Plays provide window into Latino struggles

Teen actors in three plays at Teatro Paraguas connect with characters, situations

by Sandra Baltazar Martinez • The Santa Fe New Mexican

Jan 22, 2010

Jessica López understands the message behind the character she portrays: a distressed teenager suppressed by her father's Latino macho culture, by her mother's strict rules and by her liberal American classmates' ideals.

In between the lines she recited during a rehearsal at Teatro Paraguas last week, Jessica battled between doing laundry for her entire family and worrying about what to wear to school the next day.

"She's a teen who is undermined at school because of her ethnicity," Jessica, 15, said, referring to the Latina character she plays in Of the Divided Heart, one of three short plays produced by the local bilingual theater, Teatro Paraguas. Of the Divided Heart, The Dish Washer and La Sirvienta will start showing today.

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Jessica López, 15, of Santa Fe and writer and director Angelo Jaramillo study the script for Of The Divided Heart last week in preparation for today's show. - Luis Sánchez Saturno/The New Mexican

Claudia Reta, 15, a Pecos High student, practices her role as a maid in La Sirvienta. - Luis Sánchez Saturno/The New Mexican

Jessica Lopez, 15, of Capital High School, runs through a scene last week during a rehearsal for Of The Divided Heart, one of three short plays centered on the struggles of Latinos and immigrant families that will start showing today at Teatro Paraguas. - Luis Sánchez Saturno/The New Mexican

Teen actors in three plays at Teatro Paraguas connect with characters, situations

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