La Tlanchana
Finding commonality between two places
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La Tlanchana
Finding commonality between two places
Santiago Guzmán describes the conception of a new creation:
There is a statue of a Mexican mermaid called La Tlanchana in downtown Metepec, Mexico, where I grew up, that always caught my eye. The statue honours the legend of La Tlanchana, a pre-Hispanic Mexican goddess, queen of the nine waters, commonly known for her sensual, vengeful, volatile, and eruptive nature whose lower body adapted depending on what she desired: a snake if she was angry, a fishtail when she wanted to swim and give fishermen a good catch, and human legs if she wanted to find her true love inland.
However, I was never drawn to La Tlanchana with the excitement that Ariel from The Little Mermaid did. Now that I am older and I understand better the complexities of gender stereotypes and the lack of representation, I look at La Tlanchana with tremendous curiosity and respect.
I actively seek to honour and celebrate my Mexicanity by learning about my culture and characters from my home country that spark my artistic curiosity. And I am also passionate about finding common things between these two places that are significant to my identity as an immigrant to Atlantic Canada. So, by writing a play like La Tlanchana (working title), I was able to honour my Mexican heritage, while adapting a legend within my current geographical context.
“I was able to stumble upon another Indigenous figure, now from my new home.”
Although I knew that the province I have decided to call home has a vast history with mermaids, I encountered another mermaid with local Indigenous heritage: Sedna. It was serendipitous that while working on a play that honoured my identity as a Mexican, I was able to stumble upon another Indigenous figure, now from my new home, whose story is not as prevalent as the other white characters. So I had to write about these two mermaids connecting.
La Tlanchana was developed through Ship’s Company Theatre’s 2021 Masstown Shipwright Residency where I resided in Awokm, Mi’kma’ki, for a month, and wrote the first draft of the piece.
La Tlanchana
La Tlanchana
Finding commonality between two places
Santiago Guzmán describes the conception of a new creation:
There is a statue of a Mexican mermaid called La Tlanchana in downtown Metepec, Mexico, where I grew up, that always caught my eye. The statue honours the legend of La Tlanchana, a pre-Hispanic Mexican goddess, queen of the nine waters, commonly known for her sensual, vengeful, volatile, and eruptive nature whose lower body adapted depending on what she desired: a snake if she was angry, a fishtail when she wanted to swim and give fishermen a good catch, and human legs if she wanted to find her true love inland.
However, I was never drawn to La Tlanchana with the excitement that Ariel from The Little Mermaid did. Now that I am older and I understand better the complexities of gender stereotypes and the lack of representation, I look at La Tlanchana with tremendous curiosity and respect.
I actively seek to honour and celebrate my Mexicanity by learning about my culture and characters from my home country that spark my artistic curiosity. And I am also passionate about finding common things between these two places that are significant to my identity as an immigrant to Atlantic Canada. So, by writing a play like La Tlanchana (working title), I was able to honour my Mexican heritage, while adapting a legend within my current geographical context.
“I was able to stumble upon another Indigenous figure, now from my new home.”
Although I knew that the province I have decided to call home has a vast history with mermaids, I encountered another mermaid with local Indigenous heritage: Sedna. It was serendipitous that while working on a play that honoured my identity as a Mexican, I was able to stumble upon another Indigenous figure, now from my new home, whose story is not as prevalent as the other white characters. So I had to write about these two mermaids connecting.
La Tlanchana was developed through Ship’s Company Theatre’s 2021 Masstown Shipwright Residency where I resided in Awokm, Mi’kma’ki, for a month, and wrote the first draft of the piece.
Santiago Guzmán describes the conception of a new creation:
There is a statue of a Mexican mermaid called La Tlanchana in downtown Metepec, Mexico, where I grew up, that always caught my eye. The statue honours the legend of La Tlanchana, a pre-Hispanic Mexican goddess, queen of the nine waters, commonly known for her sensual, vengeful, volatile, and eruptive nature whose lower body adapted depending on what she desired: a snake if she was angry, a fishtail when she wanted to swim and give fishermen a good catch, and human legs if she wanted to find her true love inland.
However, I was never drawn to La Tlanchana with the excitement that Ariel from The Little Mermaid did. Now that I am older and I understand better the complexities of gender stereotypes and the lack of representation, I look at La Tlanchana with tremendous curiosity and respect.
I actively seek to honour and celebrate my Mexicanity by learning about my culture and characters from my home country that spark my artistic curiosity. And I am also passionate about finding common things between these two places that are significant to my identity as an immigrant to Atlantic Canada. So, by writing a play like La Tlanchana (working title), I was able to honour my Mexican heritage, while adapting a legend within my current geographical context.
“I was able to stumble upon another Indigenous figure, now from my new home.”
Although I knew that the province I have decided to call home has a vast history with mermaids, I encountered another mermaid with local Indigenous heritage: Sedna. It was serendipitous that while working on a play that honoured my identity as a Mexican, I was able to stumble upon another Indigenous figure, now from my new home, whose story is not as prevalent as the other white characters. So I had to write about these two mermaids connecting.
La Tlanchana was developed through Ship’s Company Theatre’s 2021 Masstown Shipwright Residency where I resided in Awokm, Mi’kma’ki, for a month, and wrote the first draft of the piece.
