101 Plays by The New Americans, or on Latinidad
A couple of realizations have emerged from the National Gathering of the Latina/o Theatre Commons in Boston. Among them are two that pertain specifically to the knowledge and accessibility of Latina/o plays. We recognize that: 1. There is a great need for a catalog or list of Latina/o works for the general public, and 2. we need to determine which plays we presently consider to be influential works to us as theater makers.
We conducted a survey, soliciting and receiving dozens of submissions. We also created a word-cloud that highlighted the names of the individuals and plays which inspired us as well as works that should be included in the canon of great dramas.
From this survey I created a list of 101 works, most of which were gleaned from the survey, but others that readers may not have read or heard of. Ideally, this is a list that needs to be made widely accessible to educators, theater practitioners, and students. The works range from commercial successes to rare and deeply personal plays that need to be rediscovered and reexamined.
In other words, this is a list of plays that educators, theater practitioners, and students should have access to. I believe these 101 works mark only the beginning of a comprehensive survey of the great dramas that resonate and connect with Latina/o theater makers and those who appreciate their impact and influence. Most plays listed here are published; however, some like Tatiana Suárez-Pico’s Flesh and Blood, Law Chávez’s Señora de la Pinta, and Christina Hjelm’s Casualties of Dreams and Sand still await publication and productions. The works are made by, for and with Latina/os, but not always all three at the same time. Although the list is confined to only one drama by each of the 101 playwrights, many on the list have also written a number of other powerful plays on the Latino experience.
There are plays which were misunderstood by critics, such as Raul Castíllo’s Knives and Other Sharp Objects, a gem of a play, and Alejandro Morales’ marea, a poetic dream play that are yearning for rediscovery. There are plays that have pushed the boundaries of what constitutes a Latina/o aesthetic, like Quiara Alegría Hudes’ Elliot, A Soldier’s Fugue and Luis Alfaro’s Oedipus El Rey. And there are works that celebrate the complexities and contradictions of who we are as a multidimensional group living in the U.S. today, including but not limited to Lemon Andersen’s County of Kings, Nilaja Sun’s No Child…, and Lackawanna Blues by Ruben Santiago-Hudson.
We recognize that: 1. There is a great need for a catalog or list of Latina/o works for the general public, and 2. we need to determine which plays we presently consider to be influential works to us as theater makers.
A few important things to consider:
Just as one play does not define a playwright, nor represent an entire culture, neither does this list intend to define or represent “Latina/o theater.” It is also not a ‘greatest hits’ type of list; rather, these are works that resonate and therefore serve as an invitation for further exploration. Take every opportunity to read a work from the list and see what inspires you to go in search of additional works by the same author or theme. There are connections amongst these plays that I had no idea existed until I started to put it all together. I was struck by how “honor” (a theme which holds great weight from the plays of Golden Age Spain) connects the plight of Mexican day laborers in Michael John Garcés’ Los Illegals, to the steadfast Cuban protagonist of Eduardo Machado’s The Cook, to Papo & Lulu’s journeys towards redemption in El Grito del Bronx by Migdalia Cruz.
Secondly, Latinidad is difficult to define. This list resists ranking or canonization of the works. Rather, the plays are listed in alphabetical order by title. Despite the fact that many of us are deeply influenced by work by such authors as Lorca, Lope de Vega, Calderon de la Barca, Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz, among others, their works are not included on this list. The intent was to include plays that have had significant impact on U.S. artists and audiences alike, but do not receive the level of attention or circulation given to European or Northern Hemispheric works.
Finally, it bears repeating there is no litmus test for what Latinidad is. We are not a singular identity nor static in nature. I expect that over time—as was expressed at the Latina/o Theatre Commons National Gathering—the term “Latinidad” may evolve into another thing altogether. In 2046, when Latina/os become the majority in the U.S. no one knows whether or not we’ll still be constrained by geopolitical boundaries, language and skin color. But today, in examining these works, my hope is that we will begin to understand the breadth of our universal humanity.
As affirmed at the Convening, we are The New Americans.
So without further ado, here is the list. Feel free to chime in with your thoughts or favorites in the comments below. And I apologize for any omissions in advance.
Adelante!
- 7, Eight, 9 by Joe Luis Cedillo
- American Night: The Ballad of Juan José by Richard Montoya
- Anna in the Tropics by Nilo Cruz
- Ashes of Light by Marco Antonio Rodríguez
- Aurora by Leonard Madrid
- Based On A Totally True Story by Roberto Aguirre-Sacása
- Basilica by Mando Alvarado
- BIG BRO / lil bro by Jonathan Ceniceroz
- Blade to the Heat by Oliver Mayer
- Boxcar by Silvia Gonzalez S.
- blu by Virginia Grise
- Broadsword by Marco Ramirez
- Bruising for Besos by Adelina Anthony
- Café Vida by Lisa Loomer
- Cascarones by Irma Mayorga
- Casualties of Dreams and Sand by Christina Hjelm
- Chimichangas and Zoloft by Fernanda Coppel
- Claudia Meets Fulano Colorado by Joann Farías
- The Conduct of Life by María Irene Fornes
- The Cook by Eduardo Machado
- County of Kings by Lemon Andersen
- Dark Play, or Stories for Boys by Carlos Muríllo
- Daughter of a Cuban Revolutionary by Marissa Chibas
- Earthquake Chica by Anne García-Romero
- Elliot, A Soldier’s Fugue by Quiara Alegría Hudes
- Empanada for a Dream by Juan Villa
- Entries by Bernardo Solano
- The Smartest Girl in the World by Miriam Gonzalez
- Exit, Cuckoo (nanny in motherland) by Lisa Ramírez
- Fish Men by Cándido Tirado
- Flesh and Blood by Tatiana Suárez-Pico
- Floridita, My Love by Javierantonio González
- Fukú Americanus (adapted from Junot Díaz's 'The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao') by Sean San José & Campo Santo
- Ghost Light by Desi Moreno-Penson
- Greetings From A Queer Señorita by Monica Palácios
- El Grito del Bronx by Migdalia Cruz
- Guapa by Caridad Svich
- Heart Shaped Nebula by Marisela Treviño Orta
- Las Hermanas Padilla by Tony Meneses
- Highway 47 by KJ Sanchez
- The Hungry Woman: A Mexican Medea by Cherríe Moraga
- Los Illegals by Michael John Garcés
- Illuminating Veronica by Rogelio Martínez
- I Was The Voice of Democracy by Brian Herrera
- The Inquisitor by Magdalena Gómez
- Johnny Tenorio by Carlos Morton
- Julia by Carmen Rivera
- Kissing Che by Augusto Federíco Amador
- Kita y Fernanda by Tanya Saracho
- Knives and Other Sharp Objects by Raul Castíllo
- Lackawanna Blues by Ruben Santiago-Hudson
- The Lady from Havana by Luís Santeiro
- Landlocked by Cusi Cram
- Latins Anonymous by Latins Anonymous (Luisa Leschin, Armando Molina, Rick Najera, Diane Rodriguez)
- Learn to be Latina by Enríque Urueta
- Light of Night by Cecilia Copeland
- La Llorona, A Love Story by Kathleen Anderson Culebro
- Lydia by Octavio Solís
- maelstrom by Christopher Oscar Peña
- Mambo Mouth by John Leguizamo
- marea by Alejandro Morales
- Mariela in the Desert by Karen Zacarías
- Men on the Verge of a His-Panic Breakdown by Guillermo Reyes
- My Visits With MGM (My Grandmother Marta) by Edít Villarreal
- No Child… by Nilaja Sun
- Oedipus El Rey by Luís Alfaro
- Pinkolandia by Andrea Thome
- Placas by Paul S. Flores
- Quality by Elaine Avila
- Radio Mambo by Culture Clash (Richard Montoya, Ric Salinas, and Herbert Sigüenza)
- Real Women Have Curves by Josefína López
- The Re-discovery of America by the Warrior for Gringostroika by Guillermo Gomez-Peña and Coco Fusco
- References to Salvador Dalí Make Me Hot by José Rivera
- The Reincarnation of Jaime Brown by Lynne Alvarez
- Roosters by Milcha Sánchez-Scott
- The Ruin by Georgina Escobar
- La Ruta by Ed Cardona, Jr.
- Señora de la Pinta by Law Chávez
- September Shoes by José Cruz González
- Seven Spots on the Sun by Martín Zimmerman
- Short Eyes by Miguel Piñero
- Single Wet Female by Marga Gómez and Carmelita Tropicana (a.k.a. Alína Troyano)
- Sissy by Ricardo Brácho
- Skin (an adaptation of Buchner’s WOYZECK) by Naomi Iizuka
- so go the ghosts of méxico, part one by Matthew Paul Olmos
- Solitude by Evelína Fernandez
- Somewhere by Matthew López
- Sonia Flew by Melinda López
- Swipe, Tap and Touch by Maria Alexandria Beech
- Taking Flight by Adriana Seván
- Tight Embrace by Jorge Ignacio Cortiñas
- Trafficking in Broken Hearts by Edwin Sánchez
- Under a Western Sky by Amparo Garcia-Crow
- underneathmybed by Florencia Lozano
- La Vida Loca by Carlos Manuel
- Vieques by Jorge Gonzalez
- Welcome to Arroyo’s by Kristoffer Díaz
- Wetback by Elaine Romero
- When El Cucuí Walks by Roy Conboy
- Wild in Wichita by Lina Gallegos
- Zoot Suit by Luis Valdez
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