OLVIDADOS, A LIVE FREE Presentation 7/9 @ 7pm/PST

A LIVE FREE Breath of Fire Presentation!  

LIMITED SEATING. RSVP & MASKED REQUIRED for indoor enjoyment. Outdoor access available. 

Hosted & Co-Sponsored by Alta Baja Market in Downtown Santa Ana. 

OLVIDADOS: A Mexican American Corrido

by Elisa Gonzales

Directed by Sara Guerrero*  and Music Composed by Moises Vázquez*

Featuring: Elisa Gonzales, Shanelle Darlene*, Sabrina Lopez, Angela Estela*, Citlalli Sanchez*, William Butler IV.

A musically driven, theatrical re-imagining of the many untold stories of the Mexican Repatriation of the Great Depression, where over one million Mexicans and Mexican Americans were illegally and unconstitutionally deported, or repatriated to Mexico (Balderrama and Rodríguez 300). The play centers on the experience of Celia Gonzales, who, as an American citizen, was repatriated to Mexico from San Pedro, California in 1931, along with her mother, a Mexican national, and her two American-born siblings. Although the Repatriation has yet to find its permanent place in U.S. history, it continues to reverberate in the memories of Mexican Americans today.  A University of Massachusetts at Amherst Department of Theater & Breath of Fire Latina Theater Ensemble Project Partnership

Questions: Email: breathoffirelatinatheater@gmail.com / Subject line: “Olvidados”

PROJECT TIME FRAME:

• Fall 2020 - Spring 2021: Research and first drafts
• Summer/Fall 2021: BOFLTE ensemble devising, new drafts, music, reading(s) online,  A Live Free Presentation 7/ 9 @7pm/PST @ Alta Baja Market in Downtown Santa Ana, Ca. 
• Winter/Spring 2022: UMass of Amherst Workshop Prod. April 7 thru 9
• Summer 2022: Southern California Tour (dates/spaces TBD)

BIOS:

Elisa Gonzales, (she/hers) originally from Riverside, California, is a performer, educator, and voice/speech/dialect coach. She is currently the Assistant Professor of Voice and Acting at UMass Amherst. Elisa is a certified teacher of Fitzmaurice Voicework and a candidate for certification in Knight-Thompson Speechwork. Elisa received her MFA in Theatre Performance from Arizona State University, and has a BFA in Acting from Emerson College. In addition to her experience in various voice and movement methodologies and training, Elisa has extensive training in Lecoq, Rasaboxes, Viewpoints, Meisner, and voice over work. As a performer, Elisa’s work has been seen at the New York International Fringe Festival, the Nuyorican Poets Café, San Diego Repertory Theatre, Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, the La Jolla Playhouse, Arizona State University, and the Tempe History Museum. Elisa’s greatest passion in theatre is creating and performing work that honors cultural identity, ancestry, history, and the voice. www.elisagonzales.com

Sara Guerrero*, (she/hers) a Southern California Chicana native of Mexican and Mestizo ancestry, is a professional versatile theatre artist whose mission is to model, share, and create theatre-making opportunities for and with their community. A CalArts alum, she’s been recognized as a 2021&’20 Woman of Distinction (Senate District 34),  2020 Hispanic Lifestyle Latina of Influence Honoree,Community Engagement "COVID-19 ArtistGrant" Awardee, “People to Watch” by American Theatre Magazine, and “Best [Artistic] Director'' and “Person of Interest” by OC Weekly. As the founding artistic director of Breath of Fire Latina Theater Ensemble, she and the ensemble are artists-in-residence of California State University of Fullerton’s Grand Central Arts Center in downtown Santa Ana. Under Guerrero’s leadership, the organization serves as an incubator for excluded voices in theater by providing programming (online) and guidance in the art of storytelling. Recently Guerrero’s new play “Have To Believe We Are Magic” was featured in Teatro Vivo’s Austin Latinx NewPlay Festival and Tu y Yo Theatre(CSUSM) Project. In July the release of Daniel Olivas’ “Waiting for Godinez” directed by Guerrero will be released online as part of  The Road Theater’s Summer Playwrights Festival 12.  And, by this fall Guerrero will be joining Chapman University’s theatre department and will direct “Native Gardens'' by Karen Zacarias for their upcoming season. www.teatroguerrero.com

Moises Vázquez* (he/hims) is a Santa Ana, California-based songwriter and composer. For the Pacific Symphony he composed original traditional music and performed for CANTO DE ANAHEIM, a  project combining story, the symphony, and new and traditional music; to highlight the Latinx histories and experiences of Anaheim, Ca. Additionally, he and a trio he conducted, performed for their Day of the Dead family concert series at the Segerstrom Music Hall and Meng Hall.  At South Coast Repertory, he composed the original music for playwright José Cruz González’s production of The Long Road Today/El Largo Camino de Hoy and served as the production’s Musical Director.

Breath of Fire Latina Theater Ensemble, founded in 2003,  is a 501c3 non-profit, award-winning, only Latina theater company in Orange County, based in downtown Santa Ana—the corazón of the county—came into existence to support the work and enrich the lives of Latinas in the performing arts.  And, through its mission strives to serve as an incubator for excluded voices in theater by providing programming that offers guidance in the art of storytelling.  The workshops bring seasoned writers, playwrights, and actors to facilitate high quality theater making workshops for our local Orange County residents, surrounding communities, and online, at no cost. No one is ever turned away for lack of experience.

Programming is partly made possible mostly through donations by individual supporters, like you and an artist residency of Cal State University of Fullerton’s Grand Central Arts Center in Downtown Santa Ana. Want to help support? Donate? AND Keep up to date with our upcoming projects through our online newsletter, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram pages and our website: WWW.BREATHOFFIRE.ORG

University of Massachuets of Amherst College of Humanities & Fine Arts Department of Theater: We create and produce high-caliber, professional, artistic creations on stage, telling human stories that connect audiences and performers in our increasingly mediatized world. We model and practice professional theater-making at every level of our teaching and production process. Full About Page: www.umass.edu/theater/about-theater