Literature to Life To Premiere I AM NOT YOUR PERFECT MEXICAN DAUGHTER At United Palace

Literature to Life has announced the first full performance of its newest title: I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sánchez. The community performance will take place at United Palace in Upper Manhattan on January 27, 2025 at 7:00pm. This new addition to the LTL roster of Signature Titles is performed by Elizabeth Raquel Ramirez and adapted/directed by Ana Maria Jomolca. 

I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter follows Julia Reyes, a Chicago high school student, as she navigates trials and tribulations of following her dreams of becoming a writer, alongside the death of her sister, Olga—who might not have been quite as perfect as she seemed. This story focuses on the idea of finding one's own identity, and breaking free from societal, cultural, and familial expectations. 

LTL's newest actor, Elizabeth Raquel Ramirez, embodies a wide range of characters from this novel, bringing Sánchez' words to life in a raw and lively solo performance. Ramirez is a proud Hispanic actress from San Antonio, Texas. Her credits include In The Heights at Oklahoma City University and two award-winning shorts, Most Likely To and Dream Carriers. She is most known for her contribution to the HBOMax documentary Homeschool Musical: Class of 2020, produced by Tony Award winner Laura Benanti. 

The story is adapted by Ana Maria Jomolca, a Cuban American actress, writer, director and producer. For many years, she was the performer for the LTL stage adaptations of Sandra Cisneros's novel, The House on Mango Street, and The Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe.  She has served as Teaching Artist for several LTL titles, and produced LTL's production of The Latehomecomer. 

“As a failed Cuban debutante, I immediately felt at home when I read I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter,” said Jomolca. “The journey of adapting the novel to stage has been a pilgrimage through Julia's, as well my own, culture and mother lineage. Working with and directing Elizabeth Raquel Ramirez has been one joy and surprise after another. Her courage, tenacity, intuition, honesty, and emotional acuity has brought Julia and the multiple characters that inhabit her world, explode from page to stage. I'm thrilled to share this powerful story, performed by powerhouse Elizabeth Raquel Ramirez with the world!”

This title is co-produced in partnership with Freedom Reads, the only organization in the nation transforming the experience of incarceration by opening libraries in prison housing facilities. Freedom Reads was founded by Reginald Dwayne Betts in 2020. In an environment where the freedom to think, to contribute to a community, and even to dream about what is possible is too often curtailed, Freedom Reads reminds those inside that they have not been forgotten. To date, Freedom Reads has opened 312 Freedom Libraries in 38 adult and youth prisons across 11 states. “We treasure our collaborations with Literature to Life, like this co-production of I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter, and we look forward to continuing to work together to bring literature in all its forms to as many people behind bars as possible,” says Betts.

LTL's adaptation of I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter is now available for booking. It will be brought to several LTL partner schools in New York City this spring in anticipation of broader touring to schools and communities across the country in 2025 and beyond. For booking inquiries, please visit literaturetolife.org/contact. 

Literature to Life (LTL) is a performance-based literacy organization that presents professionally staged verbatim adaptations of American literary classics. Initially conceived as the educational program of the renowned American Place Theatre, LTL is now an independent organization with a mission to perform great books that inspire young people to read and become authors of their own lives.With a roster of books by authors such as Richard Wright, James Baldwin, Junot Díaz, Kao Kalia Yang, and more, LTL performs nationally in performing arts centers, schools, libraries, and correctional facilities.

To learn more about Literature to Life, visit literaturetolife.org.