Nalia is a young Latinx woman who dotes on her new baby boy Marco. But we soon find out that her story of pregnancy is very different. She speaks about how large and close her family is living on the border in south Texas on the border. She has four older brothers who have made it very clear that they we'll keep her safe just as her parents have. She spent most of her life being a tomboy and playing with them, having the most fun ever until she came into her own as a young woman. Her parents didn't have the money to send her to college but when she found out she had gotten a scholarship she decided she would work multiple jobs to save up money so that she could go away for school. It was at the end of one of her shifts from work that her life changed forever forcing her to keep the secret of her pregnancy from her parents and her brothers. If we are lucky the best relationships that we have begin within the four walls of the home that we are raised in. But with that also comes the fear of potentially disgracing them or disappointing them sometimes with life changing situations that were stolen from us. Nalia navigates such a theft. Something very important and very special was stolen from her that she can never get back but through this story we understand that with love and support there are many things that can be overcome. It is at a family intervention that she decides that being honest with her family and gaining their support is what she needs to be the best mother she can be and truly cope with the situation that changed her life forever. *Performer needs to be Latinx and does speak Spanish within the performance.
And the Universe Spoke
(Scene opens with Nalia, a young Latinx woman who cuddles her baby, plays with him, makes goo goo faces and loves every minute of it. She begins to rock him and begins to sing.)
(In Spanish) “I dreamed a little dream for a boy like you. Big and strong and beautiful too. Kisses and sweet skin a dream come true. I dreamed of a boy like you.” (She kisses him.) Yes, I did dream of a little boy like you. (To audience) He’s so beautiful. Marco Javier Diaz, my miracle, my gift. (She puts him in his crib.) I never wanted to be a mother. (smiles) I wanted to be an aunt (laughs) I have four older brothers and I always felt like, why should I have a baby when I can fall in love with and smother theirs? Makes sense, right? My oldest brother was 10 years older than me. By the time I got to high school I had seven nieces and nephews. I just knew that I wanted my focus to be in another direction not on getting married and being someone's wife and having children. I always felt like that when I watched other women in my life get married and become mothers, that's when I watched their lives stop. It's not like they didn't have a purpose they absolutely did; some would say they had a higher purpose, but I wanted to be different. I wanted to go to college and be a business owner. Not just any business I wanted to have an empire. I wanted to be able to come back to Texas and pay for my parents’ house outright. I wanted to be able to start college funds for my nieces and nephews to make sure that none of them felt stuck, obligated, as if they had no choices. What I realized through the process of living my life is that, once you experience a nightmare you never really dream freely again. (Beat) Because sometimes the universe has other ideas in mind for your life. Like a meeting of your fate that you weren’t invited to. (Beat, shift) Sometimes you find yourself living outside yourself. Like, I was present in spirit, but my body was no longer mine. I had no control. I could smell, hear, see, taste, feel but I, Nalia… I wasn’t allowed to be a participant in my own pregnancy.