Malinxe / Prototype Festival

Experience a performance of Malinxe, presented by Prototype Festival in the Winter Garden at Brookfield Place!

Created by Indigenous composers Autumn Chacon (Diné – Navajo/Chicana) and Laura Ortman (White Mountain Apache), Malinxe is a contemporary retelling of the myth of La Llorona, or “the weeping woman.” Tracing back to 1550, La Llorona is well-known in American Southwest and Latin American cultures as a vengeful spirit who roams near bodies of water, mourning the children she drowned and warning others of water’s power.

In this original opera, Chacon and Ortman examine Malinxe, the real Nahua woman deemed the mother of modern Mexican people, whose complex story is often equated with that of La Llorona. In this 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. In this interpretation, Malinxe is a woman outside of time who is submerged in Llorona’s dangerous realm and must realize herself. Physically set alongside a body of water, Malinxe will be performed by experimental musicians and artists hailing from New Mexico and New York. Produced and commissioned by Prototype.

ABOUT THE PROTOTYPE FESTIVAL

PROTOTYPE: OPERA l THEATRE l NOW is a co-production of Beth Morrison Projects and HERE, two trailblazers in the creation and presentation of contemporary, multi-disciplinary opera-theatre and music-theatre works. The pioneering festival is the only one of its kind in New York City and is a model now emulated around the country – producing and presenting a wide spectrum of works, from intimate black-box experiences to larger chamber opera productions, valuing artistic, curatorial, and producorial risk-taking. PROTOTYPE is committed to surprising our audiences and confounding their expectations through content, form, and relevance. The festival gives voice to a diverse group of composers, librettists, performers and musicians across all genres, backgrounds, and cultures. In providing a recurring showcase of visionary opera-theatre and music-theatre pieces, the touring life of the work extends around the world. The festival also presents groundbreaking new works by international artists and has become a global reference of artistic excellence in the field of opera and music-theatre.

For further information, visit www.prototypefestival.org/about.