Doña Chona
Silviana was also known as the beloved and feared Doña Chona, V.M.B (Vieja Mitotera del Barrio), her feisty alter ego with a sharp wit and an even sharper tongue. No one was safe from Doña Chona’s opinion or unsolicited advice and endless chisme. She is known to have called President Reagan “collect” to let him know her opinion on proposed social security cuts, the military budget, the US intervention in Central America, and the cheese “donations” – “que son para tapar un elefante”.
Doña Chona first appeared in 1978 in “Los Pelados, an original, bilingual play collectively written by the members of Teatro Libertad, a multiethnic street theatre ensemble whose work focused on Tucson’s Chicano community. She is described in the copyrighted booklet of the play: “Doña Chona: In her sixties feels freedom to criticize, nag, and complain openly. Feels that her daughter married “beneath” her and resents Jesus for not giving Margarita the “better things in life” such as a home. Wears housecoat, sweater, mismatched sox, and clutches her purse throughout play.”
Throughout the years, the character evolved in many ways but her housecoat, purse, and bad wig remained constant and recognizable, often receiving “gritos” from fans who spotted her on the streets of Tucson filming “La Vida de Doña Chona.” The segments aired on “Relexiones”, a bilingual, bicultural, award- winning public affairs television program for KUAT TV, Channel 6 – Tucson, AZ circa 1982. Later, she appeared on “Trabajando Para Ti,” a locally produced program focusing on local issues and events on Telemundo, KHRR Channel 40.
Silviana often appeared as Doña Chona, a local celebrity, at meetings, conferences, roasts (“tostadas”), classes, political rallies, and public and private events.
“I’ve gotten kind of schizoid, like there are two of me. I’m always thinking ‘What does Doña Chona think of this?’”
