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La Ruta – Ni Una Mas (Not One More)

Ni una mas. Ni una mas. Ni una mas.

La Ruta- written by Isaac Gomez and directed by Steppenwolf Ensemble member, Sandra Marquez- takes place 20 years ago, yet this story is full of similarities to the world in which we now live. Here in the United States, we have the Me Too Movement. Latin America has the Ni Una Mas Movement.

Isaac Gomez’s La Ruta follows femicide (the deliberate killing of women because they are women) in Cuidad Juárez. It is important to note that femicide is a global reality that isn’t unique to Mexico. Since the early 1990’s, thousands of women have disappeared without a trace in Juárez. Continue reading “La Ruta – Ni Una Mas (Not One More)”

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‘The Real Life Adventures of Jimmy de Las Rosas’ Brings Superheroes to La Villita

This review was translated into Spanish by Itzel Blancas.

Comic books and superheroes have a long history of symbolically representing tense political and social realities in a way that is accessible to the general public. Knowing Ricardo Gamboa’s radical politics, and Free Street Theater’s commitment to making accessible theater that is representative of Chicago’s South Side, it only makes sense that they would collaborate to bring superheroes to the stage with The Real Life Adventures of Jimmy de las Rosas. The play masquerades as a piece about Jimmy (Ulises Acosta), a baseball loving 13 year-old with telekinetic powers. Jimmy embarks on an adventure with siblings Eddie (Kyle Johnson) and Ayana (Ashley Bland), two Black homeless youths with superpowers of their own, and Juani (Mia Arevalo), the neighborhood gossip, to rescue his mom from an unknown villain. However, true to the comic-book genre, at its core the play also engages with a myriad of socio-political issues such as environmental justice, gentrification, police brutality, and immigration. Continue reading “‘The Real Life Adventures of Jimmy de Las Rosas’ Brings Superheroes to La Villita”

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Mendoza – No se Olvide (We Will Not Forget)

Review by Hannah Herrera Greenspan
Spanish Translation by Claudia Quesada 

Power. Ambition. Corruption. Blood. Pain. In the round. Español. A live chicken. Need I say more?

I had the absolute delight to witness a brilliant adaptation of Macbeth, conceived by Juan Carrillo and Antonio Zúñiga, directed by Carrillo, of Los Colochos Teatro. This six-year old theatre company based in Mexico City, is committed to, “…a quality, critical, and national theater.” Los Colochos Teatro genuinely values the exchange of thoughts about the work. After the performance, Juan Carrillo asked audience members to share our thoughts with the company, good, bad, over social media, or face to face. Quite different from American theatre-where we leave the conversation to the discretion of the critic. Los Colochos wants to start a conversation with its audience members. How refreshing is that? Continue reading “Mendoza – No se Olvide (We Will Not Forget)”

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The 2018 ALTA Awards: A Night of Celebration for Latinx Artists

Pictured: The core team of organizers for the ALTA Awards being thanked by Isaac Gomez, co-Creative Director of the Awards (the other co-creator Nancy Garcia Loza).

“Just look at this turn-out! And we’re only 15 minutes into the night. Like WE’RE always running late!” – Laura Alcalá Baker, casting director and artistic programs manager at Victory Gardens.  The crowd attending the ALTA awards that evening at Victory Gardens Theater had packed the lobby barely 20 minutes into the cocktail hour! Continue reading “The 2018 ALTA Awards: A Night of Celebration for Latinx Artists”