TucsonStage Blog: Borderlands Theater: Help us tell the story of the West Side

Thursday, October 21, 2021

Borderlands Theater: Help us tell the story of the West Side

From: Borderlands Theater < marc@borderlandstheater.org>
Sent: Thursday, October 21, 2021 1:31 PM
Subject: Help us tell the story of the West Side

West Side Stories

Development Reading

A Barrio Stories Project

Clara Martinez (later remarried and became Clara Salinas) and her son Felix Martinez 13 years old. Photo taken June of 1955 at the Martinez Home driveway, 29 S. Westmoreland.

West Side residents are especially invited:

Saturday, November 6

2pm-4pm

El Rio Neighborhood Center (1390 W Speedway Blvd)

Free and open to the public

Light refreshments provided

The popular and award-winning Barrio Stories series showcasing the history and heritage of Tucson's historic barrios returns for its 3^rd installment. This time focusing on Tucson's iconic west side barrios. The home of A-Mountain and Pat's Chili Dogs, the heart of Tucson's Mexican-American movimento which led to the creation of El Rio Neighborhood Center, the west side is a place of strong family kinships, spirituality, heritage food ways, and rich history. These are just a few things that make this part of Tucson special and which will be showcased in the upcoming heritage festival scheduled for Spring 2022.

Borderlands Theater invites any and all current and former west side residents to listen to the stories we've collected through extensive oral history interviews last summer. We have been working with a steering committee of west side residents since May, and are now ready to expand our reach to a wider audience to hear YOUR feedback about YOUR stories.

As in all of our past docutheatre projects (Mas, Sanctuary, Barrio Stories 1 & 2) hearing from the community early in the script writing process is key to our community collaboration process. This is a chance to help shape these stories because you lived them!

PLEASE BRING YOUR OWN LAWN CHAIR, BLANKET, OR SOMETHING ELSE TO SIT ON the grass. Large trees surround the seating area for optimal shade.

Covid Protocols

This is an outdoor event. Masks and social distancing are strongly encouraged. Actors will be unmasked for the reading. However, all are vaccinated and will be at least 25 feet from the nearest audience member.

Ofrendas Poeticas

Virtual Literary Event

Featuring: Luna Flores & Patricia Preciado Martin

Luna Flores

Patricia Preciado Martin

Saturday, October 30

7:30pm

Live streamed on the Milagro Theatre Facebook page

Poets and storytellers Luna Flores and Patricia Preciado Martin share words, prayers, and stories reflecting the season of honoring the dead, harvesting our blessings, and celebrating the gift of life. A livestreamed literary event hosted by Borderlands Theater artistic director, Marc David Pinate, with the cumbia-fusion sounds of the Sonoran desert by DJ Dirtyverbs.

A collaboration between Milagro Theatre (Portland, OR) and Borderlands Theater (Tucson, AZ), with support from Ronni Lacroute, Central Eastside Together, US Bank,

and the Arizona Commission on the Arts.

Luna Flores

Mexicana. Poeta. Luna fué voluntaria en la radio comunitaria de KBOO por 10 años y cuenta con un libro de poemas titulado, Autoexilio. Actualmente trabaja y trata de mantenerse viva. / Mexican. Poet. Luna volunteered on KBOO community radio for 10 years and has a book of poems entitled, Autoexilio. She is currently working and trying to stay alive.

Patricia Preciado Martin

A Tucson treasure, Patricia Preciado Martin is an author, oral historian, and speaker whose work has been invaluable in documenting and sharing stories of Mexican-Americans in Tucson, Arizona. She has written two books of oral histories, Images and Conversations: Mexican Americans Recall a Southwestern Past and Songs my Mother Sang to Me: An Oral History of Mexican American Women, and three collections of short stories, El Milagro and Other Stories, Days of Plenty, Days of Want, and Amor Eterno.

Anita Musical Workshop

Refection by Milta Ortiz - playwright and Associate Artistic Director

I can't fully express the joy and gratitude I experienced during the four-day Anita workshop. It was truly encouraging and empowering to hear the songs come alive with the intended voices. So beautiful to see and hear young Latinas and Latinx on stage showcasing our culture, our music, and our talent. It reminded me of the reason I had the idea for the musical in the first place. I was in the audience at Davis Bilingual elementary school, where my daughter attends and where most of the youth actors first got to sing Mariachi, I was overcome with feelings of pride and joy seeing the amazing talent on stage, and thought we need to see this more of this in the theatre and the rest is herstory.

Quetzal Guerrero, composer/lyricist, has been such a pleasure to work with as producer and bookwriter/lyricist. He was kind, flexible, and inspiring with the youth and professional actors. I felt as if we were in a voice seminar as much as we were developing and refining the musical sound. I especially appreciated his gestures when teaching the vibe of a song.

I am grateful to work with a talented cast: Ariela Quiroz, Veronica Conran, Elianah Slotnick, Julian Cardenas, Jonathan Heras, Anel Schmidt, Andy Gonzalez, Amanda Lopez, Lyana Garcia, Jiana Granillo, Sarah Haro, Sula Molina Brewster Nguyen, Savan Newman, and Sol Pinate; with the wonderful support of Alex Totillo our stage manager; Sergio Mendoza and James Peters from Orkesta Mendoza! Quetzal, Sergio and have grown up together and we have long standing relationships with the professional actors. It doesn't get any better than collaborating with friends.

We all had an amazing time and that's no small feat when we're talking about fourteen actors, youth actor's moms, three musicians, a stage manager, and a playwright!

We look forward to reconvening for the book (script) workshop with director Kinan Valdez in late January/early February.

We hope that with your support we can take Anita all the way to a full production in Tucson and beyond! Stay tuned!