Stephanie Napolitan

Migrants, Justice and the Border events brief

            During Migrants, Justice and the Border week at ASU West, I attended a play on Wednesday April 7^th, titled “American Latino Redux, by James Garcia.  This play was about the prejudice that a Latino guy feels in every aspect of his life, and how society whites are viewed as superior.   In this play they act out certain scenarios for example, when a Latino guy moves into a white neighborhood and tries to act and speak like a white boy, hiding his Spanish decent.  Another scene that probably occurs all the time in real life is the school setting, when the Latino guy attends school with all white kids.  In this scene the girls are poking fun at him, and other students and even the teacher is talking down to him.  This scene also showed how people use racial slurs like “spic”, and how they can be so hurtful and demeaning.  Another thing the play addressed was the idea that white native born Americans believe Latino people have no ancestors, and the only history is the history of the Mayflower and the pilgrims.

            I really enjoyed this play, because it was very humorous and it dealt with everyday issues both small and large that migrant descendents have to face everyday.  It brought attention to very serious issues we all should be concerned with, but in a funny way.  I thought that all the actors did a great job.