Play recounts immigrant’s kindness

As West Side Story portrays the Puerto Rican experience in New York City in the 1950s, Man from Magdalena, a play with words by Patty Christiena Willis and music by Mary Lou Prince, expresses the migrant experience in Southern Arizona in the 21st century.

The courage of Manuel Jesœs C—rdova Soberanes from Magdalena, an hour south of the border, inspired the presentation.

On Thanksgiving 2007, C—rdova — an illegal immigrant crossing into the United States — found a 9-year-old boy wandering with his dog near Pena Blanca Lake. The boy had been in a car accident that killed his mother. C—rdova stayed with the boy through the night, building a fire and giving him clothing for warmth. In the morning, he contacted hunters who called authorities. C—rdova became a celebrity of sorts, but was deported the same day.

The play will be narrated by Willis as the storyteller. It will feature the Madera Vocal Quartet with singers Marla Daugherty, Suzanne Miller and Seja Snow, as well as Patty Willis. Musicians include Prince on piano and cello played by Helene Benedikte.

“In his incredible act of kindness, he urges us to find our own ways to reach out our hands and heal,” the writers say. “His story is our story. This stranger who transformed into an angel shows us the way.”

When Willis heard the story of C—rdova, believed it held a powerful message of compassion. Prince wrote the music that would become the songs.

Prince is the music director/composer in residence at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Green Valley. Willis is the 2010 recipient of the Tom J. Mullen Ministry of Writing Fellowship at Earlham School of Religion, a Quaker seminary in Richmond, Ind., where she is studying for the ministry.

The play will be staged Jan. 22 at 7 p.m. and Jan. 23-24 at 2 p.m. at Amado Territory Ranch Madaras Center, 3001 E. Frontage Road, Amado. Tickets are $25 (tax deductible). Due to limited seating, purchase in advance by calling 520-269-9429.

Net proceeds will be divided among micro-loan programs in Mexico and Central America and the music program at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Green Valley.

“Man from Magdalena” will be featured in April at a historic gathering of three peace churches (Quakers, Brethren and Mennonites) in Indiana.

rford@gvnews.com