Dear Audience:

I’m honored to welcome you to the third edition of our annual series, Let’s Celebrate! In which diversity is celebrated! This year,  we present the world premieres of three 20 minute pieces based on significant holidays from Mexico, Uzbekistan, and Spain. 

As I sat down to write this note to you, I realized that these stories resonate vividly with what’s happening today in our world. 

“Dancing In Chalma,” is the story of a young woman’s attempt to reconcile with her family after many years of separation. She dances to Chalma with her pup, Xochil, to make a wish for reconciliation. But, it may be too late, as she and Xochil had a fatal accident on their way. Yet, she manages to tell her mom and dad she loves them – how? – you will need to see the show to find out. For me, it is a timely reminder about love. It reminds me how precious it is to be able to hold my family close this holiday season and always. And it makes me think of those families that are involuntarily separated because of current policies. 

“Thirty Angels” is the story of why sumalak, (made from sprouted wheat grains, crushed and stirred with water, flour and oil, overnight,) is prepared by women across Central Asia on the first day of spring (Navruz). Sumalak means “thirty angels” after a legend of how the dish came to be—that angels helped create a tasty porridge from seven stones for a poor mother with two hungry sons. To commemorate their triumph over starvation, entire villages band together to cook sumalak for all, a symbol that feeding each other is a community affair, that no one should be left hungry. What a symbol for today where food insecurity is rampant!

“Requiem Tomatina,” celebrates the largest tomato hurling festival in the world which commemorates the triumph of freedom over authoritarianism. An innocent food fight during a parade in the small town of Buñol was so enjoyable that it was continued thereafter every year. Under the dictatorship of Franco, however, it was banned as culturally irrelevant and irreligious. In a clever act of protest, the locals staged a “tomato funeral” to demonstrate their love for the tradition. This satirical protest worked! The ban was lifted and the festival has become the largest food fight in the world. Wow! The power of people to stand up against authoritarianism and win! What an inspiration for us. We need the power of satire, comedy, story telling – in short, the ARTS, to resist the totalitarianism that is surging in our world. 

Thank you for coming to the show and standing with us for all we believe in: Truth telling, artistry and activism. Happy 2026! 

Cerise Lim Jacobs, Opera Maker + Founding Artistic Director

White Snake Projects, An Activist Performance Company

January 10, 2026