A staged reading of 'IYA The Esselen Remember' will be held Nov. 19 and 21 at CSU Monterey Bay’s World Theater.

The new play was written by Luis “Xago” Juarez of local theater company Baktun 12 and directed by Ruben C. Gonzalez. It addresses past and present issues surrounding the people of the Oholone/Costanoan-Esselen Nation.

OCEN Tribal Chairwoman Louise J. Miranda Ramirez said it’s important to tell the stories of OCEN people through creative mediums.

“How will you, the audience member, or anyone know how important our ancestors are to our lives today unless we look for ways to tell you?” said Ramirez. “We must share how we feel; how we feel the pain of colonization that affected our ancestors and continues for our people today.”

IYA The Esselen Remember incorporates the tribe’s creation myth, historical accounts depicting the Spanish Mission period, the Mexican-Californio era, and the U.S. occupation and settlement. Set on the Monterey Peninsula, IYA The Esselen Remember is a story about love and the importance of keeping the sacred traditions and culture of the Esselen people alive and thriving. In the play, the lives and complex realities of six family members are intertwined as they gather for their traditional “survivors supper,” a celebration honoring their resistance to the Thanksgiving holiday as well as the survival of their identity as natives to this region.

Recognizing the importance of their coming together and gaining a better understanding of cultural preservation, the cousins are faced with making serious choices to protect, preserve and maintain the peace of their ancestors. Their collective experience inspires them to recover the sacred remains of an Esselen child unearthed at a local construction site and re-bury them in a sacred, and protected burial ground. But at what cost?

In addition to English, the Esselen and Spanish languages will be spoken to indicate the past and present, native and colonial, histories of the Central Coast.

Organizations collaborating on the project include the Ohlone/Costanoan-Esselen Nation, Baktun 12, the San Francisco International Arts Festival and CSU Monterey Bay.

Staged readings of the play take place at 7 p.m., Nov. 19, and 2 p.m., Nov. 21, at the World Theater located on Sixth Avenue between A and B streets. Admission is free, but attendees must purchase a parking permit from a machine on the lot.

More information is available from Rafael Garcia at 831-204-8797 or baktuntwelve@gmail.com