October 5, 2023

Title: 3Lw

Constructor: Enrique Henestroza Anguiano

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme Answers:

LETITIA WRIGHT (20A: Actress who plays Shuri in "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever")

LUCINDA WILLIAMS (40A: "Car Wheels on a Gravel Road" singer-songwriter)

LANA WACHOWSKI (59A: "The Matrix Resurrections" director)

Theme synopsis: Each of the 3 theme answers is a person with the initials LW.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• LETITIA WRIGHT (20A: Actress who plays Shuri in "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever") As the clue informs us, LETITIA WRIGHT portrays Shuri / Black Panther in the 2022 movie Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. She also plays this role in Black Panther (2018), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), and Avengers: Endgame (2019).
• SARI (24A: Garment with many draping styles) There are over 100 ways to drape a SARI. I found this Google Arts & Culture article interesting and informative: "9 Facts You Might Not Know About the SARI." SARI is making back-to-back appearances this week, as we just saw it yesterday.
• ACACIA (31A: Tree whose sap forms gum arabic) Gum arabic is the hardened sap of some species of the ACACIA tree. The sap is harvested from wild trees, with about 70% of the global supply of the gum harvested from trees in Sudan. Gum arabic is used as an emulsifier and stabilizer in foods and soft drinks, and is also used in other industries, such as lithography.
• LUCINDA WILLIAMS (40A: "Car Wheels on a Gravel Road" singer-songwriter) Car Wheels on a Gravel Road, released in 1998, is the fifth studio album for LUCINDA WILLIAMS, and her best-selling album to date. The album won a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album. In 2020, Rolling Stone ranked Car Wheels on a Gravel Road 98th on "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time."
• DENSE (45A: Like flourless cake) I was initially confused because "delicious" did not fit! I am particularly a fan of flourless chocolate cake, which is DENSE and delicious. The gluten in flour is partially responsible for the airy fluffy structure of cakes containing flour. A cake made without flour will be more DENSE, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. 
• LANA WACHOWSKI (59A: "The Matrix Resurrections" director) LANA WACHOWSKI and her sister, Lilly, are a writing and directing team that often work together, though each has worked on their own projects as well. In addition to co-writing and directing The Matrix, the WACHOWSKI's other projects include the 2005 movie, V for Vendetta, and the 2015-2018 Netflix series, Sense8. One of LANA WACHOWSKI's solo directing credits is the 2021 movie, The Matrix Resurrections.
• HOLD (72A: "___ Out Your Hand" (Brandi Carlile song)) "HOLD Out Your Hand" is a song from Brandi Carlile's 2018 album, By the Way, I Forgive You. The music video for "HOLD Out Your Hand" was filmed at the 2018 March for Our Lives in Seattle, Washington.
• SING (38D: "Lift Every Voice and ___") "Lift Every Voice and SING" has been referred to by the NAACP as the Black National Anthem. The hymn's lyrics and music were written by brothers James Weldon Johnson and J. Rosamond Johnson in 1900 for the 91st anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln's birthday. "Lift every voice and SING, / Till earth and heaven ring, / Ring with the harmonies of Liberty..." This song has been my earworm since I filled in this answer.
• CELL (61D: Mitochondria's place) Some have said that the mitochondria is the "powerhouse of the CELL." I wrote about mitochondria earlier this year. 
• DEC (64D: Las Posadas mo.) Las Posadas is a celebration primarily observed in South America, Mexico, Guatemala, and Cuba. The celebration lasts for nine days, typically between the 16th to 24th of December (DEC). During Las Posadas, two people dressed as Mary and Joseph lead a procession to certain houses designated to represent inns.

Geography review:

• MOTTO (3D: Alaska's is "North to the Future") "North to the Future" has been Alaska's official state MOTTO since 1967. It was chosen to indicate that Alaska is a land of promise. This answer made me curious about the MOTTOs of other states. There is certainly a lot of variety in the MOTTOs chosen by U.S. states and territories. Some states have opted for brevity, choosing one word as their MOTTO. Examples include "Hope" (Rhode Island), and "Forward" (Wisconsin). The MOTTO of Virginia is the Latin phrase, "Sic semper tyrannis," which translates to "Thus always to tyrants." (I'm not exactly sure what that means.) I think my favorite state MOTTO might be Michigan's, "Si quaeris peninsula amoenam circumspice," which is Latin and translates to, "If you seek a pleasant peninsula, look about you."
• TEXAN (21D: Austinite or Houstonian, e.g.) Austin is the capital of Texas, and Houston is its largest city.

3Lw was a musical group consisting of Adrienne Bailon, Kiely Williams, and Naturi Naughton. The group was active from 1999-2007. Pertaining to the band, 3Lw stands for "3 Lil Women." In today's puzzle, however, 3Lw refers to the initials of 3 notable women, an actor, a singer, and a director. Though I am familiar with all three of the women featured in today's puzzle, I wasn't able to fill any of them in without a little bit of assistance from crossing answers. That's not a bad thing - that's the joy of crosswords! Thank you, Enrique, for this puzzle that was a great way to start my Thursday.