Los Monólogos De La Vagina

Some of you may or may not know that i had the wonderful opportunity to co-direct and produce "Los Monólogos De La Vagina" (The Vagina Monologues) here in Guatemala at "El Centro Popular de Cultura Luiz Cardoza" (the cultural center attached to a progressive spanish language school in Quezaltenango). We had 24 women participate from ages 9 to 69. The majority being Guatemalan women with a mix of students and volunteers from around the globe.
I don´t think I knew what I was getting myself into when I was first asked to do the project. The buzz of vaginas soon spread throughout the school and the town. My co-director and I also had the idea of interviewing guatemalan women about their vaginas to include in the show. We traveled to various towns to interview and talk to women. We were a little nervous at first, with our thoughts being that this type of "talk" is "progressive" and "risky" in a conservative culture. But we were wrong and were able to connect and begin dialogues with women in unexpected places. The women really enjoyed talking and we often read monólogos together. One group of women were so inspired by a three hour dialogue and from reading some of the monologues that they rented a mini van to come to the show (they live an hour and a half away from Quezaltenango) My co-director and i decided to write the story of an ex-guerilla who had her first sexual experience with her boss during the civil war. We named it and I quote her "Mi Cuerpo Era Una Revolución" (My body was a revolucion) I have attached the monologue in case you want to practice your spanish. The show was this past Saturday March 1, and it was amazing! We have gotten a lot of positive feedback. We created a stage in the cultural center and set up about 140 chairs. We found this guy "Nati" from Israel who happened to be a light technition to install lights. We filled the center and then some with many people standing where ever they can find space. We raised almost 3,000 quezales for "Nuevos Horizontes" the only women and children´s shelter in Guatemala who have fled violent spouses. Though 3,000 Q is about $400 US dollars, here 400 dollars is more than a teachers salary for a month. To put into context it may be the equal to about $2,500 US dollars.The beautiful part of the project was working with every women and seeing their progress. They were awesome at developing their characters and gave their best. Hearing the audience laugh, pay attention, and listen. I loved working and not feeling like I was working. A truely proud moment for me. I wish many of you could have been there to see it. I will be flying home on March 7 and land in Boston around 11:59pm. I was hoping to do some last minute traveling this week to see Guatemala. I haven´t had the chance becuase I have been busy with this project the past month in a half. But Saturday night I sprained my ankle and now I am stuck in the house. No exciting story about how I sprained my ankle. Yes, i did it walking and fell over one small step in the park. I´m in the middle of saying my good byes, a cliché of bitter sweetness. I "graduated" from the language school this past friday and was blessed with many kind words and thanks for the work I have done at the school. My host family gave me roses and a card at the graduation. My 9 year old host sister told me she is going to break my other ankle so I can´t leave on friday. I will definately miss many people here. Brief update for you all. Words can´t always express....See many of you soon. Attached are some pictures of the show. I´ll leave you with my favorite quote for this week said by my friend, Marissa. "Cristo viene pero la vagina ya esta aquí" (Christ is coming, but the vagina is already here" It may be funnier if you lived here because there is a huge sign at the top of mountain that says "Cristo Viene." Anywho....Much love

Santa Anita Mural Project

Mi Hermana de Guatemala

There is something so special about my nine year old sister, Maria José, and have grown to dearly love her. Her innocence, contagious laugh, her silliness. I couldn´t help but smile inside when one night she borrowed my diskman, and I overheard here singing really bad, off key, in broken English "No one, no one, can ge waaa what feel fo yyouuuuuu" by Alicia Keys. Yes, I have created another fan! It has become an ongoing joke to try and scare each other randomly when we are not expecting it. I often wish adults were as observant and honest as children. One night while the whole family (five of us) were eating dinner...Maria José looks at me and says "whats wrong with your eyes, have you been crying." The whole table looks ups and the mom gives Maria José a look like she shouldn´t have said that. She is the reason why i now understand why parents want to spoil their children.

Feliz Año Nuevo

(written by my friend Jessica Fyles. We spent the holidays together) I knew Christmas was here when I went to buy vegetables at the open air market (a series of vendors lined on the street). It was no longer the market I knew. The market had exploded into what felt like a minature tent city. I was blinded by the glistening sparkle of tinsel draping the vendor stalls and mesmerized by the flashing Christmas lights for sale. Everyone was out selling something....cookies, candies, music, shoes, clothes, apples, fireworks, more cookies...seriously. whatever you could possibly want to eat, wear, look at- it was there....at very reasonable prices. Walking into the market that day (and more importantly, finding my way out) was a test of my sense of direction....which I am proud to say I have. No, bright and shining green exit signs above doors here. Although I was able to find my way in and out, if I had more trouble it wouldn´t have been so bad. Reggaeton, Bachata, Salsa, Norteno (add in the accent above the second n) music snaked it´s way down each and every corridor of the market. Being lost sucks....but being lost to a beat, well I figure that ain´t so bad.

One of the greatest parts about Christmas and New Years here is fireworks and firecrackers. There are stalls and stalls and stalls of people selling crazy fireworks. These are illegal in San Francisco. Therefore, it was only natural that I felt compelled to buy many of them. I set mine off at around 10:30pm on the street in front of my hostel, without fear of police interference. I was pretty tired, so I went to lay down at 11:45pm. As I began to doze I heard a loud thunderous crack and felt a reverberation through my chest that shot my eyes open. Then, I heard more rapid cracks and through the window I could see the sky light up green, yellow, blue, red....Was it the apocalypse? No. It was the birth of Christ. Yes, at midnight, the tradition in Guatemala is that everyone sets off fireworks in front of there house to bring in Christmas Day. Á whole city lighting up the sky and awakening the night for like an hour. We are talking loud firecrackers, fireworks that shoot into the sky, sparklers....everything. It was awesome.

I had heard word that New Years Eve would be similar. That at midnight, the sky would light up a second time. My friends and i headed to a club around 11pm thinking that we would be ¨late.¨ We show up, and there is no one (and I mean no one) except the dj and security guard in this joint. At 10 min to midnight there was no one. Turns out that part of the tradition in Guatemala is that people spend midnight with their family. After midnight is when people go out to the club. (I think this is a great tradition....it seems like you get best of both worlds family and then friends. I think this kind of tradition might have saved me (and probably many other teenagers out there) a lot of unnecessary confrontation with the parents.) Anyhow, at midnight there was no official countdown, people were still sober, and we realized that we had just experienced one of those subtle cultural differences between the US and Guatemala. So, we went to the Parque Central and did our own countdown. There were lots of families and kids in the park too. And then like clockwork, at midnight, the sky lit up, the boom of firecrackers shook the ground. It was beautiful, and kicked the ass of watching a ball drop in Times Square on TV and probably in person. Absorbed in the moment, we spotted a vendor out selling her last firecrackers-works. So, of course, we bought some and got in on the action. Afterwards we went to go shake it in a club....everyone seemed to be out. We were sardines in a can. The club closed at 7am, but I only made it to 4am....We then ate cheese steak sandwiches and walked home satisfied.

Random Thoughts:

This is really dumb but true. i actually miss..of all things.... big fat sidewalks. 3ft wide minimum, with no obstructions, long, good old San Francisco sidewalks. The kind of sidewalk where you can (more or less) confidently look ahead and space out a little, with the moderate glance down to avoid the really nasty stuff, and be surprised when you trip over something. In Xela (city in Guatemala), there are some really nice (but more narrow) sidewalks. However, sometimes the sidewalk takes a bit more attention- wholes appear or street light posts are blocking your way and you gotta step into the busy narrow street, sometimes there is a 1 to 2 ft step to get to the street. i can be a klutz, so all i can say is that it´s good i have strong ankles. anyhow, it made me realize what a lazy walker San Francisco had made me. I had to teach my feet and legs how to adapt, be responsive and be more versatile. They used to be less aware of their surroundings. I guess I actually don´t miss the sidewalks, i guess i just want to indulge in the privilege of walking without thinking so hard. I suppose in the end, I´m in gratitude for this experience because I´ve become a better skilled walker.,,when i get back to the States taking a stroll will probably seem way too easy. Anyhow, next time you step out of the house, take a step for me..

La Navidad

Christmas Eve with my host sister Cecy. "En la calle quemando"