The four
actors, Rick Najera, Eugenio Derbez, Rene Lavan, and
Shirley A. Rumierk, master their roles in the play as
they converse with, and monologue their lives and
experiences to the crowd. The cast takes on numerous
characters from different Latino backgrounds ranging
from a southern Mexican-American Border Patrol officer (Najera)
an aggressive and hostile Miss Puerto Rican Day Parade
winner (Rumierk) to a proud Dominican janitor who ended
up in his occupation because he was no good at baseball
(Lavan), and more. While many ethnic stereotypes are
explored for comedic value, the intention of the show
isn’t to exploit Latinos purely for entertainment value.
Legitimate issues and injustices find their way into the
words of the actors. When watching the show, it’s
evident that the roles of these characters were very
carefully crafted, with the actors mastering everything,
down to the mannerisms of the different Latinos,
accents, and dialects of the language.
Perhaps the most impressive talent of these performers
was their skillful control of the audience while making
us laugh coupled with the ability to change the tone to
a more serious one. Cuban stereotypes would send the
audience into fits of laughter, but just as quickly, the
actors could generate a meaningful applause for
detailing the strength of the Cuban people for living
under the conditions on their native island. Anything
that can inspire two extremes of emotion in such a
clever, thoughtful, and entertaining manner is certainly
worthy of respect. If you’re a Latino, you should,
without a doubt, see this show; and if you’re not, don’t
worry – the actors make sure you don’t feel left out.
Latinologues
now showing in NYC with other locations in the U.S.
coming soon
For more info or to get tickets the web:
http://www.latinologues.net
