Giving Thanks

"You don't even speak Spanish!" is being produced!

Poster in the corner of the theatre department hallway at Cal State San Bernardino.

I still can’t believe it’s happening.

“You don’t even speak Spanish!” will have its world premiere at California State University San Bernardino in the spring of 2025.

From the bottom of my heart, I just wanted to say thank you to everyone whom I’ve crossed paths with that has helped me get this play from the page to the stage.

1. Thank you Josefina Lopez and all the artist and community members at CASA 0101 who inspired, encouraged, and nurtured me and my voice.

2. Thank you East Los Angeles College Theatre Arts Department then (2012-2014) and now (2024 to present).

   1. This place gave me my foundation. I learned about theatre styles and theory, I learned about all the different elements of the theatre, and I was introduced to one of my favorite playwrights Dario Fo and his play “They won’t pay, We won’t Pay” Thank you to Rodney Lloyed Scott for letting me sit in on a rehearsal, Lisa “Hashi” Stone for giving me a chance to teach there, Cristina Frias for her mentorship, and the rest of the amazing faculty and students at ELAC.

3. Thank you University of California Riverside Theatre Film and Digital Production department then (2014-2017) and now (2021-2023).

   1. If ELAC gave me my foundation, then UCR is where I began to build myself up as a student, as a playwright, and as human being. The family housing and the free child care allowed me to pursue my dreams. Thank you to the TFDP department for having a “writing the performing arts” track/emphasis. Thank you to all the amazing students and professors at UCR this is where I began to build my network. Thank you Dr. Erith Jaffe-Berg, Dr. Donatella Galella, Kimberly Guerrero, Stu Krieger, Dr. Annika Speer, Robin Russin, Rickerby Hinds, Dr. Ricardo Rocha, Michael Jayme, Melanie Queponds, Esther Banegas Gatica, Ava Fojtik, Karly Thomas, Gerald May, Kali Veach, Sergio Solis, Aedan Ferrara, Amanda Alfonso, Lily Hart, Lillyanna Lopez, Paige Goodwin, Melizza Minger, Brittany Turner and everyone else I crossed paths with while at UCR.

4. Thank you to the Bay Area theatre scene and community: American Conservatory Theatre, Berkeley Rep, Shotgun Players, Playground-SF, El Teatro Campesino, and TBA.

   1. The Bay is where I learned the business side of theatre, it’s where I learned my voice mattered, and where I began to believe that I could really make this a career. Thank you Syche Phillips and Simone Finney for your mentorship and encouragement at A.C.T. and over the years, thank you Emma Penny and all the other smart and incredibly talented A.C.T. fellows of 2018-2019. Thank you Berkeley Rep for showing me the front of house side of theatre and Kelly Kelley for looking out for me during the Pandemic. Thank you Shotgun Players for being you, and for welcoming one of the most diverse audiences I’ve ever been a part of. E.T.C. gave me one of my first breaks in selecting an early version of “Cry Now, Laugh Later” for their Palabra Community Showcase. Playground-SF kept me hungry as I competed with 35 other playwrights to get my short script selected every month. And thank you Brad Erickson, Michael Rice, and Art Quinones and the rest of the TBA community for giving me the data skills to decode the matrix of the theatre.

5. Thank you Los Angeles Theatre scene and community especially the Frida Kahlo Theatre and Playwrights’ Arena.

   1. Los Angeles Theatre is as confusing and vast as the freeway system, but once you know you get your bearings and have good sense of direction to where you want to go, you can never get lost. I’m still trying to navigate and map the Southern California theatre community, but in the meantime I want to specifically thank Ruben Amavizca-Murua, Abel Marquez, Nathan Cabrera, Victor Parra, Maya Elizabeth Garza, Jonathan Herrera, Mercy Floresislas, Jorge Aldaco, Yanira Loera, Abe Zapata Jr., Richard Soto, Sergio Solis, Karla Ojeda, Ernesto Ibarra, Gloria Ines Olivas, and Reese Shald.

6. Finally, thank you to Dr. Guillermo Aviles-Rodriguez! Thank you for believing in me, in my voice, and this crazy ass play.

So this is how it all went down: I produced a staged reading of my children’s play Panquetzaliztli in the spring of 2023 for my GLUCK Fellowship. I posted flyers all over the campus, and as fate, luck, or destiny would have it, one of the flyers I posted near the UCR black box classroom theatre, room 411, never got taken down. Later that fall Dr. Guillermo Aviles-Rodriguez was a visiting instructor and seen the flyer. He asked his T.A., the homie Milizza Minger, who and the hell would write a children’s play about one of the most bloodiest rituals of the Aztec tradition. So Milizza hit me up, letting me know that Dr. Aviles-Rodriguez was interested in reading the script. I reached out to him and sent Panquetzaliztli over, not thinking anything of it. Perhaps I might be able to get some feedback and potentially expand my network. (As a recent MFA grad, I was asking for informational interviews left and right.)

He read the script, told me I had a good ear for dialogue, and invited me to grab a coffee on campus. I was like hell yea, and asked if I can also drop in to his class. (Again I just graduated with my MFA so I trying to get some insights into what teaching would be like, plus I’m just a nerd who likes to learn about Chicano Theatre)

So I sat in on his lecture, and I thought he was hilarious, especially when he covered Born in East L.A. by Cheech Marin, but the class was not having it. I remember thinking I wished I would’ve taken his class as an undergrad. We then talked and walked to his office. We briefly went over the play and he shared and showed me a wealth of scholarly resources on the festival of Panquetzaliztli. I followed up with a customary thank you email and shared “You don’t even speak Spanish!” with him.

He read the play, and said he will recommend/forward it to the chair of CSUSB as a possibility for next year’s season. Again, not thinking anything of it, I said thank you, and followed up with another invitation to grab a coffee and talk about the play, theatre, and teaching some time in the near future.

We had coffee in January at a spot called Picaresca in East L.A. I told him about my play South Hope St. being selected for KCACTF Region. I met with him in February at the festival, but only briefly. He tried to introduce me to the Chair of CSUSB’s Theatre department there, but I just missed him. I remained in touch. I sent him some of my other plays and we had another coffee in March and talked about those. Then in mid May he sent me a graphic for the show, at the end of the August the play was uploaded on CSUSB’s theatre website, and tickets are on sale now!

In November I sat in on call backs, and it was all just so surreal: to hear these words and see these characters come to life, these characters who have been with me for so long.

Last but definitely not least I am thankful for my family. Thank you mom, dad, brothers and sister. Thank you great grandpa and great grandma, tias and aunty, uncles and tios, and cousins. They are the ones who inspired this play, and who encouraged and supported me along the way. I am thankful for my crazy ass wife, and our three crazy ass kids. Thank for believing in me and trusting me. Thank you for letting me follow my dreams and allowing me to pursue this crazy ass career.

And of course, I am thankful for all of you. Thank you for taking the time to read my words and for your continued support and participation in this experiment.

Wishing you all the best and I hope you have a great rest of your day.