Ambulante, a documentary film festival founded by Gael Garcia Bernal, Diego Luna, Pablo Cruz, and Elena Fortes in Mexico almost ten years ago, is making its debut in Los Angeles this year. Part of the inaugural edition of Ambulante California, curated by Christine Davila (the newly-christened Director of Ambulante USA) is the September 25 screening of Las Marthas, a documentary about Martha Washington’s Colonial Pageant and Ball.
The event is a high-snobiety ball in honor of George Washington’s birthday that doubles as the societal debut of elite Mexican-American girls from Laredo, Texas. It turns out George Washington’s birthday is NOT about him.
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The debutantes are known as “Girls for George Washington” (for realz.) They are chosen by members of the Society of Martha Washington, and are either legacy (their families are part of the Society) or not (those who are invited when legacy girls decline.) The debuting part of the ball is really a fancy obstacle course. While wearing 100 pound colonial gowns that cut off their circulation, they have to walk down a flight of stairs, take a deep bow, and twirl. In addition they seem to be required to wear an expression best described as possessed porcelain doll.
In an interview with Remezcla earlier this year, the director, Cristina Ibarra, explains why she chose to depict this peculiar celebration:
“As soon as I saw a Mexican-American debutante dressed as a colonial heroine, I was immediately intrigued. From the outside, this might look like “just pretty girls in pretty dresses,” but when we look at the bicultural ways this event is celebrated we uncover multiple layers of meaning that deepen our views of the Latino experience in the United States. And hopefully the debutantes can teach us a little about what is like to be an American today, where we all juggle multiple identities.”
Ready to meet Las Marthas most enchanting debutantes?
We present Laurita
She is Legacy. She is also a shoe-in for the Rachel McAdams part in the Mexican-American remake of Mean Girls.
We present Rosario
She is not Legacy and is constantly wishing she could disappear into her dress.
The post-ungraceful-bow breakdown
Ay Rosario! Don’t you know the only acceptable emotion for debutantes is a forced smile?
We present a young Meryl Streep
In this movie, she’s playing a legacy mean girl delighting in Rosario’s pain.
We present Molly
She’s a life-sized wind up doll.
You are cordially invited to celebrate the spectacular Texas-style debut of these young women on Thursday, September 25 at 7pm with a screening of Las Marthas at the USC School for Cinematic Arts.
Ambulante California runs September 21 – October 4. For more information visit the website and follow on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Tumblr.
Read an interview with Cristina Ibarra, director of Las Marthas here.