The Demon's Nun

PETRONA DE LA CRUZ CRUZ AND ISABEL JUÁREZ ESPINOSA (MEXICO, 2003)
TRANSLATED BY MARGARET CARSON

The Demon’s Nun is a recent piece by two Mayan playwrights who founded and run a women’s collective called FOMMA in San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas. The protagonist is a woman named Domitila whose husband, a drinker and a lecher, complains that she never wants to have sex; instead, she directs her erotic longings toward the divine: a luminous angel who appears in her dreams, and the santitos or small statues of saints to whom she prays. The Demon’s Nunoffers a humorous view of very serious issues—violence against women, limited educational opportunities, alcoholism, and abuse by priests.