Las Marthas

Filmmaker Cristina Ibarra's Las Marthas highlights the annual debutante ball of the Society of Martha Washington in Laredo, TX, where young women—primarily Mexican-American—make their social debuts. The event and its attendant rituals cap a month-long celebration of George Washington's birthday that brings millions in revenue to Laredo. Ibarra examines this longstanding tradition (now 116 years old) in historical context—both as a reaction to border-residing Mexicans' outsider status in Mexico and the U.S., and as an expression of American identity among Texas's Mexican landowners. The cameras follow those who plan and execute the activities, from scriptwriters (who work around the fact that Washington was never in Laredo) to the official costume designer who produces the sketches for all of the girls' one-of-a-kind, $15,000 ball gowns. Viewers will see as the garments are designed, fitted, and sewed, as well as witness the rehearsals where the debs practice walking, negotiating stairs, and performing low curtsies in beaded hoop-skirts so large and heavy (some weigh 80 pounds) that they require five assistants to don. The spotlight is on Laura Garza Hovel and Rosario Reyes, debutantes representing different strata of Laredo society; Laura is the latest “legacy daughter” in a long family line, while Mexico-born Rosario has worked hard for high school titles and crowns. Las Marthas concludes with the culminating extravaganza—an astounding bit of theater. Offering an entertaining and respectful look at an offbeat, rarely-seen facet of Americana, this is highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (M. Puffer-Rothenberg)