Join us on Sunday, September 7th at 7:00 PM to celebrate the poetry of one of the most remarkable writers of all time, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz. Celebrating Hispanic Literature and Music. Special guests: Ermelinda Cuellar Trio will be interpreting Latin America songs & Angeles Romero will read the poetry of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz in Spanish and English. 

Known as the Tenth Muse, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz is Latin America's finest Baroque poet, but her work was forgotten for almost two hundred years until rediscovered by women scholars at the start of the 20th century. Thanks in part to Octavio Paz's majestic biographical study, Sor Juana has regained her rightful place as a prolific writer and thinker. She is now credited as the first published feminist of the new world.

Born on November 12, 1651 in San Miguel Neplantla, Mexico, she was the illegitimate daughter of a Spanish father and Creole mother. Sor Juana thirsted for knowledge throughout her entire life although females had little access to formal education.  Defying the expected convention of marriage Sor Juana joined the nunnery in 1667 as the only option to continue her studies. “Who has forbidden women to engage in private and individual studies? Have they not a rational soul as men do? ... I have this inclination to study and if it is evil I am not the one who formed me thus – I was born with it and with it I shall die.”

Sor Juana didn't limit her writings to topics related to religious matters. Many of her works were erotic love poems and plays of passion. This was quite unusual for a woman altogether but for a nun, her choice of subject matter caused the wrath of many who were in power. Women in Colonial Mexico were not culturally supported to express their own opinions.

Writing about love was for Sor Juana a deep declaration of psychic, spiritual and emotional need. Her love poems are expressions of the uncertain modern psyche. Because they are ferociously passionate, we feel consumed by the naked intensity she achieves.

Sor Juana died of the plague in Mexico City, Mexico, on April 17, 1695.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 7 at 7:00 PM

RUNTIME:
75 minutes with no intermission

TICKETS:
General Admission
$25 in advance
$30 at the door

NO LATE SEATING

This event is not suitable for children.

Please note that each ticket is subject to a $5 fee at checkout.

GUEST ARTISTS:

Ermelinda Cuellar - Jazz and Latin music vocalist

Ermelinda Cuellar is known to Houston audiences for her beautiful vocal quality and sophisticated rhythmic feel. Cuellar has been recognized by music critics for her precise intonation, inventive improvisations, and passionate story-telling in both English and Spanish.

Angles Romero - actor, writer and activist

Angles Romero was born on the Mexican-American border and was raised between two cultures. Now, as an actor, writer and activist, she resides in Houston. “My work meditates on the new lexicon of contemporary Latino culture and its junction with other cultures”. Angeles Romero studied Political Science at UT-Austin and later obtained an MFA in Theatre from The Ohio State University. She’s dedicated over a decade to teaching acting and performance techniques in workshops and academic settings. As an independent performer and writer, Angeles’ works have been showcased nationally. Under a Houston Arts Alliance fellowship, she wrote Puntos de Fuga, which led to a prestigious invitation to train at the Tadashi Suzuki School in Japan. In 2015, she received an Artist-in-Residency at MECA, where she taught workshops and created works such as El sueño de la razón produce monstruos (2016) and a multimedia stage reading of Puntos de Fuga (2018). Most recently, she performed Sor Juana & the Chambered Nautilus in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico at La Biblioteca Pública, captivating audiences with her exploration of Latinx history and culture.

Greg Petito - guitar

Greg Petito is a professional guitar player with over 25 yrs experience who is well established in the music community of Houston as well as across the State of Texas. Primarily a jazz and fusion guitar player, he is equally skilled at many other styles and his flexibility has been noted by most peers.

Anthony Caceres - singer, composer and bass player

Anthony Caceres has a swinging style, and the desire to create fresh renditions of superior material, whether it is standards of the past, his originals, or performing current pop tunes into jazz. He is also one of the few artists around today who is very comfortable singing and playing the string bass at the
same time.

PLAN YOUR VISIT TO MATCH

*Online sales will end 30 minutes prior to the scheduled curtain time. At this time tickets may be purchased in-person at the box office.

The box office opens 2 hours prior to the performance time for WILL CALL and walkup sales.

All sales are final. No refunds or cancellations available after purchase.

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