Hurricane Season

For years, she has been the number one topic of discussion among the inhabitants of La Matosa, a small village in the Mexican province. Revered, despised, feared, and only called »the witch« by everyone, the most gruesome stories are told about her: She does it with the devil, talks to the dead, concocts all kinds of remedies. Until one day, she is found dead in a sugar cane field in the shimmering heat between the reeds and the engine noise of the country road.
Who did this to her, what was the motive behind it? Bit by bit, the prehistory of the murder is revealed through the multi-perspective plot of six orphaned souls: Yesenia, who learned early on to take responsibility for her family; Luismi, Munra and Brando, who can only escape hopelessness and poverty through intoxication; Chabela, who has been prostituting herself since she can remember; and the 13-year-old Norma, who is fleeing from the consequences of her unwanted pregnancy.
Fernanda Melchor sets her social panorama of corruption, torture, orgies and femicides between brothels and bars. Her language often seems breathless and unsparing. She weaves Mexican fairy tales and legends into her narrative but portrays reality, as some of the incidents in the novel are based on true events.
Mina Salehpour tackles this explosive horror tale in her first piece at Schauspiel Köln.