She studied political science and media art at University of New Mexico, and worked at a public access TV station in Albuquerque for five years. It might not sound like a traditional opera, but then again, Chacon isn’t exactly what you would call traditional. Gibson intentionally does not have a voice in the performance. Jeffrey Gibson, a famous Choctaw and Cherokee artist, played La Llorona, dressed in drag and lip syncing to the sound of the violin. “I wanted to show that these are women of color who have taken both of (their mediums) to a different level and almost like a futuristic out-of-context way of using their voice and their violin,” Chacon said. Musician and journalist Marisa Demarco sang lyrics, and both Demarco and Ortman’s instruments were filtered electronically. So she wrote the composition that accompanies the entire piece,” Chacon said. She has a very unique style of also mixing electronic components with string instruments. “It’s not verbatim dialogue that needs to be said - its emotions disguised as a metaphor - and (Laura) can somehow play that on a violin. White Mountain Apache violinist Laura Ortman wrote an original composition for “Malinxe” (Photo/)Ĭhacon said “Malinxe” is “a critique on how we portray women in desperate situations.”Ĭhacon wrote the arc of the opera in a poetic form, and said famed White Mountain Apache violinist Laura Ortman ran with it. In Chacon’s interpretation, "Malinxe" embodies a contemporary woman who submerges herself into La Llorona’s dangerous realm and must make transformative decisions to save her own spirit from continuing down the destructive path of La Llorona. Sometimes deemed the mother of modern Mexican people, her complex story is often equated with that of La Llorona. “Malinxe” is a modern conceptual piece that Chacon said showcases “all of the burdens of colonization.” It is based on real-life historical figure La Malinche and folklore fatale La Llorona, aka ‘weeping woman.’ La Malinche was born in 1500, contributing to the Spanish conquest of the Aztec empire. Though her father is an attorney and mother was a medical doctor, Chacon said both of her parents are radical thinkers, rooted in activism and social justice, and it trickled down to her and her siblings. “We’ve had a lot of support from my parents and each other to really have careers that reflect our ideas and our true kind of self,” Chacon said. Her brother, Raven, is the first Native American to win a Pulitzer Prize for music and her sister Nanibah ‘Nani’ is a prolific mural artist. They are Todích’íí’nii (Bitter Water clan) and born for Chicano people. The 36-year-old lives in Albuquerque but has family in Chinle, and spent much of her childhood there with her older brother and sister, who are also artists. “But it won’t sound like a traditional opera.” “There’s singing, there’s lyrics, there’s dialogue,” Chacon said. Cast and crew of "Malinxe," including Laura Ortman, Marisa Demarco and Autumn Chacon.
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