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Saint Leo University is pleased to invite the public to an inventive dramatic and musical performance featuring scenes from the lives of three Latinas who made history in various ways.

Tres Vidas (Three Lives) will be presented on Monday, September 30, at 7 p.m., in the Student Community Center at University Campus, which is located at 33701 State Road 52, St. Leo, FL, 33574. Admission and parking are both free. The Student Community Center is located just behind the campus' landmark clock tower.

The university is bringing the work to campus in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month. Actress Jenyvette Vega will portray (in English), scenes from the lives of three prominent women from modern history. They are:

  • Frida Kahlo (1907 - 1954), the well-known and self-taught Mexican painter who struggled with disabilities and pain from an early-life illness and a bus accident, as well as a difficult marital relationship. Her struggles were represented in much of her art, which remains popular today.
  • Rufina Amaya (1943 - 2007) of Salvador, who was one of the few to survive a 1981 massacre that government soldiers unleashed upon a village during the Salvadoran civil war. She was a wife and mother and lost most of her family, though one daughter who was not in the village at the time of the attack also survived. Because Amaya insisted on telling the truth about the atrocity, supporting evidence was eventually located and she was able to give formal legal testimony about the grievous human rights abuses.
  • Argentinian Alfonsina Storni (1892 -1938), who is considered one of foremost poets in Latin American literature and is celebrated as an early feminist poet. She often supported herself through teaching and journalism, and advocated for equal rights for women in her country.

The author of the play is a Latina, as well, the Chilean-American artist Marjorie Agosin. She also writes poetry and fiction, and is known for her concern with feminism, social justice, and the importance of memory.

Tres Vidas highlights all three topics through the stories of the three characters depicted. Along with spoken segments of Tres Vidas, the audience will experience the musical accompaniment created for the work and performed by a trio with a cellist, pianist, and percussionist. Together, the actress and musicians are known as Core Ensemble. The group travels extensively to present Tres Vidas, often on college campuses.

Saint Leo University's College of Arts and Sciences is sponsoring the Monday performance with assistance from the university's Division of Student Affairs, the Student Government Union, and the Center for Global Engagement.

Anyone who needs more information or seating accommodations is asked to make contact via an email to the collegeofartsandsciences@saintleo.edu

Photos are courtesy of Core Ensemble