Orígenes/Origins @ Cara Mía Theatre Company
—Teresa Marrero
Cara Mía Theatre Company´s world premiere of Orígenes/Origins, a collaborative effort with Mexico City´s Laboratorio de la Máscara—and directed by Alicia Martínez Álvarez,—presented a 60-minute experience of physical theater, together with a magical employment of poetic language and masks. Originally workshopped in Dallas in the spring of 2022, this final version presents a tighter, more concise storyline. Predominantly in Spanish, with some Spanglish, the production offers excellent translations into English on two side screens, though the physicality and imagery make it unnecessary to understand every spoken word.
While the 2022 creation credits went to actors Frida Espinosa-Muller (Abuela Tortuga- Granmother Turtle, Mujer 1, Mujer 2 and Ensemble), David Lozano (Xoloiltzcuintle, Abuelo, Insecto Humano-Human Instect), and Sorany Gutiérrez (Venado-Deer, Esperanza), the 2023 credits include director Martínez Álvarez as co-creator. The program mentions an initial exploratory workshop in Mexico City (2019), a Mask and Character Development Workshop in Dallas (2021), and workshop productions both in Dallas and Mexico City (2022, which I attended locally). The world premiere in Dallas currently will be followed by a subsequent Mexico premiere in May 2023. Thus, this piece has enjoyed multiple steps towards this current, final version.
The storyline follows many of Cara Mía Theatre´s social, political, and aesthetic concerns: Chicano-Latiné identity amidst an overwhelming U.S. socio-political structure that insists on anti-immigrant policies and the denigration of people of color of all origins. The piece honors and holds up a sort of pan-Hispanic identity rooted in Mexican and Meso American indigeneity. The roots here are Nahua, with Nahuatl poetic language inserted into the dominant Spanish and English. There are no other indigenous references of the Americas, nor are there Afro-Latino-Caribbean or Central or South American references, a topic, that, if I recall correctly, was mentioned as missing during the 2022 workshop production talkbacks. Mentioning a myriad of countries, however, does not constitute a valid representational practice in all instances.
The piece relies upon a highly effective (albeit trimmed) storyline that highlights the loss of identity of Deer once she becomes an Illegal Alien in El Norte (the U.S.). The miniature symbolic house at the beginning of the piece is blown apart by a tornado. Human beings, they say, are like a tornado. We tear things apart. The upside, according to the narrative here, is that things need to be torn apart in order to rebuild them.
And thus, Esperanza (Gutiérrez) temporarily loses her sense of self and identity amidst U.S. youth culture, signaled by the sound of rap; she fears for her status as an undocumented immigrant, alone in this dangerous world. I believe that one of the parts that was edited down was precisely Sorany Gutierrez’s rap scene, which in my mind’s eye lasted quite a bit longer in the workshop version. This more economic rendering, while tightening up the storyline, left me feeling that something was missing: her rapper anger needed more time, and it would have helped, I think, to allude more directly to the nexus of brown and black cultures in U.S. urban settings. This more Mexican version seems to focus on indigeneity while sacrificing other cultural references. Gutiérrez’ physical theater experience is evident, as she manages to transform from the mythical Deer (which was lovely!) to the more mundane Esperanza, who loses not only her home and family but herself in the crossing of the border.
Frida Espinosa-Müller´s rendition of Abuela, Mujer Tortuga/Turtle Woman and Women commands respect. Her physical adeptness in embodying the character of the mask she is wearing (or not) convincingly transitions from one to the next. The wisdom of her Abuela Tortuga transmits a lineage of embodied knowledge that eventually infuses self-confidence and self-worth into Esperanza, appropriately named Hope.
David Lozano shines as the Xoloiltzcuintle, Abuelo, and the Human Insect, the later of which offers a strong statement on the perils of human greed, neoliberalism, and the slave-like conditions of some undocumented workers. The transition from Grandfather to the Human Insect is astonishing in its efficacy. I enjoyed the back-and-forth switching from Spanish to English of this rather scary and despicable character. And, in keeping with Lozano’s chops as a comic actor, his Xoloiltzcuintle, the hairless Mexican dog, provokes giggles and chuckles from the audience. Heavens, that wagging red tongue!
All of this magic is created through the artistic vision and experience of the collective company members, as refined and spearheaded by Martínez Álvarez. While the hand of a good director may often go undetected in reviews such as this one, here the work that Cara Mía has done with the Laboratorio de la Máscara over the years has matured into Orígenes, a 60-minute jewel of physical theater with masks—and with music and sound design by Fabricio Cavero, and the Poem Tornado by Caridad Svich. Stage design is minimal, allowing the few props, masks, and the actors’ bodies to tell the story with little extraneous distraction.
This piece is suitable for audiences of all ages, and it ends with a positive message to youth: You are not alone.
WHEN: April 15-30, 2023
WHERE: Latino Cultural Center, 2600 Live Oak, Dallas
WEB: caramiatheatre.org
Teresa Marrero is Professor of Latin American and Latiné Theatre and Cultures at the University of North Texas. She reviews dance and theatre for Onstage NTX and is grateful to be part of this team of reviewers who strive to promote the performing arts in Dallas-Fort Worth and its surrounding area.
