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SESSIONS Non-Technical Presentations, Panels & Workshops José Limón’s La Malinche: Documenting and Preserving a Masterwork / Abstract Patty Harrington Delaney La Malinche (1949) is considered a seminal work in the Limón repertory not only because it marked a turning point in the maturation of Limón’s craft as a storyteller, but also because it broadened the investigation of his Mexican heritage, a choreographic theme that would span his entire career. La Malinche is based on the story of the young Indian woman, Malintzin, who was given as a slave to Cortez upon his arrival in Mexico to serve as his interpreter and his concubine. La Malinche, as the Indians called her, was a constant presence as Cortez systematically marched across Mexico either conquering the Amerindian tribes that he encountered or enlisting them as allies in his ultimate fight against Moctezuma. La Malinche became a controversial figure in Mexican society as the perception of her role in the conquest wavered according to the sociopolitical climate of the time. Was she a trusting and resourceful victim of circumstance or a self-serving temptress/traitor? Limón used this controversial feminine historical figure as the axis around which the other two characters in the work, El Conquistador and El Indio revolve. Through these three characters he created a social commentary that examines the paradox of the simultaneous presence of religion and war, the value of the persistent feminine voice in a male dominated society and the beauty found in our innate desire to find a meaningful connection to our historical roots. Over the last two years, a collaborative project to document and preserve La Malinche has been conducted by the José Limón Foundation and Southern Methodist University, where it was restaged by Sarah Stackhouse in 2001. For this project, I served as the notator of the Labanotation score and the director/producer of an interactive DVD that provides a contextual framework for examining the cultural and historical significance of the work. In this presentation, I will examine this cultural and historical significance through a discussion of the documentation and preservation project. I will use materials in the DVD to illustrate my discussion. Patty Harrington Delaney is an Assistant Professor at Southern Methodist University where she teaches composition, Labanotation, jazz and musical theater history. She is a Professional Certified Notator and her Labanotation scores include José Limón's La Malinche and Leni Wylliams' Sweet in the Morning. She is currently creating the score of Pilobolus Dance Theatre’s Alraune.
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