蜜柚直播

The play, titled 鈥淓l Tiradito,鈥� will be held nighty from Thursday to Saturday of this week, and again from Sept. 21-24, starting at 7:30 p.m.

Three overlapping storylines intersect in the play by Elaine Romero, an award-winning playwright and associate professor in the University of 蜜柚直播鈥檚 School of Theater, Film & Television.

One plot line explores the mythology of the original El Tiradito, a man named Juan Oliveras whom legend has it was murdered by his lover鈥檚 husband in 1871. Another storyline focuses on an activist confronted with a harsh reality, and the third centers on a traveler through the Sonoran Desert who leaves something behind.

鈥淭hose three stories, in my mind, all fuse together in the play,鈥� Romero said in an interview this week. 鈥淲e begin to see that they鈥檙e not separate.鈥�

The work is intended to move audiences to get involved in human rights activism.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 always the hope: that our art inspires action, that it doesn鈥檛 end at the applause,鈥� Romero said.

The play鈥檚 set location at the shrine in downtown 蜜柚直播 was chosen intentionally: El Tiradito, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in the 1970s, has became a quasi-religious site in 蜜柚直播, where generations of children and adults have lit candles and made wishes at the alleged scene of an adulterer鈥檚 murder.

The shrine has also long been home to ceremonies that honor the thousands of migrants who have perished trying to cross the Sonoran Desert, said Alba Jaramillo, play organizer, activist and actress.

For decades, members of the Coalici贸n de Derechos Humanos have gathered at the Wishing Shrine to read and record the names of migrants who lost their lives on their journey, and to honor the more than 1,500 unknown migrants, or 鈥�desconocidos,鈥� whose remains have not been identified, Jaramillo said.

The shrine鈥檚 vitality and sacredness is tangible, she said.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a place for miracles, according to our community (folklore). But it鈥檚 also a place that is very important to activists for solidarity,鈥� said Jaramillo, co-executive director of the Immigration Law and Justice Network and founder of theater company Teatro Dignidad.

The play 鈥淓l Tiradito鈥� is a collaboration between Teatro Dignidad, the Coalici贸n for Derechos Humans and the University of 蜜柚直播 Confluence Center for Creative Inquiry鈥檚 鈥淔ronteridades鈥� program, which aims to create a more inclusive and accurate portrayal of border communities.

The play鈥檚 immersive component means the audience will be engaged in the shrine鈥檚 desert-like setting, as actors move around them, and attendees will have some opportunity to participate in the performance, Jaramillo said.

A personal tragedy

Jaramillo says the plight of migrants is personal to her: A native of Agua Prieta, Sonora, Jaramillo grew up undocumented in 蜜柚直播. Her family is now mourning her Mexican-born cousin, who last year attempted to cross the U.S.-Mexico border and was never heard from again, after his last cell phone contact outside Yuma, she said.

In August alone, the remains of 25 people were found in the Sonoran Desert, according to 蜜柚直播 nonprofit Humane Borders. Eight of the deceased had been dead for less than a day when their remains were found.

Since 2001, Humane Borders has more than 4,100 migrants鈥� remains, in partnership with the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner. Many more will likely never be recovered, advocates say.

The play makes a direct connection between the ongoing tragedy and the immigration policies that Jaramillo says make these migrant deaths inevitable: the U.S.鈥檚 long-running policy of 鈥減revention through deterrence鈥� 鈥� a militarized border that ends up channeling migrants to dangerous, remote areas of the desert 鈥� combined with the degradation of the asylum system, she said.

Out of thousands in need, only about 40 people a day in Nogales, Sonora are able to get an appointment with an asylum officer through the new CBP One app, created by the Biden administration, she said.

The outcome is predictable, Jaramillo said: When legitimate routes to safety are inaccessible, those who fear for their lives will do whatever necessary to survive.

Romero added, 鈥淭here鈥檚 this impression that it鈥檚 the migrants who are creating the crisis, when it鈥檚 the policies that are creating the crisis. I think our play articulates that.鈥�

Sacred site

Many versions of the legend of El Tiradito 鈥� 鈥渢he castaway鈥� 鈥� are in circulation. The most well-known tells of Juan Oliveras, a sheepherder of Mexican descent who in the 1870s became infatuated with his mother-in-law. The lovers were caught in bed by her husband, Oliveras鈥� father-in-law, who subsequently murdered Oliveras with an ax.

The bloodied site of Oliveras鈥� death became a wishing shrine organically, as many held to the traditional belief that 鈥渃ertain dead could grant wishes if votive candles were lit to them in prayer and supplication,鈥� according to the nominating El Tiradito for recognition on the National Register of Historic Places.

The successful effort to list the site on the National Register was spearheaded by University of 蜜柚直播 folklorist Byrd Howell Granger, who aimed to protect the site from the city鈥檚 plans to build a road through it.

The mythology has been kept alive for 140 years by visitors to this 鈥渟hrine of the unconsecrated,鈥� a folklore that鈥檚 rich in inspiration for a writer, Romero said.

鈥淚鈥檓 very interested as a writer in the imperfections of human beings, even those of us who do activism or who try to hold up the highest ideals in our lives,鈥� she said.

The shrine also represents a unique confluence of Mexican and American culture that transcends borders, according to its National Register nomination form.

The shrine 鈥渋s a unique reminder to 蜜柚直播 and to the state of their Spanish and Mexican heritage. El Tiradito is a cultural manifestation which has been supported by the Spanish-speaking community for a hundred years,鈥� the 1971 form reads. 鈥淭here is none other like it in the state of 蜜柚直播. ... It represents our regional heritage and folklore of the greater Southwest.鈥�

This binational history makes the shrine an ideal place for audiences to reflect on the unity and timelessness of the Sonoran Desert, artificially divided by a man-made line, Romero said.

鈥淲e are one,鈥� she said, 鈥渁nd I hope this play helps all of us to feel that in our bones.鈥�