Mexico-born composer premieres piece on immigration experience
It’s been nearly a decade since J.E. Hernández found himself navigating an unexpected hardship, one that solidified his purpose as an artist.
The Mexican-born composer is no stranger to difficult situations. In the early 2000s, when he was only 11 years old, Hernández and his mother immigrated to Houston to live with her husband and his two children in a one-bedroom apartment. Aside from cramped living quarters, the language barrier presented daily challenges.
Yet, he would face greater adversity further down the line.
At age 20, Hernández, a permanent resident, was working as a railcar mechanic. As he was returning from a vacation to his native country, he says he was separated from his family at George Bush Intercontinental Airport and transported, using restraints, to a nearby immigration detention center. He spent the next 60 days incarcerated, dressed in knockoff Crocs and scrubs. That was in 2013.
His firsthand account details dehumanizing conditions, abuse from the guards, a hunger strike and one man’s suicide while in solitary confinement. During his stay, Hernández spent whatever time he could in the library, learning about his case and trying to help others with theirs before he was finally granted relief from deportation.
Hernández became a citizen in 2018, and two years later, earned his degree from the
University of Houston’s Moores School of Music.
Stories of his fellow detainees, specifically the experiences of migrants crossing the Sonoran Desert, became the impetus for his latest work, “Desert Shelter.” Scored for a string sextet, the piece — which is in fact an interdisciplinary exploration, showcasing musicians from the Ponce Project and members of NobleMotion Dance — will make its debut this weekend in the Wortham Center’s Cullen Theater, as part of Performing Arts Houston’s annual “New/ Now” artist commissioning project.
“I couldn’t imagine a world where the voices of these people
went unheard,” Hernández says. “I really want to shatter the cycle of shame for people like me and cement a permanent spot in the proverbial artistic table for these kinds of stories, so that no one can deny that they happen. Every single day, from 2013 to 2018, I spent being afraid of something like that happening again. It will affect me for the rest of my life, and everyone who goes through this has that. If I can contribute even a little bit toward their mental and spiritual liberation to feel like they can live a normal life after that, I can’t think of a better result.”
“Desert Shelter” is the second installation of what Hernández envisions will be a trilogy in its completion. It follows “Voces Fantasmas,” a three-movement piece in collaboration with the Houston Contemporary Dance Company, Apollo Chamber Players and Filmatic Cinema that premiered at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston in fall of 2021. The final part of the narrative will take shape as a large orchestral work titled “Parallax (or 33,000 Stolen Sunsets).”
In an extension of the same conversation, the composer and founder of ConcertiaHTX, a nonprofit arts organization dedicated to empowering social causes, is also working on an immersive vocal drama with attorney, professor and internationally recognized children’s rights scholar Warren Binford. Slated to premiere in September at the University of Colorado, “Soul Echoes” is based on sworn declarations by children detained at the border.
“I came here when I was 11, and from there, my whole life has been here,” Hernández says. “I fell in love here. I got married here. I got detained here. I was in terrible situations here, overcame deep socioeconomic issues here. So, it makes me enormously proud that this work, which is the only one in the nation talking about this, is here.”
“Performing Arts Houston saw the value, and they’ve embraced this work in a very special way,” he continues. “I’m proud to show that Houston is another place where the bleeding edge of music is happening...This isn’t happening in New York. This isn’t happening in LA.”
Alongside “Desert Shelter,” this weekend’s “New/Now” program will feature world premieres by Angolan singersongwriter Vivalda Ndula, Musiqa artistic director Anthony Brandt and bilingual playwright Tazeen Zahida.