Kathy Mitrani

After my grandfather died, the building where my mother lived - and where our family came together and our traditions and superstitions were passed on - collapsed. Soon after that, a hurricane with the same name as my grandfather's sister lashed this same place. For years I have tried to make sense of these events, wondering whether I am attaching meaning to unrelated places in order to avoid feeling their absence. When I think about my own mortality, I am attracted to the way my family found refuge in religion. Although I have rejected it, I find myself returning to my family's traditions when faced with death. I wonder whether my attachment to my own habits is rooted in the consolation that comes from accepting death as a part of life. In essence, La danza de las sombras is an intimate look at one woman's difficulty in feeling present in her pain.