Holiday greetings, my spirited duende duders! Hope your December so far has been full of magic and merrymaking. It’s hard to cut through all the seasonal chaos, but I think this wondrously stimulating and partially holiday-themed episode with my beloved storytelling goddess and epically fun, soulful partner in loving and conjuring the moony and mythic - award-winning actress, theatre educator and director Sabina Zúñiga Varela! - can melt away a bit of the stress-frost that may be on our hearts right now. She is a master manifester of the visceral and revelatory in the way we tell stories and activate creativity for the greater communal good, so I knew this convo would be rich with provocative, meaningful reflection. We discuss her uniquely metaphysical definition of duende, the harrowing nature of experiencing fully in-the-moment duende as an all-in performer - specifically in her journey performing playwriting icon Luis Alfaro’s Ancient Greek adaptations, and her deep love for the enthralling scope of duendes within Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, a tale she feels is an underrecognized social justice reckoning. And Sabina’s stories are always so fascinatingly insightful - we learn why elk blood can be turquoise, how humans can be turned into diamonds, and the best way for a Pisces to “de-role”, among many other fun facts and histories.

She gifts us a few sublime recitations - such a treat! - and we share our examples of duende holiday scents - hers harboring a nefarious origin :) We play a holiday-themed version of Duende This-or-That, and tackle one of the most divisive pronunciations in the western theatre canon. Please weigh in if you feel compelled to do so! :) Merry merry, my duende-discussing friends! Have the most magical holiday season <3

Sabina's blog detailing her experience in Dallas Theater Center's 2014 production of "A Christmas Carol" -

https://sabinazunigavarela.wordpress.com/2014/12/

Have a great duend-ay! :)
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