Written by Evette Gallardo, Jacqueline Flores, Ashley Mejia, Mathew Pacheco
Friday April 25th, CSUSB’s Department of Theatre Arts debuted their breakthrough performance of the play ‘You Don’t Even Speak Spanish’ written by Aaron Higareda.
This play tells the story of Jorge Ramirez, who is a first-generation Chicano college student studying at UCLA. After falling in love with a girl he meets after his ‘Dancing through Colonization’ class, who ends up being a LA FBI spy, Jorge finds himself trapped in a terrorist scheme to blow up Dodger Stadium.
Through comedy and drama, this play follows Jorge as he seeks out his identity and what it means to him as a first-gen Chicano navigating a world of surveillance and injustice.
A prevalent theme noticed throughout the play was the clashing dynamics between Jorge and his mother Maggy; her desire for him to have the ‘American dream’ even if that means erasing his Chicano identity versus his desire for justice and culture. This theme is recurring throughout the play, and Chicano culture and history is demonized. In one instance, they create a play on words of Aztlán and instead say “asslan”. Jorge’s father, Jesus calls Jorge “Mijo” to which he replies, “Stop calling me Mijo, I don’t even know what that means.”
Jorge’s father, Jesus, on the other hand, provides the stereotypical comedic relief of the “funny Mexican” while actively critiquing the utilization of such stereotypes. This is evident in Jesus’ brief monologue about Jorge being the ‘American dream’ and how he has to “cheat the system” for employment, filling out FAFSA, and EBT – lying as seemingly the ‘American Dream’.
Another noteworthy character is Ryan, Jorge’s brother; his act explores the dynamics of machismo within Mexican-American culture. Throughout the play, we see Ryan observe Jorge’s embrace of his Chicano identity through dance. Whenever Ryan had the chance, he would tell Jorge that he was ‘gay’ for that. Ryan would laze around the house, and focused on playing sports. By the end of the play, a plot twist about Ryan is revealed.
The play opens with Aztec dancing and an opening statement of land acknowledgement that is a direct call-out to CSUSB. The dancing is an important aspect of the play as it is utilized throughout the entire play, especially when they defeat Agent Blackwater; they rip his heart out in a sacrifice ritual. In the end, instead of a final bow– they do one final dance and the characters put on ceremonial regalia, before dropping dead to the floor. The background consists of multiple cracked T.V. screens that appear to have bullet holes in them with blood splatters.
In connection with the Aztec dancing, the play also incorporates the tie between colonization within not only Indigenous people but also the erasure of the communities that have existed before. We can see this through Jorge & Citlali when they are dancing together and the two other characters dancing in the background. The two characters are a symbol of Hernan Cortez and his conquest of the Aztecs. The Aztecs had no immunity to the diseases they brought and thus ultimately allowed the Spanish Conquistadors to erase their empire. This connection between the two gave the audience an understanding of Aaron Higareda’s intent to shed light on colonization and its continuing impact today.
The play leaves audiences grappling with its abrupt ending as they are forced to question the fate of Jorge and his family. Whether Jorge accepts his identity or not, does it matter? Will it bring any change? As the cast takes their final bows through the television screens on set, as mentioned before, full of bullet holes and blood, it symbolizes the violence perpetuated by the government which in the end entraps the characters and essentially all of us. The ending is both a chillingly poetic call-out to the fates that befall many Mexican-American families, while also being an honest and hopeful reminder for the audience to be vigilant about government surveillance.
You Don’t Even Speak Spanish will run from April 25th to May 4th, so make sure to catch it before it’s too late.