Coatlicue Theater Company's ‘Blood Speaks’ deals with the pivotal role that religion played
in the oppression and genocide of native people. In the course of the play the artists reclaim their voices and
begin to rewrite history, in their own terms. This video documentation from 1993 features an early stage of
Coatlicue’s theater career, where they were developing and strengthening their aesthetic and political
proposal. The play opens with a ritual of the beginning of Earth, in dialogue with the characters’
Mayan/Aztec heritage. The stories and history of cultural struggles, from Spanish conquest and colonization
to immigration and border politics, have the female body as a central site of violence.

Elvira and Hortencia Colorado, Chichimec Otomi storytellers, playwrights, performers and community
activists are founding members of Coatlicue Theater Company. They are also members
of Danza Mexica Cetiliztli, New York Zapatistas and the American Indian Community House. The
company's plays address social, political, cultural, and identity issues that impact their lives and their
community. Their work is based on stories they weave together, with which they educate as well as entertain
the audience. They have conducted storytelling/ theater workshops, and are recipients of the Ingrid
Washinawatok Community Activism Award. In 2013, Coatlicue Theater Company celebrated 25 years of
performance, culture, and activism.

For more documentation of Coatlicue Theater Company's work please see their Artist Profile