The Panza Monologues Part 1

30 Minutes features a panel from the Pima County Public Library’s Nuestras Raices Pavillion at the 2015 Tucson Festival Books called The Panza Monologues: Book Reading and Platica. The Panza Monologues feature the words of Chicanas speaking with humor and candor about their panzas. The Panelists are Virginia Grise and Irma Mayorga. This is the first half of the presentation. Moderator: Margie Farmer.

The Panza Monologues is an original performance piece based on women’s stories about their panzas. Tu sabes – that roll of belly we all try to hide. Conceived from kitchen table conversations and chisme and compiled from interviews of Chicanas of all ages, places, and spaces, these stories create a quilt of poignancy, humor, and revelation. Performed in monologue format and riffing on Eve Ensler’s play The Vagina Monologues, The Panza Monologues boldly places the panza front and center as a symbol that reveals the lurking truths about women’s thoughts, lives, loves, abuses, and lived conditions.

Recorded and produced by Amanda Shauger