Hecho en Tejas: Las Marthas

Film still of young Latina smiling with large curly hairstyle and wearing a red colonial style dress.

Hecho en Tejas at the MACC: Las Marthas

Las Marthas, a film by Cristina Ibarra

USA/Texas, 2014Las Marthas poster with the title in big cursive letters and a young woman wearing a large yellow dress. She is facing away and glowing with the Texas border landscape in the background.
Documentary/History, 96 min, Color
Spanish, with English subtitles

Wednesday, April 21st, 2021, 7:00 PM CT

Screening for FREE on the ESB-MACC Facebook page and the event website.

The screening will be followed by a live Q&A with director/producer Cristina Ibarra (The Infiltrators) and producer Erin Ploss-Campoamor (Dark Mirror).

Synopsis

One of the largest celebrations of George Washington’s birthday in the world takes place in the border town of Laredo, Texas. This 116-year-old tradition has evolved into an entire month of inventive reenactments and bi-cultural celebrations, many of them involving their Mexican sister city, Nuevo Laredo. The most preeminent event of them all, however, is the invitation-only Colonial Ball hosted by the elite Society of Martha Washington.

LAS MARTHAS unravels the origins of the celebration and explores why a town like Laredo, with such deep Mexican roots, feels such affinity for America’s Founding Father, and how against all odds, the Washington’s Birthday Celebration has managed to persevere and even flourish, thanks to the Mexican American girls who continue to wear the gilded burden of tradition.

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Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center LogoCo-presented with the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center (ESB-MACC) at their annual womxn in the arts event- La Mujer (April 21 – 24, 2021). In its 10th year, this festival was originally inspired by Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz, who is considered the first feminist of the Americas. View the full festival line-up at LaMujerATX.net.