‘A Woman Named Gloria’ Honors the Late Trailblazing Chicana Leader Gloria Molina

Groundbreaking Chicana activist and California political leader Gloria Molina is remembered for her contributions to the Los Angeles Latinx community and her numerous, historic accomplishments. She made history three times throughout her career as the first Latina elected to the State Assembly, the Los Angeles City Council, and the L.A. County Board of Supervisors. The Mexican American political pioneer died May 14, 2023 at the age of 74 after a three-year battle with terminal cancer. She was honored last month by the city of Los Angeles with the LA City Council officially declaring August 29 as Gloria Molina Day. The event included the premiere of a play written in honor of her entitled A Woman Named Gloria by Chicana playwright Josefina Lopez—best known for writing the coming-of-age play Real Women Have Curves. The tribute play, directed by Corky Dominguez, is currently amid its six-week run at Lopez’s Casa 0101 Theater located in Boyle Heights, a neighborhood in Los Angeles. In a touching portrayal of Molina’s life and legacy, A Woman Named Gloria reminds us of the power and impact she made throughout her decades-long career.

Just weeks after her death, CASA 0101’s main auditorium was renamed to the Gloria Molina Auditorium and it’s where the production is currently playing. In a streamed event, Molina was able to view the renaming and Lopez’s reading of her poem “A Woman Named Gloria” from her home alongside her daughter, Valentina. Lopez would then develop her poem into the play audiences have come to see today. Lopez, like many other Latinas, was inspired by Molina and wanted to tell her story for others to see a woman who advocated for her community.

“When she was running for Supervisor of the First District I began to pay attention to her win and wanted to tell her story. She came from the Eastside and she got so much accomplished with no corruption scandals. I saw her as a heroine to our community and wanted people to see a woman who fought for immigrants, working class and women,” Lopez told HipLatina via email.

The creative process behind this production began with those closest to Molina. Lopez read her oral interview, a number of articles and videos all about the politician. Her process also included numerous interviews with Valentina, Molina’s sister, and countless others who knew her personally. While she wrote about a figure she loved, Lopez still felt intimidated by the task of capturing her life on stage: “I had two public readings of the play to get feedback from the audience as to what to change or add. It was very helpful to have people who loved Gloria mention the things they felt were very important to capture Gloria’s character and temperament.”

The play’s story centers on Jessica Contreras, a young politician desperately looking for guidance following a Driving Under the Influence (DUI) that will affect her political career. In the midst of her stress, she calls upon the spirit of Gloria Molina for help and advice. As she is met with the spirit of Molina, she becomes immersed in her story—from her early experiences with prejudice in her childhood, to her start as a Chicana activist at the Chicano Moratorium, and her journey navigating being a woman in a predominantly white, male political space. The play’s portrayal of her life and rise in politics is shown alongside peeks into her life outside of her advocacy through her familial relationships and especially her relationship with her daughter.

While A Woman Named Gloria portrays Molina’s inspiring life story, as viewers watch her transform into a vibrant leader, her upbringing and position as a Latina in a world dominated by white men rings true to the experience of Latinas and resonates with Latinas today. Lopez shares that after the writing process and knowing Molina while she was still alive, she learned about the hardships she faced and responsibilities she bore as the oldest.

“I learned that when her father died she had to drop out of college and support her nine brothers and sister and her parents. I learned that she was incredibly hard working and had incredible instincts because she was intuitive and highly intelligent,” she explains.

From being the eldest daughter of ten siblings needing to work to support her family to dealing with machismo in her community, Molina’s story is universal in its representation of the experiences Latinas face. Lopez hopes that the universal experiences Molina’s faced will help Latinas feel seen:

“I believe Latinas can identify with her being working class, a daughter of immigrants, and having to deal with so much sexism, racism and classism at the same time and still prevail. I also know that she was underestimated which I, like many Latinas, get underestimated and we are constantly having to prove we deserve to be at a college, job, or in a board room, or in a political office.”

Lopez has hopes for audiences to be inspired by Molina’s career in serving the community and hopefully follow her path in continuing to advocate for Latinxs. Considering no California State Constitutional Offices are currently held by a Latina and Latinas comprise only nine percent of the more than 2,500 city seats, according to a report by Hispanas Organized for Political Equality (HOPE), Molina’s trailblazing career remains a rarity.

“That anyone who wishes to be of service to their community can be a leader. That our desire to make a difference in other people’s lives and our willingness to sacrifice for others make us good enough to be a leader in our community and that we need more people, especially women and Latinas, to step up and own their power just like Gloria did.”

A Woman Named Gloria will be showing at the Casa 0101 Theater until October 6th.