StudyGuideforYemaya’sBellybyQuiaraAlegríaHudes
Questionsforaudiencemembers,studentsandteachersbeforeseeingtheplay
SummaryofthePlay
AboyisbornintoahumblefarmingfamilyonaLatinAmericanisland,butafterhisfirst
tasteofacoldCoca-Cola,hedreamsofaworldbeyondhisfamily'smeageracre.Yemaya’s
Bellyfollowstheboy'sepicjourneyintomanhoodandmaterialism,fromfarmtocity,toa
raftsailingtothenorthtomeetthe"PresidentofAmerica".
PulitzerPrizewinningplaywrightofWaterbytheSpoonfulandacollaboratorwithLinManuelMiranda(Hamilton)onthemusicalInTheHeights,QuiaraAlegríaHudescreatesan
unflinchingviewofthestruggletoreachtheUnitedStatesofAmericathroughwhimsyand
brutalhonesty.
ThroughYemaya’sBelly,seeanddiscoverthevalueofancestry,culture,villagelife,family,
spirit,andritualwithinaworldseeminglyobsessedwithcommerceandalustforwealthin
a‘mefirst,meonly’world.Throughayoungboy’scomingofagestory,weareledtoface
thisuniversalandhumandilemma.
Meet the characters Jesus, Maya, Mami, Lila, Jelin and Tico. Witness their stories, their
losses, blessings and ultimately, their transformations, as they leave the shore and travel
thesea,venturingevenundertheoceanwhilefindingdignity,recognition,connectionand
freedom.
StudyQuestions
• Whydopeople,especiallythoseinLatinAmericaandtheCaribbeanseektomigrate
to the USA? (Please be specific as possible. For example, is it because of the food,
iconicUSdisheslikehotdogsandFrenchfries,thejunkfood?Isitbecauseofthe
weatherconditions,sovariedanddiverse?)Pleasestateyourunderstandingofthe
factorsthatcausepeopletomigratehere.
• ListsomeofthedangersfacedbyimmigrantswhocometotheUSAandstatewhy
these risks to life and liberty seem to still not make a difference to many in their
decisionstomigratehere.
• SomehistoriansdescribetheUSAas“aprisonhouseofnations”whileotherssayit
isa“arefugeforthepoorandthoseyearningtobefree”.Doyouviewanytruthin
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•
any of those conclusions or is one totally correct and the other totally incorrect?
Why?
Describehowitispossibleforanadultpersonwhomigratedmanyyearsagotothe
USAfromaforeigncountry(andonethatdidnotuseEnglishasitsfirstorsecond
language)stillunableorunwillingtospeakanyEnglishtoday?
VocabularyWords
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Machete
Ritual
Metaphor
Hammock
Nutrient-rich
ElCastillo
Pentecostal
Globalism
Fiasco
StudentActivity
•
•
Ifyou(oryouknowsomeonewhois)1)fearfulabouttheirstatusasan
undocumentedalienwhoareaffectedbythepublicthreatstodeportthemor2)
if,youareorknowsomeoneintheMuslimfaith,affectedbypublicthreatsto
forbidtravel,beforcedtotakealoyaltyoathortoregisterinaspecialstatus,
youcanlearnwhattheirrightsareunderthelawandhowtoobtaininformation
abouttheirrightsThereareseveralagenciesorgroupswilling,able,and
determinedtoassistthem(Seebelow).
Ifyouwishtobeactive,moresupportiveinenhancingourcommunity,please
considervolunteeringandbeginbycheckingout,selectinganon-profitentity;
onethatdependsonvolunteersupporttoattainitsworthymission(Seebelow).
Resources:
AmericanImmigrationLawyersAssociation
Gotowww.ailatexas.orgforalawyernearyou
CatholicCharites
www.caramiatheatre.org
www.ccdofw.org
461LBJFreeway,Suite128
Dallas,Texas75243
Phone:214.520.6590
CouncilonAmerican-IslamicRelations(CAIR)
www.cair-dfw.org
Tel:(469)554-0786
HumanRightsInitiative
www.hrionline.org
214.855.0520
2801SwissAvenue
Dallas,Texas75204-5925
InternationalRescueCommittee-
www.irc.org
(855)973-7283
6500GreenvilleAvenue
Suite500
Dallas,TX75206
MosaicFamilyServices-
www.mosaicservices.org
(214)821-5393.
12225GreenvilleAvenue,Suite800
ProyectoImnigranteICS,Inc.
www.proyectoinmigrante.org
888.793.2182,extension3201
416EastAirportFwy.,#150
Irving,Texas
RefugeeServicesofTexas
www.rstx.org
(214)821-4422
9241LBJFreeway
Suite210
Dallas,TX75243
www.caramiatheatre.org
PartTwo:Forstudentsafterseeingtheplay
TheCharacters
Describethebehaviorsofthecharactersinawordortwo:
Jesus
Mulo
Maya
Yemaya
Mami
Lila
Jelin
Tico
StudentReflections
Whatdidthegameofdominosseemtosymbolize(ifanything)toyou?
Whatbehaviorsoractionsbyanyofthecharacterscouldaccuratelybedescribedasa
ritual?
WhatdiscoveriesweremadebyMuloandMayatogether?
WhatdiscoveriesweremadebyJelinandJesustogether?
WhatdiscoveriesweremadebyJesusandTicotogether?
WhatdiscoveriesweremadebyMuloandLilatogether?
WhatdiscoveriesweremadebyYemayaandJesustogether?
Whattwocharactersformedthebestcollaboration?How?
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Describewhatyoufeelistherelevanceormeaningof(theisland,theseaorthewindtothe
wholeplay’splot(pleasechooseoneelementtodescribe)
WhatdidTicomeanwhenhesaidtoMulo,“Youdon’tknowthedifferencebetweena
blessingandacurse”.
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