Originally titled: Caras y Mascaras: A Drunkard’s Tale
Commissioned by Borderlands Theater, 1991
Nacho "el borracho" Robles, a paralyzed World War II veteran, lives in a Tucson barrio called "Hollywood" and copes with a painful past through alcohol and memories. Despite Nacho’s objections, his goddaughter and friends transform an abandoned building into a community centro, but the group faces new challenges as the Movimiento Chicano and FBI intersect with their lives, threatening their fragile hopes and dreams.
Role reversal of a daughter whose world is turned upside down as she is pulled between taking care of her mother and the needs of her family when her mother develops Alzheimer’s Disease.
A one-act play. Four best friends reflect on their schooling during a time that focused on “Americanizing” barrio children, when racism and stereotypes were believed and how that came to affect them and their lives.
A bilingual comedy/drama that follows Don Felipe, an irritable retired railroad worker, as he travels to Oaxaca with his Americanized grandson Rudy - who resists his culture - to reconcile with his estranged brother after decades of silence. The story explores Don Felipe’s complicated family history and the unresolved pain from his past in Mexico.
A one-act play. Balancing her responsibilities as a teacher’s aide while attending community college classes and tending to the needs and demands of her family, Teresa finds herself at a crossroads when she discovers that her aspirations to become a teacher lack support from her family and friends, forcing her to confront a difficult personal decision about pursuing her dreams against the odds.
Originally titled: Cuentos del BarrioA collection of spooky cuentos, folktales, and legends of the Southwest, including La Llorona and La Mano Peluda, narrated by the Diablo, with the help of his inept crew of Calaveras.
A made-for-cable program focused on dropping out.
A one-act play. Chuahutemoc, an undocumented migrant worker, travels from Mexico in search of work, arriving at a restaurant where the owner is a despicable person who enjoys disparaging these workers. A very hard worker, in dire need of work, he will not succumb to the boss’ cruel treatment.
Ricardo, angry and unaccepting of his mother’s death, is resistant to the traditions of his culture, refusing to participate or to believe that the dead return to earth to eat, drink, and visit their loved ones. His grandmother teaches him acceptance of his mom’s death and appreciation of his mother’s love of the desert and everything in it.
A made-for-cable program, Juanito learns the meaning of Christmas when he has visits from the kind and generous Spirits of Amore, Regalos y Tamales, and the grouchy Chicano Scrooge: El Espiritu Malo.
A made-for-cable program focused on battling depression.
A combination of revista/carpa/reality of the adventures of the unemployed compadres. A joyous, sometimes sad look at life in a typical barrio where everyone knows everybody and everybody’s business.
This play explores the role that the late Cesar E. Chavez played in the lives of three former farm workers.
Three different dreams of the poet militante, the romantic school janitor, and a little boy – all daring to be different. A trilogy that shares the bitter-sweet themes of dreams that are never fulfilled or realized; dreams that are put on a "lay-away plan"; and dreams that come true.
One tells the story of an unexpected friendship between a peaceful poet and a reclusive widow, culminating in a moment of shared understanding as Mrs. Martínez reflects on the pain of opening one's heart.
Another focuses on Gilberto, a school janitor inspired by the film “Macario” to pursue his dream of visiting Veracruz, while his practical wife Ruthie prefers to buy a washing machine for their daughter.
The last tells the story of a neglected barrio child and a neighborhood grouch who bond over a shared dream. In this Chicano twist on "Jack and the Beanstalk," the grouch inspires the boy to enjoy reading, and together they nurture a struggling tomato plant that faces numerous threats, including harsh weather, delinquent glue-sniffers, and finally … a giant green worm!
A trilingual tragicomedy about a lonely hospital janitor haunted by guilt over a decades-old betrayal that led to the deaths of his friends during a border crossing. Living in isolation, he honors their memory each year during Halloween and Día de los Muertos, hoping for forgiveness. When the Aztec god Mictlantecuhtli appears, Casimiro is tasked with guiding four recently deceased souls through the challenges of Mictlán, the Aztec underworld, meeting the legendary Llorona, the comic Cantinflas, Selena, Cesar Chavez, and Ehecatl (the god of the wind who can grant wishes and a long life to enjoy them) where they confront their pasts and the choices they made, and at a very high cost, including the possibility for one to return to life.
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