils of war. The
wars have been good to us. Thank you, wars!

OLGA: Oh, you are too kind.

After saying good-byes, Olga grabs Maria’s hand and they begin weaving back through the
market. Maria looks at her grandmother with an awe and respect. IN A FREEZE FRAME: Maria
turns her face to the audience. Olga is just one step ahead of her appearing to be still holding her
hand. Maria has just realized that her grandma is not the same person she thought she knew. Olga

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has lived a whole life that Maria knows nothing about.

NARRATOR MARIA: Although I was sixteen and she was seventy-two, it was me who was
exhausted after that trip to the market. My grandmother was beaming with
energy.

Freeze frame ends. Maria is acting tired and Olga is energized. Lights fade out.

Scene 7: Burial Ground

NARRATOR ANA, OLGA, GABI, MARIA, ANA

NARRATOR ANA: As Grandma started attending her friends’ funerals more often, she began
to say that she, too, was standing in line for her turn to come.

Olga is standing solemnly in the center of the stage, looking straight ahead at the audience. Maria,
Ana, Gabi are in a line of mourners and walk across the stage from left wing to right wing, in front
of Gabi.

GABI: Mama, what is wrong?

OLGA: I’m standing in line.

GABI: What do you mean?

OLGA: Well, to die.

GABI: Mama, don’t talk like that!

OLGA: Gabi, we all have to die.

Lights fade out.

Scene 8: Gabi in a Big House

NARRATOR ANA, GABI, OLGA JR. (GOGA), PEDRO JR. (PERICO), JAVIER, OLGA SR.

Lisa adds Pedro Sr., Pedro Jr., Olga Jr. (Goga), and Javier to the family tree slide.

NARRATOR ANA: But my mother, Gabriela or Gabi, had a different story. She was the
youngest of four. My grandparents’ first son, Pedro Jr., also known as
Perico, was ten years older than my mother. Then my aunt Olga Jr., lovingly
called Goga, was eight years older than my mother. The youngest son,

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 Uncle Javier, was four years older than my mom.

Children enter. Javier lies on a bed, covered in blankets. Gabi, Goga and Perico stand by the
doorway to his room, looking concerned.

NARRATOR ANA: Uncle Javier was a sickly child. One time he was near dying. My
grandmother focused all her energies on Javier.

Gabi, Goga and Perico slowly tiptoe into the room. Gabi kneels at the foot of Javier’s bed. Perico
and Goga stand around Javier.

GABI: Javier, come play with me.

Olga Sr. enters the room.

OLGA SR: Gabi, Javi cannot play with you now. Don’t you see how sick he is? Kids,
go outside and play. Leave Javier alone.

GOGA: Gabi, come. Let's play outside.

JAVIER: I want to play, too.

PERICO: Come, Gabi, Goga. Let’s go out.

Olga Sr. lays towels on Javier’s forehead as Gabi, Olga Jr. and Perico leave the room.

Scene 9: Whom Do You Love More?

NARRATOR ANA, GABI, OLGA JR. (GOGA), OLGA SR, TIA FERNANDA

NARRATOR ANA: My mother does not have many childhood memories of Grandma. She has
many more memories of her sister, Olga, whom everyone called Goga. Her
sister was her mentor and a mother figure.

Gabi sits on a chair reading a book. Goga is braiding her hair.

GOGA: Gabi, how was your day?

GABI: It was okay. I am playing Mother Mary in a school play.

GOGA: That is nice! Did the teacher pick you?

GABI: No, the kids did. They thought I would make a great Mary.

GOGA: I agree! You will make a great Mary. Do you have homework to do?

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GABI: Yes. I have math homework. Could you help me with it, Goga?

Tia Fernanda and Olga Sr. enter the room.

OLGA SR: Girls! Say hi to Tia Fernanda.

GOGA & GABI: Hi, Tia Fernanda!

OLGA SR. (to Fernanda): I’m going to get the playing cards. Goga, get your Tia something to
drink.

GOGA: Ok. I have to get Gabi lunch too. (Both Olgas leave room)

TIA: Gabi, what a lovely braid!

GABI: Thank you, Tia. Goga makes the best braids.

TIA: I’m sure she does.

TIA (playfully): Gabi, which Olga do you love more? Your Sister Olga or your Mother
Olga?

GABI (looks through the corridor into the kitchen where Olga Sr. is looking for her cards and
Olga Jr is fixing her a sandwich): I love Olga more.

TIA: Silly girl, which Olga?

Gabi looks at both Olgas again, as they turn around and look back at her. Olga has her cards in
her hands, and Goga is carrying a tray. They both freeze for a moment.

GABI: I love Goga, my sister.

Olga Sr. and Goga walk towards Fernanda and Gabi. Goga serves Fernanda a drink and then
turns to her sister and offers her a sandwich.

OLGA SR.: Found the cards! (Turns to Goga) Thank you, Goga!

Scene 10: Don Paco’s Despacho

NARRATOR ANA, GABI, DON PACO

NARRATOR ANA: I think my mother was lonely in the big, dark house. I imagine it as a dark
house because by the time I came to know this house, other structures
blocked the light. Mother drew a lot and spent her days in the despacho with

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 Don Paco making models. Don Paco worked in my grandfather's despacho
making miniature building models. So between home and the despacho, my
mother was always studying and making things. Sometimes, Grandma
actually had to ask her to stop studying.

Gabi is sitting in a poorly lit room reading a book. She looks restless. She can see Don Paco in
the workshop across from the house. Don Paco is engrossed in his work. Gabi stares at him and
then tries to go back to her book, but is unable to focus. She gets up and opens a window, then
walks towards the workshop.

GABI: Don Paco, I am so bored!

DON PACO: Come help me build my models. I will teach you how.

Gabi excitedly sits down next to Don Paco. Both start an intense conversation as Don Paco shows
Gabi how to build the model structures.

Olga enters the room and exchanges pleasantries with Don Paco. Gabi is still engrossed in what
she is doing.

OLGA: Hey, Gabi, Don Paco! How are you, Don Paco? Gabi, what are you doing
in the workshop? Go play outside. It is such a beautiful day.

GABI: Mama, there is no one to play with and nothing to do in the house. Don Paco
is teaching me how to build these model houses.

OLGA: Gabi, listen to me. Go and play outside. You’re always inside studying.

GABI: Whatever! You never want me to have fun. Bye, Don Paco.

OLGA: Go and have fun!

Gabi walks out of the workshop.

Scene 11: Gabi Gets Teased

NARRATOR ANA, GABI, PEDRO, JAVIER

NARRATOR ANA: Pedro and Javier often teased my mother. Once they wrapped her in
blankets like a big taco and left her outside to spend the night in the garden.

Gabi is standing in the middle of the room, completely engrossed in her painting. She does not
notice Pedro and Javier sneaking up behind her with blankets over their heads. Pedro touches her
shoulders and startles her.

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GABI: Pedro, I know it is you! Leave me alone. I am painting.

PEDRO (sticks his head out from the blanket): Come, let’s play a game.

GABI: No, I am painting.

JAVIER: It’s an amazing new game, Gabi. Let's play. You will love it.

GABI: (curious, yet apprehensive) Okay, what's the game?

PEDRO: It's called Taco. Whoever is IT gets wrapped like a taco. Then they have to
untangle the blankets and come find the others. You're IT! I am the
restaurant owner. Javier is the cook. We will wrap you up like a Taco first!

GABI : Why do I have to be the Taco first?

PEDRO: Because you’re the adopted one.

PEDRO (pretending to be the owner of a taco shop and scolding Javier, the cook): Quick, quick!
You are being so slow. Look, the customers are waiting. Be careful man,
what are you doing? The filling is all coming out!

Javier wraps Gabi up tightly with blankets, carries her to the garden and sets her down in a corner.

PEDRO: We will go hide and whistle three times. When you hear the third whistle
you have to get out of the taco and come find us. And then you win!

GABI: But it's cold outside, Pedro.

PEDRO: You are wrapped up. You won't be cold!

JAVIER: We will hide in easy places. You’ll be able to find us in no time.

Pedro and Javier run away and go back into the house giggling. Pedro whistles once, then again
after a few seconds. Gabi looks expectantly towards the house for the third whistle.

GABI (a bit scared): Pedro? Javier?

After a while, Gabi leans back and falls asleep, huddled in her blankets.

Lights fade out.

Scene 12: Is She the Adopted one?

NARRATOR MARIA, NARRATOR ANA, OLGA SR., GABI, FRIEDA

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NARRATOR MARIA: Our mama, Gabi, got married quite young. But Mama, and later Ana and I,
spent a lot of time at our grandparents house, especially on weekends.
Mama never thought much of her brothers teasing her about being adopted
until it came up again later in life.

NARRATOR ANA: Yes. This is what happened. One time, when our mother was in her thirties,
she was at a party of our grandmother. Grandma was playing canasta as
usual with her friends: throwing cards on the table, smoking, talking, and
laughing loudly.

Olga Sr. is playing cards with a big group of friends. They are drinking and laughing. The bell
rings. The group of friends now act in mime.

Gabi enters the foyer of the house and opens the door.

GABI: Hello, you must be Frieda. Mama is expecting you.

FRIEDA: Are you Gabi? I have heard so much about you! It is good to finally meet
you.

Gabi takes Freida’s arm leads her inside. Freida looks at Gabi the entire time. They enter the
room where Olga is playing cards with her friends.

GABI: Mama, your friend Freida is here.

FRIEDA (dramatically): Hi Olga, is she the adopted one?

A tabla beat is heard in the background. Olga looks staggered, flustered, and furious. She stands
up, grabs Frieda by the arm and forces her into her chair.

OLGA: Frieda, you are already so late to the game. Stop talking nonsense. Sit down
and play cards!

Game resumes in mime. Gabi exits room, looking shaken. She stands in the center of the stage
deep in thought.

NARRATOR ANA & NARRATOR MARIA (repeat): Is she the adopted one? Is she the adopted one?
Is she the adopted one?

Lights fade out. Lights fade in.

Scene 13: Gabriela Digs into Her History

NARRATOR ANA, NARRATOR MARIA, GABI, OLGA

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NARRATOR MARIA: Then our mother started asking about her birth and digging through old
family pictures ferociously.

NARRATOR ANA: Our mother looks nothing like our Grandma Olga, and there were no photos
of our grandmother pregnant with our mother. But everyone would dismiss
Mama’s inquiry, just like they had always dismissed her.

Gabi is sitting on the floor in the middle of the study flipping through a pile of old photo albums.
She is talking to herself.

GABI: These are photos of Mama pregnant with Olga. This has to be Pedro. Yeah,
this is the year he was born. And of course this is Javier. This album from
1958 should have pictures from when Mama was pregnant with me. (Flips
through the entire album) Hmm…but these are all Mama’s and Papa’s
Europe pictures.

Olga enters the room and sits down next to Gabi.

OLGA: Gabi, my love! What are you doing?

GABI: Mama, I’ve been looking through our old photo albums. You and papa went
to Europe in 58, right?

OLGA: Yes.

GABI: The same year I was born?

OLGA: Yes.

GABI: Did you take me with you?

OLGA: Gabi! How could we have taken you on a long journey by ship? You were
so little. And you were such a cranky baby.

GABI (flings the photo album across the floor): Really, Mama? Who leaves a two-month old baby
to go to Europe for three months?

OLGA: Gabi, how could we have taken you when we were wandering around. You
were here with Abuela Lolita and Carlotita. They took excellent care of you.

GABI: You would have never left me like that if I was your baby.

OLGA: How can you even say that, Gabi! Of course you are my baby.

Olga lifts Gabi up by her arm. Gabi gets up but pushes away Olga’s hand.

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GABI: Mama, I am not so sure anymore! There is not a single photo from when
you were pregnant with me. There are so many pictures from when you
were pregnant with Goga, Pedro and Javier.

OLGA: Gabi, I hated having my photos taken when I was pregnant. I looked
horrible! That’s all.

GABI: Horrible! Mama, is that what you’re going to tell me? That you looked
horrible? You think I haven't seen those pictures? It is my life that is
horrible!

Gabi looks away to the other side. Lights fade out.

NARRATOR MARIA: Mama continued to ask everyone. She asked her mother, her brother, her
sister, everyone. But no one would quench her thirst for her roots. Just like
so many people in this world who are seeking some grounding in complex
connections and relations, familiar and unfamiliar.

Scene 14: Ramallah Goddam!

GHOSTS (NITHYA, ALAINA, JADA), SARA, REBECCA/ ESMAE

AT RISE: Three ghosts—Nithya, Alaina, and Jada—stand in line at center stage,

about a foot apart from each other, facing the audience. Sara stands at the
far right, facing the ghosts. She appears to be anxious and lost.

GHOSTS (whispering): Be patient, hold your ground. Be patient, hold your ground. Be patient,
hold your ground.

Rai music plays in the background and the ghosts begin to sway to its beats.
.
REBECCA: Ghareebah
roaming this world in solitude

Sara walks hastily, looking at the horizon, as she makes her way zigzagging between the ghosts.

REBECCA: ghareebah in a ghorbah of inherited memories

bitter past, present, and predicated memories

Sara picks up her walking speed as she zigzags between the ghosts. She stumbles into each of them,
one after another and looks straight into their piercing eyes - the past, present, and predicated.

REBECCA: ghareebah in a gharb that is blind to the ghosts haunting me

deaf to their songs of Al-Manama, Tlatelolco, Telangana

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 of Ramallah, Manila, Acteal, and Alabama.

Sara stops here abruptly to look at the audience and gestures as she calls out the name of each
city, repeating after the narrator, and moving across the stage.

REBECCA: Deaf to them singing:

Nithya, Alaina, Jada, and Sara are now standing next to each other, holding a pretend
microphone, swinging to the beat of Nina Simone’s song, “Mississippi Goddam.” Together they
sing:
Alabama's gotten me so upset,
North Dakota’s made me lose my rest
And everybody knows about…

Nithya, Alaina, and Jada begin smaller, quicker, sharper movements as Sara begins to speak.

SARA (takes a step forward and gestures as she calls out restlessly to the audience):
Ramallah, Goddam!
Goddam… speak up… say something! (with urgency)
Goddam… speak up… say something! (aggressively)
Goddam… speak up… say something! (imploringly)
Goddam… speak up… say something! (wearily)

a wrecking Bahraini pearl,

shattering hope,
burying its broken pieces under piles of lifeless
bodies
bodies that do not belong
marked bodies, still bodies
bodies of warriors fallen [DRUMBEAT]
in wars we know of,

Nithya, Alaina, and Jada drop to the ground in pain, one after another.

SARA: And many others we don’t

Nithya hums a Malayalam lullaby in the background.

SARA: Yet in the midst of dark suffocating despair, I whisper to myself:

Be patient.
Hold your ground.

Alaina, and Jada begin repeating “Be patient, hold your ground. Be patient, hold your ground”-
Sara’s voice is louder than the voices in the background.

Be patient.

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 Hold your ground.
Be patient.
Hold your ground.

SARA: And as the dawn comes in

I exhale
exhale the darkness
from my
within.

Lights fade out. Lights come back.

NARRATOR ANA: So reconstructing past stories, my mother came to believe that she was her
aunt’s daughter.

Scene 15: Two Sisters

NARRATOR ANA, NARRATOR MARIA

Lisa updates the family tree to include Maria’s grandfather, his two brothers, and his two sisters,
Carmela and Leonor (Nona).

NARRATOR ANA: Now let me tell you about my grandfather’s family. My grandfather was the
youngest one among three brothers & two sisters. All the brothers were very
successful! But the two sisters, Tia Carmela and Tia Leonor were never
married and they were never allowed to work outside the house. They lived
with their parents all their lives…What a life!

NARRATOR MARIA: It was said that Tia Carmela had a very dominating personality. She never
went to school because she didn’t like school and she didn’t learn to read or
write. The only memory I have of her is from a time I was in their house. I
was seven or eight. She was talking so loudly that she was almost shouting.
I remember walking down the stairs with her once—she held my hand so
tightly that it hurt. My grandfather visited his sisters every week, but always
by himself. My grandmother and Tia Carmela didn’t talk to each other.

NARRATOR ANA: By contrast, Tia Nona or Leonor was always very loving towards my mother
and towards us. She had studied chemistry but like I told you, she never
worked outside the house. My mother told me that when Tia Nona was
young she traveled on a ship to Europe and met an Italian man.

Narrator Ana and Narrator Maria passionately sing a line of a romantic duet, ‘Do lafzon ki hai’,
as they become Nona and her Italian lover for a moment

NARRATOR ANA: But the family did not allow her to be with him. Maybe she had a daughter?

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 After that, Tia Nona was forced to live and take care of the insufferable Tia
Carmela.

Scene 16: Becoming Spanish

NARRATOR LISA

LISA: For every story that’s told, there is another story that remains untold. In the
making of this performance, we started asking why Nona and others from
Mexico might be traveling to Europe at this time? How was travel to Europe
connected with the evolving class aspirations of the Mexican bourgeoisie?
Here is our attempt at exploring this hidden layer in our story:

Maria’s great grandfather Juvencio Max Ramírez, that is, her grandfather’s
father, sold used books in the market of La Lagunilla in Mexico City. He
was a book lover and an avid reader. During the revolution between 1910
and 1917, he bought the books of rich diplomats who were fleeing the
country. Some of these were incredibly valuable old books in Latin,
German, and French. So while foreign diplomats and Mexican aristocracy
fled the country, European aspirations were passed down and inherited by
new generations of mestizos who fueled and rode on the wave of the
reconstruction.

Maria’s great-grandfather never talked about his family, but it is said that
he spoke some Hñañu, a language that is still spoken in Central Mexico. He
later married Doña Dolores Vázquez, a daughter of Spanish immigrants.

Maria’s grandfather, that is, Gabi’s father, Pedro, was born in 1919. His
high school teacher, Carlos Pellicer, a well-known Mexican writer and poet,
inspired him to become an architect. He benefited immensely from the
boom and reconstruction after the revolution. Thinkers, artists, builders,
planners, and entrepreneurs, everyone began to take advantage of the boom.

Pedro's rise as an architect happened during this time in the 1930s and in
the 1940s. He got his first assignment as an architect right after he graduated
from the National University. He first designed a prefabricated school that
could be transported to remote communities. Hundreds upon hundreds of
these schools were brought to and assembled in places where there were no
schools previously. This was part of a national campaign to assimilate the
Indigenous population. Pedro often talked of a time when an old man, from
one of the villages where they were building schools, confronted him about
why these schools were needed…We can’t help wondering if Maria’s
interest in grappling with the politics of education has something to do with
this complex inherited history?

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 After this little fragment of the hidden story–one where Europe becomes
entangled with the everyday lives of people in Maria’s family in Mexico, as
well as with the unresolved origins of her own mother–let’s get back to
where we left off our other story.

Scene 17-A: Remembering Carlotita

NARRATOR ANA, LOLITA, OLGA, PEDRO, CARLOTITA, NARRATOR MARIA, MANOLO

NARRATOR ANA: My mother was born in 1958. That's when Pedro and Olga, my
grandparents, sailed to Europe for three long months.

Pedro, Olga, Gabi enter stage.

NARRATOR ANA: Pedro was 39 and Olga was 32. They had by this time four children, who
were ten years old, eight years old, four years old, and two-months old. That
littlest one was my mama, Gabi.

Lisa’s slides show Lolita and Lolita’s husband, Manolo, on the family tree.

Lolita’s house. Lolita is on stage. Olga, Pedro and Carlotita enter the house from right wing. Olga
is holding a little baby in her hands. Sounds of Monolo’s moaning and coughing can be heard in
the background.

Lisa shows slides of Olga’s three other older kids—Olga (Goga), Pedro, and Javier.

Olga Sr. and Pedro say goodbyes to Lolita. Pedro crosses stage to hand bags to the driver, then
waits and listens as Olga and Carlotita talk. Olga hands over baby Gabi to Carlotita.

NARRATOR MARIA: They left my mom with Abue Lolita, my grandmother’s mother, who by
then had been caring for Manolo, her quadriplegic husband who was
bedridden for over five years. My mother couldn’t understand, when she
learned about this trip, how a mother could have the heart to leave her two-
month old infant behind for three months. Why couldn’t she take her?

Lisa adds Carlotita to the family tree.

OLGA: Carlotita, you’ve always been a pillar of support. I know I’m adding to your
burdens, but Mama needs to take care of Papa. Olga and Pedro will take
care of themselves, but Pedro will need a reminder to do his homework.
You will need to take care of Javier. Please make sure he takes all his
medicines. The new tonic has to be given at five. Make sure Olga goes to
her music lessons every weekend. And of course there’s Gabi… I know
you’ll take care of her!

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CARLOTITA: Don't worry, Señora! I know this. These are things I do every day, no?
Haven’t I always looked after all your children when they were much
younger?

OLGA: Yes, Carlotita. Thank you. (To Lolita) Oh, Mom, thank you for your help.
Carlotita will help with the children, so you won’t have to leave Papa alone,
he needs you and is very ill. If there’s anything worrisome, please don’t
hesitate to make a trunk call or send a telegram.

PEDRO SR.: I have written down all the cities, the dates we will be there and hotels we
are staying at for you. The papers are in the desk. Please contact me if there
is an emergency.

LOLITA: Don’t worry, go, we have everything under control. Go! Have a safe trip!

PEDRO SR.: Come on darling, we have to go.

Pedro leads Olga away. Narrator Maria takes center stage.

NARRATOR MARIA: Abue Lolita could not have cared for my mother, my aunt, two uncles, and
her husband if it weren’t for Carlotita. Carlotita worked for my grandparents
and lived with them. When Olga and Pedro were away she moved to Abue
Lolita’s house for three months to take care of all the children. (Exits)

LOLITA: Isn’t she so lovely? And so small.

CARLOTITA: She is smaller than my son, when he was two months old. He was a big
baby though.

LOLITA (handing over keys): I’ll show you to your room. I recommend locking your door. I don’t
want the three children playing tricks on you and giving you more work.

CARLOTITA: This is the first time that I’ll be taking care of all the children and the baby,
by myself.

LOLITA: If you need any help, let me know. I’ll be around, of course.

MANOLO: (from the other room, coughing) Lolita! Some water. Can I get some water?

LOLITA: I must go. (Exits)

CARLOTITA (with a strange mix of longing and bitterness in her voice, she looks at the child in
her arms): She is so little. (Looks at the horizon in anguish) And she does
remind me of my son, Manuel. Except, she is not Manuel, Manuel is in the
village where I left him behind, like I always do, to be here with Olga’s
children, to take care of Olga’s children instead...

23
Lisa adds Carlotita’s son, Manuel, to the family tree.

NARRATOR MARIA: I remember Carlotita as ageless. A small woman with a long white braid
and a presence that surpassed the borders of time. She had a son in her
village. My mother later learned that while Carlotita was taking care of my
grandmother’s family, someone else was raising her son.

Carlotita is in the kitchen busy with her routine work as other dialogue occurs.

MARIA: Do you remember much about Carlotita?

ANA: You know, not as much as I thought I would. She was always around. I
think she came from the state of Mexico… Oh! She had a son; do you
remember Manuel?

MARIA: Really? Oh yeah, I Remember Mama saying that Carlotita had a son. But
Mama never really liked Carlotita that much.

ANA: They didn't have a very close relationship. Not very affectionate, it was very
serious, actually. Now...do you know how old was Manuel when she left to
work here?

MARIA: He was probably around Mama’s age.

ANA: How often do you think she got a chance to see him?

MARIA: Once or twice a year, maybe?

Gabi enters with a tray of tea and snacks. She hands drinks to Ana and Maria.

ANA: Mama! How old were you when Carlotita came to work for our family?

GABI: Hmmm…well, she took care of me when your grandma and grandpa went
to Europe. She was probably here before that. She was always around when
I was growing up.

ANA: What was she like?

GABI: Carlotita, she was really efficient. She ran the whole house, took care of all
four of us. I would often watch her from a distance…There was something
odd between us. Maybe because I reminded her too much of Manuel? I
never could tell actually. All I remember is that her eyes never quite lit up
when she saw me in the same way as they lit up when she saw your Tia
Olga.

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Flashback: Gabi goes back down memory lane; Ana and Maria exit.

Lights fade out.

Scene 17-B: Carlotita and Gabi

CARLOTITA, GABI

Lights fade in. Gabi enters stage right. Carlotita is in the kitchen cooking soup.

GABI: It smells so good in here!! What are you cooking, Carlotita?

CARLOTITA: Soup.

GABI: I’m soooo hungry!!!

CARLOTITA (irritated): Calm down child, calm down. What are you doing in here?

GABI: Can I stir it?!?

CARLOTITA (stirring vigorously): Shhhh, don’t! Wait! Just wait. Your mama wouldn't want you
doing these things. I don't like to be disturbed while cooking.

GABI: No, it just smells so good and I just want to… Can I add some pepper to the
soup?

CARLOTITA: The soup is just fine, child…

GABI: Mmm, can I put it in my bowl myself?

CARLOTITA (angrily): No. Not here. Go, go sit at the dining table—go there. I’ll bring it there
when it’s done.

GABI: The smell is making me soooo hungry. Why can’t I just have a taste?

CARLOTITA: I said no. Soup will be served at dinner time, which is clearly not now. Leave
the kitchen or you won’t have any at all.

Gabi leaves the kitchen in a sad huff. End of flashback. Gabi travels back to the present with Maria
and Ana. Lights fade out.

Scene 17-C: Remembering Carlotita

ANA, MARIA, GABI, NARRATOR MARIA

25
After flashback. Ana and Maria come back from right.

GABI (to Ana and Maria): She was a strict disciplinarian. I guess, she probably had a lot of work
to do. She took care of all of us… Still, I always felt that she was more
patient with Pedro, Javier, and Goga than she ever was with me.

NARRATOR MARIA: Carlotita always appeared very serious to me. My mother described her as
being somewhat dry. They certainly didn’t have a very warm relationship.
It was a mixture of distance, familiarity and perhaps respect? Carlotita was
very authoritative with all four children. In contrast, she was very warm
towards both my grandfather and my grandmother. She was completely
devoted to them.

All exit.

Scene 18: Watching TV

OLGA SR., CARLOTITA, PEDRO SR., GABI, PERICO

Lights fade in. Olga, Don Pedro, Gabi, and Perico are sitting and watching television as Carlotita
sweeps the room.

OLGA: Carlotita! Can we have some more lemonade?

CARLOTITA (stops sweeping and puts the broom away): Yes, Doña Olga! I will get to that right
away!

Carlotita runs to the kitchen to make some lemonade for the family. She then runs back to the
living room with a tray and several glasses of freshly squeezed lemonade. She serves Olga first.

OLGA: Thank you, Carlotita.

Carlotita nods and serves the lemonade to the rest of the family: Don Pedro and then the children.
Nobody else acknowledges her presence. Carlotita puts the tray back in the kitchen and quietly
resumes her sweeping. The family sits around the TV playing cards, and making comments while
watching commercials and entertainment.

PEDRO: Aren’t they going to show any news? This is only clowns and marketing.

PERICO: With everything that is going on in this world, it’s crazy that you don’t hear
anything about Vietnam or the Prague Spring… and what about the student
shooting right here? You don’t hear anything about Tlatelolco on TV or the
crimes of that general ape Diaz Ordaz…

26
PEDRO: Those students are troublemakers. Dissidence is one thing, disrespect
towards the President of the Republic quite another.

PERICO: Why are you always supporting the government, Papa?

PEDRO: The government pays our bills, Perico!

Lights fade out.

Scene 19: Olga’s Death

NARRATOR ANA, MARIA, ANA, GABI, OLGA, CARLOTITA

Carlotita is going about her daily work throughout the narration, while an ill Olga lies in bed, and
Gabi sits at the foot of the bed. When Olga’s death is mentioned by Narrator Ana, Carlotita moves
to stand by Olga, near her head. Both Gabi and Olga take care of her, without breaking down and
weeping. When the scene advances with Maria and Ana, Carlotita and Gabi continue to act silently
in mime.

NARRATOR ANA: Despite the house being so big, Carlotita’s living space was restricted—
from the kitchen to her small room upstairs. The rest of the house was her
workplace, where she changed sheets, ironed, and wiped floors. We
children were not allowed to explore her space and never really saw her
sitting down to rest. When Maria and I were teenagers, Grandma fell
severely ill. It was Hepatitis C, an infection that had been passed through a
blood transfusion 15 years ago.

MARIA: Remember how she used to sing all the time?

ANA: Yeah, Mariquita Linda, (sings) El día en que me quieras… [We’ll meet
again, don’t know where, don’t know when, but I know we’ll meet again
some sunny day...Keep smiling through, just like you always do, ‘till the
sunshine drives the dark clouds far away…]

MARIA: You sang that song to her when she was in the hospital. You added a verse
about her teaching us to sing. I still cry every time I hear it.

ANA: That was terrible!

MARIA: No, it was not. And how she taught us to roll a tortilla. Remember?

ANA: First you fold it. Or cut it in half, and again in half...

MARIA: And use as a spoon!

27
ANA: Oh, and how she used to make the car dance?

MARIA & ANA: Qué baile! Qué baile! Qué baile! Qué baile!

NARRATOR ANA: The day my grandmother died… Carlotita was inconsolable.

Olga takes her last breath. Gabi and Carlotita cover her face with the shawl that is on her body.

Ana and Maria watch the scene and smile solemnly at each other, and then a little laugh escapes.
Then they both sigh. Lights fade out.

Scene 20: Retelling Dis/appearing Tales

ALL PARTICIPANTS

Every character on stage moves to form a semi-circle to speak with the audience and draw them
in. All the other participants who traveled together in class over the semester emerge from the
wings to join in.

LISA: With that last memory of Olga’s passing, our story comes to an end. Like
every story that lives, this one also remains incomplete.

JADA: My name is Jada. I have been thinking: In what ways do we construct

memories so that we might remember that which has escaped us or that
which has been buried?

SARA: I am Sara. I am reflecting on how doing justice to a story is an ever-

becoming journey that will never become.

NITHYA: I am Nithya. I have been thinking a lot about the process we have gone
through as a group—of relinquishing attachments to the stories we
presented in class and embracing Maria’s story and making it our own.
What would it mean to bring this spirit to our everyday lives and our
research?

RICHA: I am Richa. This performance is part of my continued struggle with what it

means to teach, write, and think in and through our minds, bodies, hearts,
and to make this labor a part of our collective labor for justice. I am asking
what such embodied learning means in very different contexts, what it
teaches each time, and the kinds continuities and differences that remain. I
am humbled by the unending nature of this deep collective exploration.

TARUN: I am Tarun. I am still catching the appearing and disappearing stories we

told and retold… I am still searching for their threads, so that I can connect
the stories to their roots, to their moods, to their bodies, to their souls.

28
Alaina, Devleena, Esmae, Maria, Naimah, Rebecca, and Siddharth join in to introduce themselves
and advance the reflections in a similar vein.

LISA: This brings us to the end of our performance. We know it is not a perfect
performance, but it is through confronting our imperfections and mistakes
that we have grappled with what it takes to do the justice to the labor of
telling stories. This performance is the accumulation of our collective
energies of sharing our stories with each other in the spirit of radical
vulnerability. This means becoming aware of how we communicate and
receive stories while observing the lives and memories of those who have
made our retellings possible, as well the unacknowledged, unnamed, and
the invisible whose stories remain untold and uncelebrated. This
performance – as an ever-incomplete collective creation – reflects the
idiosyncrasies and peculiarities that make our individual stories memorable
and resonant, while also revealing the relations of power that make our
memories so tenuous, and so pregnant with political-social-emotional
meanings. And now, we would love to hear from you so that we can deepen
this conversation.

29