On March 15, the first day of La Decima Musa—a two-day event which is part of the Sor Juana Festival—pretty much leveled the South Side of Chicago with a multi-cultural, multi-discipline happening featuring live music, live painting, performance art, poetry, fashion design and sculpture at The National Museum of Mexican Art, 1852 W. 19th St.
The larger festival, which runs from March 8- April 26, celebrates Juana Ines de la Cruz, but this evening was almost bursting at the seams with so much spirit, energy, culture, warmth, and color that the event seemed overwhelming at times. The theme of this version of the festival was “Redefining Narratives through Impact,” which speaks to de la Cruz’s history of advocacy and writing. Topping off the evening were live performances from two of Chicago’s hottest bands: Traditionalists Madera Once and queer, femme-fronted Latin alternative band The Braided Janes.
de la Cruz, who is known as Sor Juana, was a writer, composer, and poet who lived during the Baroque period. Born in 1651 she was described as a child prodigy who could read and write Latin by the age of three, could do accounts by the age of five, and by adolescence had mastered Greek Logic and was teaching Latin to young children.
Since education was forbidden for girls, de la Cruz joined a nunnery in 1667 to devote her life to study. She began writing poetry and prose on such topics as women’s rights, love and religion. Her criticism of misogyny and the hypocrisy of men got her condemned by the Bishop of Puebla and he accused her of challenging the hierarchical structure of the Catholic Church. Under threat of censure, she was ordered to stop writing and sell her books (a personal library of more than 4000 volumes) as well as her musical and scientific instruments. She died after ministering to other nuns stricken during a plague in 1695.
Through the centuries since her death her importance has varied—de la Cruz has been presented as a candidate for Catholic sainthood, a symbol of Mexican nationalism and a paragon of women’s rights, sexual diversity and freedom of speech.
The March 15 event kicked off with Madera One’s lead vocalist Jose Alfredo deceptively setting the tone of the evening by singing songs of heartbreak and misery. As he infused the songs with restrained and precise elements of drama, enunciation and timing—almost bordering on torch—the rest of the band (Javier Martinez on lead guitar, Ariel Nunez on rhythm guitar, Alex Tellez on percussion and Mario Hernandez on bass) gathered around him and revealed themselves to be one of the most cohesive bands in Chicago.
Just when it seemed safe to be lulled by Alfredo’s shimmering voice, he introduced a self-penned song that he had originally written for Hernandez’s now ex-girlfriend. This got an embarrassed laugh but it did not derail the song. As the set went on, Alfredo had a high old time breaking the audience (and the band) up with more spontaneous asides about Hernandez until finally admitting, “It’s all my fault…I’m the reason Mario is in therapy…not his ex-girlfriend.”
If Madera One’s performance was a hint that nothing at this festival was what it seemed, noted designer Julieta Zavala shyly came out and uncorked a procession of her clothes, all of which embraced Mexican culture. From an Aztec sun goddess to a western belle complete with a cowboy hat, each of her designs respected tradition while popping with color and vibrancy.
I had been warned about Erika with a ‘K”s spoken word piece but I was still stunned, as was most of the audience when she came onstage. Dressed in a nun’s habit, as she performed a spoken word piece appreciating a modern femme take on the icon’s influence on modern queer thought, she began peeling off layers of clothing as she presented Sor Juana’s evolution and accomplishments. Zavala came back onstage and assisted her but the performance, which spoke directly to Sor Juana’s anger, spirituality and all-powerful love, was all Erika’s. Intense and ultimately gratifying Erika with a ‘K”s piece redefined theater and performance art.
With so much going on and the live presentations coming up onstage without a delay, I had to remind myself to go out and check the many tables of art for sale in the museum lobby. A major surprise was finding noted artist Jaqui Arte working diligently on a fresh canvas surrounded by tables full of her work.
Alas it was time to go back into the auditorium for The Braided Janes’ set but even that was not what it appeared to be. Coming out in what looked like a traditional Mexican gown with sombrero, vocalist Jessica Rodriguez was flanked by Arte, who revealed that the intricate dress was created as an homage to women who have disappeared over the space of decades (Arte pointed out symbolic hand prints on the dress, where women had been touched and groped without their consent). Joined on drums by wife Juny Alvarez and bassist brother-in-law Andrew Doyle, the band tore into a furious set of newer and older music from their recorded output. Considering Sor Juana’s mistreatment by the authorities in her era, the Janes thunderous set seemed to be the only way to end the day.
