La Ruta asks the question: how do we protect our women when we live in a system where they will be taken with no consequences?
La Ruta uses realism and music to portray a story that is based off of the reality for women in Juarez, Mexico from 1998-2000. These women are known as the “Daughters of Juarez”. The play also messes with time by setting the play non-linearly, this is done because according to the writer “that is the world these women live in”. La Ruta mainly follows Yolanda and Brenda but it makes a point to show that the real protagonists of the story are all of the women in the play. This is an ensemble based show and the director makes a point to show this by giving importance to every character’s story being told. La Ruta gives a voice to the “Daughters of Juarez” and in doing so it tells the audience how in this society women are less cared for and taken advantage of,
Trigger warning: death, sexual assault, kidnapping, alluding to drug usage, adult language
Since the play is nonlinear the scenes have been marked before each summary and explanation, at the bottom of the page includes a timeline that places the scenes in chronological order. It is recommended that you read the scenes in the order of the original text for this is how the playwright intended for the play to read. After this then use the timeline to examine the story as it would be if chronological.
Scene 1
La Ruta opens up at a bus stop in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico where Yolanda is helping Marisela holds a stack of fliers with her daughters face on them, it is a new picture from her quinceanera. Although the conversation between them is light they are both anticipating the buses arrival, The bus arrives and women from the late shift at the factory begin to clear off. Yolanda helps Marisela hand each of them a flier asking if they have seen her daughter, Once all of them have cleared Yolanda suddenly realizes that her daughter, Brenda, never got off the bus. Marisela tells her not to over react and says that she probably is still at the factory or that she got off the bus with Ivonne. They choose to stay at the stop and wait for the next bus. They talk about how they were both fired from the factory and how the factory was made because of the Free Trade movement under NAFTA. Marisela expresses her distrust in Jose the factory manager while Yolanda shares differing opinions and feels like he takes care of her. The next bus arrives and they wait for all the women to clear. Brenda is still no where to be found. They call the police.
Scene 2
The show moves to the maquiladoras where it is Brenda’s first day on the job. Brenda is being shown around by Ivonne when they begin a conversation with Zaide. Brenda hears Zaide bring up Azucena and she wonders what they are talking about. Zaide says she is one of the girls who was kidnapped. Brenda watches as Zaide starts throwing accusations at Ivonne: “I just think it’s interesting that every time a girl goes missing, you happen to be around, that’s all”(pg.20) Ivonne denies this and starts a fight with Zaide. Zaide quickly backs down and they are all soon to work again. Break time is called and Brenda is caught looking helpless by Ivonne, who then offers to help her. Brenda begins to bond with Ivonne and she finds out that Ivonne was at her quince because knows her mother, Yolanda. They also bond over their mutual love for Selena, the singer, and begin to become friends. Brenda confides in Ivonne about the other girls. Ivonne tells her that there are some to steer away from like one of the girls who is dating a gang member and to also stay away from Zaide: “she is looking for someone or something to blame for this whole thing. She’s hysterical” (pg. 29).
Brenda begins to work again until the final buzzer goes off signifying the end of the work day. Ivonne and Brenda gather and Brenda asks Ivonne why she is in Juarez. Ivonne says she came for America, Brenda talks about how her family wants her to move there but her mom doesn’t want to. Ivonne says that her boyfriend, Raul, wants to take her there. Brenda notices the women from the factory beginning to gather and link arms. They approach the maquila owner (the audience) and ask if there is any way for the bus to drop them off closer to home: “Disciple Señor. All we are asking… is for la ruta to drop us off a little closer to our houses. Just for those of us working the night shift, that’s it” (pg. 33). Many of them have to run home out of fear because of the recent kidnappings. They are denied this and leave to get onto this bus. As they ride home all but Zaide sing “Son Del Obrero”. Zaide falls asleep on the bus and suddenly wakes not knowing where she is. She apologizes to the bus driver and says she must have missed her stop. The bus driver does not respond.
Scene 3
Yolanda is outside of her home taking clothes down from the clothesline when suddenly Ivonne bursts into the house. She is completely disheveled with blood on her knees and elbows and her clothes ripped and dirty. Yolanda thinks its Brenda and comes quickly into the room to find Ivonne. She searches the whole house for Brenda when she realizes what is happening. Brenda is not to be found. Yolanda starts screaming for Brenda believing that she had left the factory with Ivonne. Ivonne riles in pain as Yolanda begins to realize that this means Brenda is gone. Yolanda begins to spiral and Ivonne tries to reel her back in. Yolanda’s attention turns to Ivonne and she begins to help her: “You know you can’t just disappear like that Ivonne, you know that”(pg.37). Yolanda says that the police will not look for until after three days, but she is certain that Brenda is coming back. She sits Ivonne down and offers her food. As they sit there a car pulls up in front of the house. The headlights shine onto the women. Ivonne ducks: “can you see the color of that van, the one parked outside?”(pg. 39). Yolanda approaches the window and see the blue van, just as she reaches the window it drives off.
Ivonne starts saying that she needs to leave Juarez and that she is going tomorrow with her cousin. She tells Yolanda to come with her, but Yolanda says she can’t leave Brenda. “She’s not coming back, Yolanda”(pg.41) Ivonne yells at Yolanda. Yolanda stops and realizes that Ivonne knows something. Ivonne starts to deny that she knows anything. Yolanda asks Ivonne if the rumors that she was with her that night are true and Ivonne says they are not although they always road the bus together. They go back and forth about why Ivonne was not with her that one night:
Yolanda- “You were supposed to look out for her.”
Ivonne- “I know I was.”
Yolanda- “So why weren’t you with her?!”
Ivonne- “I DON’T KNOW!” (pg.42)
Yolanda throws Ivonne out of the house by throwing Brenda’s just cleaned laundry at her. The laundry is dirty, she panics.
Scene 4
Still at Yolandas house, but a different day, the house dirty and unkept. Brenda is searching the house for something as Marisela enters carrying tamales. Brenda runs over to help Marisela. Marisela brings up how she was fired from the maquila, but Brenda is distracted and this catches Marisela’s attention. Brenda admits that she is planning on going to watch fireworks with Ivonne and Yolanda does not know yet. Brenda is questioned by Marisela and she reminds her that she is not allowed to go out. Brenda gives into Marisela and changes the subject. Brenda asks Marisela about her daughter, Rubi, who has now been missing for six months. Marisela tells Brenda that she still holds out hope; “but. She’ll turn up soon enough. I’m sure of it. I will find her. I’m determined”(pg.50). Brenda says she’s going to tell Ivonne that she can’t go and leaves.
Yolanda enters and Marisela expresses her distaste for Ivonne. Yolanda disagrees and says that she likes Ivonne. Yolanda gets a phone call from Yesenia about her tamales order. While she is on the phone Brenda re-enters with Ivonne. Brenda tries to get Ivonne to her room but Ivonne is distracted by Marisela trying to catch up. Brenda leaves the room and Ivonne and Marisela are left on their own. They have small conversation with long pauses. Brenda reenters and tells Ivonne that she is ready, they are going to watch the fireworks outside. Marisela decides to come with and they run outside. The fireworks popping.
Scene 5
Yolanda’s is home folding clean laundry and humming a tune when she hears a knock at the door. When she sees it is Marisela she immediately stops singing and avoids answering the door. Marisela continues to knock telling Yolanda to open the door. Eventually Yolanda opens the door and there is tension between the two women. After some silence Marisela starts small conversation and reveals; “her burial was last week. I kept looking around for you but you never came. Did you not get my message ?”(pg.59). Marisela’s daughter had been found and Marisela has found out that her daughter’s boyfriend is with Los Zetas. Marisela begins to spiral and Yolanda embraces her, leading her inside. Marisela spirals into wondering how this could have happened and she relives the last moment she saw her daughter and how they found her dead.
“And do you have any idea what they gave me instead of my beautiful girl? A pile of sand and a bag of bones. Pieces of her chopped up and left in the dumpster”(pg.61).
Yolanda learns that after Rubi’s boyfriend confesses to her murder he is let go. No repercussions. After being invited to go meet the other women who are missing theirs daughters Yolanda denies that she needs too. Revealing that she has recently received a phone call from her daughter’s captors saying that she will be returned after three years. Yolanda insists that she can not give up hope that this is the truth. Marisela fights back and after the two continue to disagree Yolanda motions that it is time for Marisela to leave. Yolanda goes back to her laundry.
Scene 6
Back at the maquiladoras, Ivonne is fighting on the phone with someone insisting that she needs more time. Ivonne suddenly is talking to someone new, it is her sister Erika. She tells her she loves her and that she will there for her soon; “Sh sh sh sh no llores chiquita I’m here I’m right here. I will be there soon, okay? Be strong okay? I love you so so so much. You know that right? … Okay. Okay I will see you soon. Te quiero mucho hermana-“(pg.68). The phone hangs up and Ivonne screams, goes over to a the mirror and begins bashing it with one of her shoes. Brenda enters the room.
Ivonne insists that Brenda did not see anything and Ivonne complies. The conversation quickly moves on to a simple topic, makeup. Brenda says she is not allowed to wear makeup so Ivonne begins to help her apply some. The conversation suddenly turns and Ivonne becomes cold towards Brenda. Brenda expresses that Ivonne never shares anything about herself. Ivonne talks about how Brenda looks like her sister. Unknowing of what is really going on Brenda consoles Ivonne for missing her sister who she thinks is in Durango. Unexpectedly Ivonne says; “I love you, Brendita” (pg.74). Surprised by this Brenda says she loves her too. Moving on Brenda goes to pee before the break is over. When she comes out Ivonne is gone. Ivonne’s clutch remains and her phone begins to ring. Brenda answers and on the other side of the call a man breathes, but there are no words spoken.
Scene 7
In a cotton field on the outskirts of Ciudad Juarez Ivonne sits kneeling in a scatter of pink crosses. She is disheveled, but she holds a rosario in hand is praying. The music overtakes the stage and Ivonne is scooped into the music after singing along with the voices they suddenly stop. She comes back to praying but has lost her place. Yolanda enters and goes to give Ivonne one of her fliers when she realizes who it is. Yolanda slaps Ivonne but Ivonne does not react. Yolanda slaps here again with no reaction. There has clearly been discourse between the two. It is revealed that Yolanda thinks Ivonne is the one that took Brenda. Ivonne denies this and changes the conversation. She has returned after two years to retrieve some of her things. “Because you owe me that much, that’s why. So you’d better try, you’d better fucking try. WHY ARE YOU HERE?”(pg.83). Yolanda pushes for an answer. Ivonne says she came to pay respects and expresses that Brenda meant a lot to her.
Yolanda continues to fight against Ivonne, expressing that their are people looking for Ivonne after two years. Suddenly Ivonne says, “It… it… It was my family or yours”(pg.86). Yolanda is taken back by this, realizing it is some sort of confession. Ivonne tells Brenda that she had to watch her sister be mutilated and used by three men. They forced her to watch as Erika was assaulted. They threw the two of them in the back of a van and dropped Ivonne off at the S-Mart. Ivonne says she ran to Yolanda’s house instead of going home. Yolanda realizing what happened goes to comfort Ivonne. Ivonne explodes on Yolanda saying that she needed her. Yolanda knows in reality that there is nothing she could have done. She begs Ivonne to tell her if she knows anything about where Brenda is. Ivonne says, “I’m not the monsters who took your daughter, Senora. As much as you’d like me to be?… I’m not”(pg.89). Ivonne reveals that she wishes she knew where Brenda is, but she does not.
Scene 8
Brenda and Ivonne sit on the floor of Brenda’s room. They are making small chatter, laughing to music and talking about boys. Ivonne picks on Brenda about her crush on Marquitos. Ivonne decides to help Brenda by role playing an interaction between Brenda and Marquitos. This is a fun and normal interaction between friends. Ivonne’s phone starts to ring but she does not answer it. Ivonne brings up Desamaya, a famous Mexican singer. Brenda realizes that Ivonne does not know Desamaya is dead because her tour bus was shot up and she was kidnapped. The conversation moves on to gossiping when Ivonne’s phone rings again. The phone continues to ring even after Ivonne hangs up once. She yells at the caller to stop calling and hangs up again. The phone rings and Ivonne finally answers. There is conformation between her and the caller but there is no way to know what about. She hangs up the phone.
Ivonne suddenly randomly asks Brenda what she is doing tomorrow and starts to insist that she skips work to hang out with her. She even will get Joe, their boss, to approve it. Brenda excited by the idea of a girls night out agrees to go. Ivonne after receiving conformation decides to leave. This is a sudden turn in the scene. She says goodbye the Brenda and she is gone. After leaving the house Ivonne throws up in a bush outside.
Scene 9
In El Centro, Ciudad Juarez, women are chanting “Ni Una Mas”(pg.101). Marisela stands alone on stage wearing a giant homemade poster that reads;
“Rubí Marisol.
16 años. Q.E.P.D.
Justicia. Justicia.
Para El Asesino.
Pena Máxima” (pg.101).
Her makeup makes her look like a clown but her red lip stick is smeared. The chanting continues. She starts to give a speech about how the women of Juarez are going missing and the men wear pieces of them as prizes. The men are not scared to celebrate the kills but still no one does anything to stop them. The speech she is giving is a protest. She is fighting for the women of Juarez, “because we can never stop… until the desert stops swallowing our girls”(pg.102). Yolanda appears and goes up to Ivonne. She questions what Ivonne is doing and asks her who she thinks she is. Marisela says that she is fighting back and taking action because who else is going too. The police are not doing anything so she has too.
“It’s not just the boyfriends or the bus routes, it’s the narcos, it’s the police, it’s the government, it’s the newspapers, the maquilas, the borrachos, los hombres de Juárez, los padres tambien, ES TODO! We are ALWAYS on la ruta, Yolanda, y ya mero, it’s time to get off”(pg.106).
She tells Yolanda to join her in the march. Yolanda says that she can not because if she leaves that means that Brenda is dead and that is not true. She says that there is a chance to find her since Ivonne is back. Marisela tells Yolanda that Ivonne was just found dead. The people who were looking for her for the past two years got her. She was found dead amongst the crosses. Yolanda is in shock but Marisela continues to tell Yolanda that she should join the protest. The chanting continues and they embrace each other.
Marisela tells a prophecy of the movement ahead;
“Some random guy will just… walk right up to me… in the middle of the day… as I’m steps away from pulling the door open… and shoot me dead. Right there. On the steps of the court. And get away with it.
They will kill me this time.
And then they will kill my family.
And then they will kill everyone who testifies on my behalf in court.
And then three thousand more women after me.
And thousands more all over the world.
Across the border.
In every city.
I’m sure of it” (pg.108).
This one part of the show pulls together the major dramatic question. Marisela is saying that she will fight but amidst this fight in the end she will be found dead. No one will do anything in the end so although she knows this is her destiny she must fight for the daughters of Juarez and herself because no one else is going to.
Marisela tells Yolanda that she loves her and then Marisela is gone. Yolanda is alone. The desert turns into music and takes in Yolanda as Desamaya sings. The Women of Juarez appear on stage with Yolanda and they sing as she listens. Yolanda joins in with them as they sing all coming together. The music stops suddenly.
“They call us the las locas de Juarez… but we’re not”(pg.112).
She starts eating she sand that stands in front of her. She is consuming the desert that consumes their children.
