Las Marthas Documentary Presentation: a 114 Year Old Tradition

In every culture there are always going to be misconceptions because stereotypes have lived with us forever. Having a discussion, learning about the culture or showing what the culture is about through a movie are some of the ways that the misconceptions could almost disappear being that people are learning the truth as opposed to hearing something different.

The documentary featured on February 11 was Las Marthas directed by Cristina Ibarra. To briefly state, is about the rite of passage in Laredo, Texas where Mexican-American debutantes are presented at a grand Colonial ball dressed as American revolutionaries, which is a 114 year old tradition. The ball is held around the time of George Washington’s birthday and many communities make the celebrations month long by celebrating through binational and bicultural events.

The take away of the documentary is to break down the stereotypes and propaganda that the media puts out there about the Latino culture. One point that one of the debutantes emphasized was that once a person was represented, it was not ‘one woman be up here and the other woman be down here’—everyone is equal; you are just representing a part.

The documentary is the inaugural Tribeca Film Institute Heineken Voces Award Recipient. There is also a link here about other documentary filmmakers from around the country including Cristina Ibarra.

After the documentary, there was a panel discussion where the audience was able to ask questions about the documentary and a small reception followed it.