The Siren who Carried the Sea (Mexico, 1952) - Magdalena Mondragón

Hugo Brehme, Fishermen in Veracruz, c 1928, Mexico, Colección Archivo Casasola, Fototeca Nacional, (INAH).

The Siren who Carried the Sea (La sirena que llevaba el mar, 1952) by Magdalena Mondragón, translated by May Summer Farnsworth, Camila García, and Erin Griffis.

Original Spanish: Mondragón, Magdalena. Dos obras de teatro. Mexico, D.F.: Grupo América 1952.

Description

Magdalena Mondragón Aguirre (1913-1989) dramatized women's perspectives in post-revolutionary Mexico. In The Siren Who Carried the Sea (1952), Nereida, a fisherman's wife, contemplates joining the sirens in the ocean after encountering a mystical winged serpent. "I’ve always wanted to see a siren, but I don’t want my wife to become one," the fisherman complains. But, by the time he realizes what's happening, the sirens are seducing his wife. "The sirens are singing, and calling upon me. Listen to them, listen to them!," Nereida cries.

Magdalena mondragón Aguirre, c 1933, (courtesy of the author's niece, Yolanda Mondragón).

Excerpt:

JOSÉ: What happened here? Why are the lights off? Nereida!

NEREIDA: (As if waking up from a dream.) What? Were you calling me?

JOSÉ: I’ll ask you again: Why aren’t the lights on? What are you doing there, in the dark?

NEREIDA: I’m looking at the ocean.

JOSÉ: (Getting closer to her. Rubbing his eyes.) But, what am I seeing? Why are you glowing?

NEREIDA: Glowing?.

JOSÉ: Just like the moon. What is wrong with you? Did the phosphorescence illuminate your body when you went swimming?

NEREIDA: No. I didn’t go swimming. The ocean came to me.

JOSÉ: But, what are you saying? Are you crazy?

Translators' Note

We had multiple discourses to draw upon while making language choices for La sirena que llevaba el mar. One word, in particular, “serpiente” became the subject of a lot of conversations. We had to decide whether to use "snake" or "serpent" and we wanted to remain consisent. Because Mondragón refers to Greek and Aztec legends, we decided on serpent because it seemed to carry more weight. Another word that generated debate was “sirena”. We had to decide whether to use "siren" or "mermaid," since both English words could be used. We settled on siren because of the emphasis on their powers of seduction.

May Summer Farnsworth, Camila García, and Erin Griffis, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, 2022.

"The Siren Who Carried the Sea" PDF:

Pdf of The Siren who Carried the Sea. 37 pages.

Citation

May Farnsworth, Camila García, and Erin Griffis, translators, "The Siren Who Carried the Sea (La sirena que llevaba el mar, 1952) by Malgdalena Mondragon Aguirre,” galeriahispana.omeka.net, Feminist Revivals, Spanish and Hispanic Studies Digital Gallery at HWS, 2022.

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