A former roomie of ours, Cristina Nava, will be performing her own one-woman show this weekend. My 'ol lady and me were privy to a workshopped effort several months ago. It was (even in its early, raw stages) a humorous, charming and cohesive piece.

As a some-time performer, I know how difficult it is to have the discipline and perseverence in making one's story come to life onstage. It's quite an accomplishment. So I say:  Salud, Cristina!

I implore you Angelenos to check her out.

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                                    conceived and directed by Monica Palacios
                                        written and performed by Cristina Nava
                                    plus special guests Sara Guerrero & Elizabeth Szekeres


Highways Performance Space   
Fri & Sat October 6 & 7, 2006- 8:30           
$20, Students w/ID $15                   
1651 18th Street, Santa Monica               
reservations: 310/ 315-1459           
www.highwaysperformancespace.org   
       
Show
Contemporary life in Los Angeles.  Somewhere between Chicana and Mexican.  Where chicken and an orgasm become taboo.  You hold a rock while grandma held a bible and self discovery happens at the bottom of a dirty martini glass.

Background
Monica Palacios’ talent for recognizing emerging artists and helping them craft their stories has become one of her specialties.  In 1996 Palacios was teaching autobiographical creative writing classes at UCLA through the Chicana/o Studies Department when she met Cristina Nava who was her student.  Cristina’s talents stood out and Monica invited her to be part of an evening she produced featuring young Latino writers.  This mentorship turned into a friendship and blossomed over 10 years while both artists pursued their individual careers. 

In 2004 Monica debuted her one person show: Get Your Feet Wet and wrote a small part for Cristina who nailed this funny delivery.  Very impressed with Cristina’s performance, Monica approached her and said:  I want to write a solo show for you—and Rocks In My Salsa was born.

Rocks In My Salsa has been the offspring of both women.  For almost 2 years, Palacios and Nava met on a regular basis to have discussions about life, sex, politics and from these sit-ins, chunks of Cristina’s performance started to emerge.  Much of the focus has been on gender and cultural expectations of Latina women; the lack of Latinas/os in theater, film and TV and “enough complaining--be part of the solution, already!” 

Bios
For almost 25 years, Monica Palacios has been on the forefront of queer Latina/o writing and performing.  Creator of several one person shows including Greetings From A Queer Señorita, winner of numerous awards and anthologized in many books including: Fifteen Candles: 15 Tales of Taffeta, Hairspray, Drunk Uncles and other Quinceañera Stories (forthcoming 2007 Harper Collins).  Palacios is a lecturer at Loyola Marymount University, UCLA, American Academy of Dramatic Arts, UC Santa Barbara, California State University Los Angeles and UC Riverside.  www.monicapalcios.com

Cristina Nava has been actively involved in her Los Angeles as a community organizer, a lyricist, a writer, educator and an actress. Cristina has performed in numerous plays such as “West Side Story”, “Cabaret”, Josefina Lopez’s “Food for the Dead”, “Blood Wedding”, and many more including “The ‘Mexican’ OC”, which she also co-wrote. Cristina has also appeared in independent films such as “Mitos, Ritos y Tonterias”, starred in “La Puta” and “Red Phoenix”. www.rocksinmysalsa.com