Antigone Finds New Fierceness in the Aztec Empire

Actors first performed Sophocles’s Antigone about 441 BCE in Athens. Fast-forward through 24 centuries and countless adaptations, and now through October 3 (Thursdays through Saturdays), guests can see this enduring tragedy at the Getty Villa. In this powerful reimagining, Antigone, or Antíkona in this case, fights tyranny in the capital of the Aztec empire (present-day Mexico City).

Exploring themes of loyalty and familial duty while divine law and state edict clash, Antigone: In the Language of Kings also weaves through pre-Hispanic music and poetry—blazing a new trail for a legendary protagonist.

We spoke with director José Luis Valenzuela and playwright Evelina Fernández—spouses and cofounders of the Latino Theater Company—about adapting Sophocles for a Latino-driven audience, positioning Antíkona to fight injustice on completely new ground, and what remains timeless about Antigone’s plight.

How long has the Latino Theater Company produced theater in LA?

Evelina Fernández: It’s been 41 years—longer than most marriages, we always say. And we’ve worked with many of the same individuals since the beginning. We started out as a bunch of actors who wanted to get together and do plays, readings, and stuff. We had a lab, and we’ve done films. In 2006, the city of Los Angeles gave us a lease on a 1916 building downtown with four theaters and six performance spaces—we’re still running it.

Could you elaborate on your thought process of adapting such a classic work?

EF: I love pre-conquest literature, especially the words of wisdom from the Florentine Codex that were passed down over generations. And so when José Luis pitched the idea to me, I thought it was a great opportunity to highlight the beauty of Mexican culture, specifically, the Mexican people who many of us don’t know about. I dug in and looked at certain passages in the original play, then wove in Mexican poems and other writings that directly related to that storyline.

We didn’t change the actual story in any way, just the time and culture. The majority of it is in English, and we have some Nahuatl—mostly in the songs—with supertitle translations so that people won't miss anything.

What’s an example of one of those discoveries, where you replaced an element from the original telling with an Aztec version?

EF: One is the battle. In Antigone, the battle is described after the fact, and it happens at the seven gates of the palace of Thebes. It’s where Polynices and Eteocles kill each other. In our adaptation, I use a wildly different battle description drawing from Aztec writings.

In mine, the Mexican people are defending Tenochtitlan. They are gathering in a plaza for a celebration of Huitzilopochtli, an Aztec god, when they are ambushed. Our play says: “The people prepared to celebrate the god of war with Huitzilopochtli, patron of Tenochtitlan. They had built the statue and placed the magic headdress of hummingbird feathers on its head. The procession began, and the celebrants filed into the courtyard of the temple to dance the dance of the serpent.”

José Luis Valenzuela: In the original Greek tragedies, all the action is only talk. In our play, you see part of the battle. You’ll see a lot of the action on stage in this adaptation.

What similarities between ancient Greece and pre-conquest Mexico did you notice and integrate?

EF: The language used by the Nahua people is poetic, but in a different way than Sophocles’s. The Nahua subtly taught morality and philosophy by talking about the center and not living life in extremes: don’t hold your head up too high in arrogance, but never hold your head too low in shame. They warned against addiction and advised respecting your elders. In other words, they were about teaching you how to live on this earth, and I use a lot of these writings in the play.

JLV: And then there are the human relationships in both, which are timeless. Antigone is about how Creon’s hubris brings about his downfall, and how one young woman—by having deep convictions about family, God, Creon’s relationship to the gods, and the law of the land—is able to bring down a total empire. Those are very similar dynamics in any empire, ruling, or dictatorship. You can set this play in World War II, in feudal times, or within corporations. These relationships happen everywhere.

EF: Tyranny is tyranny no matter what. The most important, universal thing about Antigone is that one person standing up to tyranny can influence other people and bring it down.

How did you adapt the character Antíkona, specifically?

EF: In the Nahua culture, they make what they call orations. They’re speeches that convince the people to do what’s right. Antíkona makes one about Creon, stating that he may be on the wrong path.

JLV: In the Aztec writings, when people talk about the rulers, they say that the ruler should be like a tree: give shelter, give shade to the people. That’s what Antíkona does, and ours has a lot more to say.

How is the character of Antigone still relevant today?

EF: A Latina speaking up against tyranny is very relevant, because of what the Latino community is experiencing on a daily basis: the fear and trauma of living through this time. I feel like it’s revolutionary to have Antigone as an Indigenous Latina on the stage fighting tyranny.

What did the Latino Theater Company, as a whole, bring as coproducers of this play?

EF: We have very, very deep roots and relationships in the Los Angeles Latino community and are a legacy organization in California. After many years of gathering knowledge, it’s a great time for us to be doing this at the Getty Villa and reminding Angelenos how diverse our population is.

My hope is that after seeing Antigone: In the Language of Kings, people will have more interest in the Nahua and the beauty of their civilization. In my playwriting notes, I said, “I hope that after this play, the next time you look at, or you see your nanny, your housekeeper, your gardener, or a street vendor, maybe you’ll think about the beauty of their ancestry and their history, and that they come from kings and queens and very sophisticated civilizations.”

JLV: We also bring a tremendous amount of theatricality and pageantry.

What can you tell us about the costumes?

EF: Maria Catarina Copelli, our costume designer, did a ton of research on Aztec culture. There will be beautiful headdresses and featherwork for the different stages of warriors, and regal Aztec costuming for the female and male rulers (we don’t call them king and queen). Zarco Guerrero, a wonderful artist in Arizona, created amazing masks.

How about music?

EF: There will be drums, a conch, and turtle shells. Only Indigenous instruments are used, which means no guitars or strings, because the Spanish brought those to the continent. Christopher Garcia is our musician—he’s well known in the community and worldwide for his Indigenous music.

What inspired you the most in the creation of this adaptation?

EF: More than anything, I was inspired by our ancestors and what they wrote. My wish is that our young people could be exposed to these writings, because they’re important, but we’re not taught it, and that’s a shame. Sometimes as playwrights, you write your own history, right?

Tickets are available online or by calling (310) 440-7300.