The initial idea for this piece came to me in the summer of 2019. My mother had just returned to the United States from a two-month trip to our home, Venezuela. It was the first time someone in my family had returned to Venezuela since we left in the summer of 2014 following the election of Nicolas Maduro in 2013 and the social, political, and economic crisis that followed. One of the gifts she brought back from me was a book containing the love letters of Simon Bolivar and Manuela Sáens, two prominent figures in the South American independence movement. I grew very fond of their correspondence, which struck me as incredibly pretentious and full of a degree of passion I struggled to understand. I also felt an attachment to this book and its contents because it was one of the things my grandfather left for me before he passed in the fall of 2016. The piece you are about to perform was born from my love for this book, my recurring obsession with the Venezuelan National Anthem, and a need to reconnect with a part of my Venezuelan identity I had not yet explored.

Iridescent Porcelain is an exploration of the relationship between Manuela Sáens and Simon Bolivar. Their relationship serves as a metaphor for the deconstruction of colonial gender roles and gender stereotypes in the context of 21st-century western society. The text used for Bolivar and Manuela’s characters comes from the letters they exchanged throughout their intense romance. Through these letters, we can see the intense feelings they shared and the way in which Manuela was always looking out for Bolivar. Accompanying the two main characters, we have The Conscience and The Preacher. The Conscience represents Manuela’s deepest feelings and fears, and The Preacher represents Bolivar’s revolutionary spirit while also showing the way Bolivar looked to Manuela for companionship, advice, and direction, with his “spirit” often agreeing with Manuela’s feelings. On top of their passionate interchange, the choir sets the stage for the story. The choir works as a form of comfort and commentary, taking the music and lyrics of the Venezuelan National Anthem and the traditional lullaby from which it was derived. The choir is not merely an observer, but it is an integral part of the action and the drama serving at times as an interpreter for the audience to Manuela’s passionate declarations of love done in Spanish. This work invites performers to explore their relationship with music and theater, and it ought to serve as an exercise of self-reflection and empowerment.