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Sor Juana
Your Host
Marta McGonagle
Published: Tuesday, March 24th, 2009
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Actors Reporter Host, Marta McGonagle, performs in a children’s show called, “Sor Juana” (Saint Jane) for the Los Angeles Unified School district (mainly in east Los Angeles) through a company called Enrichment Works, a non-profit organization. www.enrichmentworks.org. Abraham Tetenbaum is the Executive Director and founder of the company.
“Sor Juana” is a two woman show. Marta McGonagle plays as Sor Juana, and her partner, actor Eve Mueller, performs MANY roles and duties. Eve is 5 characters, sound and wardrobe during the 50 minute play. “Sor Juana” is written by Cynthia Cooper and directed by Ian Patrick Williams.
Who was Sor Juana you ask?.
Sor Juana Inez de la Cruz (November 12, 1651-April 17, 1695) was a self-taught Novo-Hispano scholar, nun, poet and a writer. She came from a Catholic family in the small village of San Miguel de Nepantla. She was a huge lover of literature and learned Latin before she was ten. She was exceptional not only for her intelligence but also because she wrote literature centered on freedom. In the poem “Hombres Necios” she rebels by defending a woman’s right to be respected as a human being. She wrote in the spirit of her lifetime interests, the pursuit of liberty, knowledge, and rights for women. Her outspokenness was especially dangerous for her when one considers the historical context; it was the Counter Reformation and anyone who challenged society’s values could easily get into trouble. Sor Juana wrote a letter entitled Respuesta a Sor Filotea in which she defended women’s right to any education they desired.
She can today be found on the Mexican 1000 peso banknote. Her books of poetry, plays and stories can be found in libraries across the world.
Sor Juana Inez de la Cruz (Sister Juana Inez of the Cross)
Tags: actors, children, day, la, Marta McGonagle, show, sor juana
