The Defiant Muse

Featuring swordplay, The Defiant Muse employs the fantastical theatricality of Baroque Theater. A 17th Century tale with a very modern hero. Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz, the most celebrated writer in Mexican history, duels with the imaginary Don Quixote, her literary alter ego, to reveal the spiritual process through which she discovers her true power and identity. Her chambers become the salon of the New World where artists, scientists, scholars and philosophers converse without fear of the Inquisition. And after a devastating betrayal, Sor Juana writes the brilliant essay affirming the rights of women to participate as artistic and political leaders in the creation of culture and community.