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by the conquerors, but until recently, history dismissed her as a traitor. "Women of that time had no opportunities," Hadad says. "They weren't even allowed to talk. Because La Malinche had a talent with words, she was able to improve her circumstances and survive. When history doesn't forget women, it treats them badly." Though remarkably resilient, Hadad has felt a modern-day version of the same stigma. "Until now I have been considered alternative, underground, outsider. Officials don't like my work very much." But audiences cheer. Her colorful extravagance and winking provocation should be a glorious finale to Peak Performances' 2016–17 season. Manuel Igrejas is a playwright, poet, publicist, proud resident of Montclair, and all-purpose art guy. Besides the Mexican music she heard all around her, Hadad's girlhood was influenced by the Cuban sounds coming from the radio and the glamorous divas of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema, like beautiful María Félix, who thumbed her nose at Hollywood and challenged the baked-in machismo of Latin culture. In college Hadad studied acting, but legitimate theater felt too stifling for her big personality and big ideas. She was drawn to the popular variety shows, the Teatro de Revista, with their blend of music, slapstick, and political comedy. Influenced by Kurt Weill, she went to Germany to observe its cabaret. She began by singing the great songs in the extensive Mexican songbook and writing some of her own. As her work evolved, the political element took hold, combining with Hadad's subversive sense of play to create her campy, over-the-top performances. As an openly gay woman in Mexico, Hadad is known for putting her own spin on traditional songs to challenge gender roles. In the lovely classic tune "Soy Virgencita," an innocent maiden laments her chaste life. Hadad flips the song on its head, wearing a costume that incorporates a billowing skirt, festooned with lilies and a watering can. Halfway through she adds a sombrero, ammunition belt, and mustache and sings the song as a macho man. Given Hadad's politics and staunch feminism, it's no wonder that Tierra Misteriosa is partly a tribute to Mexico's great forgotten women. In addition to the screen actress María Félix, there is Lucha Reyes, who broke with tradition to sing the full-throated ranchera songs usually reserved for men, and the mysterious, notorious Aztec woman La Malinche. The conquering Spaniards enlisted her to translate for them. She bore Cortes a son and later married a Spanish captain. She was treated well Photo: Rodrigo Vazquez Hadad designs her own insanely magnificent costumes, and Desfrenne creates them. The ornate headpieces reference Aztec culture and current events. The elaborate dresses bear skeletons, skulls, pyramids, breasts, hands, and ammunition belts— a virtual garage sale of Mexican historical and pop iconography because, Hadad says, I am a baroque woman, and I am afraid of the empty. " " www.peakperfs.org 53

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