The Hungry Woman: A Mexican Medea & Heart of the Earth: A Popul Vuh Story

by Cherríe L. Moraga, Irma Mayorga (Afterword)

In The Hungry Woman, an apocalyptic play written at the end of the millennium, Moraga uses mythology and an intimate realism to describe the embattled position of Chicanos and Chicanas, not only in the United States but in relation to each other. Drawing from the Greek Medea and the myth of La Llorona, she portrays a woman gone mad between her longing for another woman and for the Indian nation which is denied her.

In Heart of the Earth, a feminist revisioning of the Quichi Maya Popul Vuh story, Moraga creates an allegory for contemporary Chicanismo in which the enemy is white, patriarchal, and greedy for hearts, both female and fecund. Through humor and inventive tale twisting, Moraga brings her vatos locos home from the deadly underworld to reveal that the real power of creation is found in the masa Grandma is grinding up in her metate. The script, a collaboration with master puppet maker Ralph Lee, was created for the premiere production of the play at The Public Theater in New York in 1994.

In an afterword to this edition, Moraga comments on her concerns about nationhood, indigenism, queer sexuality, and gender information.

Genres: Plays, Queer, LGBT, School, Dystopia, Read For School, Theatre

176 pages, Paperback

First published December 31, 2001

About the author

Cherríe Lawrence Moraga is a Chicana writer, feminist activist, poet, essayist, and playwright. She is part of the faculty at Stanford University in the Department of Drama and Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity. Her works explore the ways in which gender, sexuality and race intersect in the lives of women of color.

Moraga was one of the few writers to write and introduce the theory on Chicana lesbianism. Her interests include the intersections of gender, sexuality, and race, particularly in cultural production by women of color. There are not many women of color writing about issues that queer women of color face today: therefore, her work is very notable and important to the new generations. In the 1980s her works started to be published. Since she is one of the first and few Chicana/Lesbian writers of our time, she set the stage for younger generations of other minority writers and activists.

Moraga has taught courses in dramatic arts and writing at various universities across the United States and is currently an artist in residence at Stanford University. Her play, Watsonville: Some Place Not Here, performed at the Brava Theatre Company of San Francisco in May, 1996, won the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Fund for New American Plays Award, from the Kennedy center for the Performing Arts. Barbara Smith, Audre Lorde and Moraga started Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press in 1983, a group which did not discriminate against homosexuality, class, or race. it is the first publisher dedicated to the writing of women of color in the United States.

Moraga is currently involved in a Theatre communications group and was the recipient of the NEA Theatre Playwriting Fellowship Award Her plays and publications have won and received national recognition including a TCG Theatre Residency Grant, a National Endowment for the art fellowship for play writing and two Fund for New American Plays Awards in 1993. She was awarded the United States artist Rockefeller Fellowship for literature in 2007.In 2008 she won a Creative Work Fund Award. The following year, in 2009 she received a Gerbode-Hewlett foundation grant for play writing.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Fran · Rating 2 out of 5]

''But the road I must walk is sadder still.''

2.5 - I must admit this play was tough to read because I wasn't quite sure where the plot was heading, like, all the time. It was a mix of Greek and Mesoamerican mythology intertwined with other folk stories such as La Llorona, but the lack of knowing these stories in advance added to how they were all put in the play was really confusing. Nonetheless, the language used and the queerness within was something fascinating to read.

[ML Character · Rating 5 out of 5]

It freaks me out when things that sound like longtime classics turn out to have been written when I was already in college- practically *graduating* from college, but so it is. I have been slow to love Greek tragedies and slower still to love adaptations, but this one is pretty great- the Mexica overlay fits so well and the fact that there is then ALSO a dystopian near-future sci-fi angle- well, that's a lot. And Heart of the Earth is great too. I really need to see the puppets.

[Kate Wandrisco · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was a weirdly disturbing depiction of medea but that might be the point..

[Tallon Kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such an incredibly moving and thought-provoking retelling of the original Medea myth, rife with Aztec culture/myth and steeped in the trials of motherhood and a queer identity politics. 8/10

"There's nothing more personal than the love between a mother and child. You wouldn't know. You are childless, a dull mule who can't reproduce. I will always be more woman than you."

[Kaitlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was very interesting. Kind of hard to wrap your head around, and I don't think plays have ever really been my kind of thing. But I am glad I read it, it definitely invoked some emotion in me.

[Miami University Libraries]

King Library (2nd floor) | PS3563.O753 H86 2001

[Ava · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Note that I only read The Hungry Woman)

I enjoyed the play, I enjoy Chicano adaptations of Greek tragedy in general (Law Chavez’s Señora de la Pinta comes to mind) but this one was a bit too speculative for me. Some parts were outstanding and some were just confusing. Would probably be more like 4 stars if I could watch a production.

[Sandra Del Rio]

”Myths are simultaneously sacred truths and symbolic metaphors, illuminating and mysterious, fiction and history, safe-guarded and public, newly fashioned or of ancient origin, fantastical and quotidian; and, they often escape the opposition of these binaries. But, most importantly, myths are stories.”

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was surprisingly really good. might be the first contemporary theatre reading i've enjoyed from uni (along with cloud 9.

[Heather Montes Ireland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Moraga is quite masterful here, as she imagines what movements for social justice look like when they reify the marginalization of women. She constructs a bleak future dystopia where a woman must choose between her nation and her humanity. Utilizing mythology from Western and pre-Hispanic tradition, this is a cautionary tale, a warning to head feminist calls for intersectionality in our pursuits of justice.

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an infusion of all things that I love and am coming to love. It tells the story of minorities, it tells the story of women, it tells the story of the LGBT community. It has mythology. It has adaptation of those myths. The language of this play is poetic, heartbreaking, and as the title implies, full of longing and hunger. I highly recommend this for reading and to see if you are fortunate enough to have a company performing it in your area.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting read. I never would have read it if it were not for my Contemporary Latinas Literature class. We had the extreme honor of having Moraga come to speak in our class before she gave a presentation to Oregon State. With little to no back ground in Latina or Queer studies I believe this was a great introduction which united struggle with emotion.

[Drew4gr · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a play. I don't have a problem reading plays, but this one felt like visuals would make the story make more sense. Great for talking about borders, discrimination, and Chinanx related themes -specifically related mythologies and how they are working in the text.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5!

[Laurel · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very strange this play. Very very odd. I have read Euripides Madea, so seeing the translation of characters and plot was interesting. But I mostly just found it very strange.

[Jamjun Rorsoongnern · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved these play pairings! Moraga has such a distinct and profound skill for blending punchy political themes with humor, heartache, and warmth. The way she parallels her queer Chicana retellings of both Greek and Indigenous mythology leads to a beautiful juxtaposition of the past with present and even a dystopian future. I do wish I had taken the time to dive deeper into the original reference texts before reading her plays to better appreciate the moves Moraga makes. A quick skim of SparkNotes and Wikipedia didn’t quite capture all the layers in Moraga's work but it did offer just enough to still enjoy her adaptations.

It’s clear that Moraga draws on a wealth of knowledge and tradition, making her plays rich with complex themes of motherhood, love/relationships, identity, citizenship, and more. If you’re passionate about Chicana playwriting, particularly in modern adaptations and/or the spirit of El Teatro Campesino, I highly recommend not just exploring these pairings but also checking out her other collection, “Heroes and Saints.”

[Derek Sands · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review only for The Hungry Woman

One of the craziest plays I've read. Incredibly gripping. Combining queer identity and motherhood, the Greek myth of Medea, Aztec mythology and rituals, La Llorona folk horror, and Blade Runner post apocalypse, and a whole bunch of other things. Something for everyone!

[Cammy]

Read for class, but I really loved how queer this was, especially the family structure; there was a mom and a dad and then another mother like figure, Luna, who was probably the best parent there. I loved that everyone seemed to be gay, and even if they weren't "gay" they were still queer in some way. The death kinda is a bummer lol.

[Caitlin Hagney · Rating 2 out of 5]

bruh this was insufferable to read, everyone but the son was so terminally selfish and identity driven that I wanted to throttle the whole lot. The writing was objectively impressive but I hated every opinion expressed in the whole thing. If my queerness operated in my mind the way it does for the women in this play I would actually go fucking insane.

[Amelia (Taylors Version) · Rating 2 out of 5]

*read for school*
The way this was written made it hard to follow along at times.
Additionally I personally feel like its far to different from Medea to be dubbed "Mexican Medea" while clearly inspired by the story differentiates to much to actually be considered the "Mexican Medea"

[Macy Connor · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't like plays. Had to read for a class and it sucked lol.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Teaching this play in conjunction with Medea (Theatre History 1)

[Charlotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this for my theatre perspectives class. It was interesting, and I liked the symbolism, but the story felt fractured, which even though I believe was the point is something I didn’t like.

[Tati Arias · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most beautiful thought provoking plays I have read to date. It was a hermosa mixture of indigenous Mexica culture, and the what if of an azetlan that most likely will never be.

[Laura ⊱✿⊰ · Rating 3 out of 5]

“You don't flirt with power. You fight it.”

[candela · Rating 4 out of 5]

surprisingly good

[syd · Rating 3 out of 5]

weird af but cool ideas! my lit prof is kinda cool.

[Dom Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting blend of mythologies, a bit hard to follow at times.

Loved Moraga's creation of Medea - we all know a Medea.

[Elizabeth Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so lit. Loved Medea being gay.

[Mae · Rating 5 out of 5]

do you ever think about what it means to be a mother? and then just burst into tears?