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Editor’s Note: Palabra was originally scheduled for Sept. 11-13 but has been moved to Sept. 18-19.
El Teatro Campesino’s annual artist showcase, Palabra, presents “Remedio,” a collection of short pieces by nine talented poets, authors and musicians in the tradition of the famed theater company, with two performances on Sept. 18 and 19.
“Palabra is all about storytelling,” four-time director Isabel Cruz said. “This year’s theme is about sharing, tradition, heritage and ancestry. It’s about memories and healing.”
Cruz, who has been associated with El Teatro since the 1990s and recently directed a production of Luis Valdez’s “Bandito” at Gavilan College, said she has appreciated Palabra since the first time she saw it as an audience member.
“I immediately recognized,” she said, “what it meant for the Teatro to open up and become a space for creative people like these to come together and express themselves and give an offering to an audience. This weekend, Palabra is home to me.”
Performers and writers were chosen, she said, through an audition process that can lead not only to a work being performed but also to a chance to be part of different pieces that make up the show.
“There is a flexibility and fearlessness that comes with being part of the show, because you might be cast for one role and then be asked to take on other roles during the process,” Cruz said. “So there’s a bravery and professionalism that I really admire.”
The participants in the production range from newcomers like Yesenia Villa to veteran performers like Mauricio Samano, who has taken part in Palabra for the previous three years.
“Mauricio has been performing with El Teatro for decades,” Cruz said, “and it turns out he’s a writer as well. Every year, he’s submitted a piece, and we’ve watched him evolve as a storyteller and a performer.”
Samano’s piece is a narrative about his great-grandfather, who raised him and is part of an ongoing series he has performed at Palabra.
“Every year we get another installment,” Cruz said. “Last year, he read a narrative about his youth. This year, it’s evolved to the point where he’s written a monologue, and he’s not performing it himself. It’s been so moving, and such an honor to be entrusted with his story.”
Villa, who is performing her piece “Ode to Our Matriarch,” said she went through three rounds of auditions before it was accepted.
“I knew the theme was ‘remedios,’ and I thought that’s really powerful,” she said. “I love that word. I love that theme. I had a piece I had written about my grandmother that I thought fit into that really well, so that’s what I submitted. “Remedios” means remedy or cure in Spanish.
During the rehearsal process, Villa said that what had once been a monologue was developed into a more dramatic piece that includes Teatro veteran actor Sandra Arretche.
“I didn’t know what to expect when I submitted it,” she said. “When it was accepted, I was amazed and a little scared. I memorized this 10-minute piece and had no idea how they could incorporate something written for one medium and have it play out in another.”
The piece, Villa said, is about her relationship with her paternal grandmother.
“Throughout the course of her life, from the time she was healthy to losing her memory, and then finally in our last time seeing each other while she was alive, there are common threads and common metaphors throughout,” she said. “It’s essentially about her love.”
As a first-time Teatro performer, Villa said she has enjoyed being behind the scenes and seeing what it takes to put a production together.
“I’m so impressed by the leadership of it, and how collaborative and decisive the leadership is,” she said. “Both at the same time, which I think is super powerful.”
One of Cruz’s former students, Kassandra Zarate, is performing in Palabra for her fourth year, taking part in three different pieces.
“One of the great joys of working on Palabra is getting to work with my students at the Teatro Playhouse,” she said. “I am so proud to watch them grow as performers and enter this unique space, and all of a sudden embody the professionalism of a working actor.”
Zarate has been cast in “El Té” by Melissa Flores, “One More Day” by Christopher Soriano-Palma and “La Galliñita Roja” by María Ochoa.
“There’s a lot of variety in the pieces that I’m in,” she said, “ranging from playing a little red chicken, to a daughter who struggles with caring for a parent who is having health problems, to an individual who is coming to terms and finding closure with a past loved one.”
Zarate’s first performance in Palabra was also her first time onstage as part of El Teatro Campesino’s historic theatrical company.
“Palabra has a special place in my heart, and it really feels like that during the work process, too,” she said. “I love working with this community, so seeing familiar faces on projects like these is always very healing to me.”
Zarate said her experience with this production might lead her to write something she could perform in a future showcase.
“The word ‘palabra’ is really strong, because it is about your words,” she said. “You write a poem, a scene, a one-act, and you get to put it out there. It’s a great opportunity to see if you can write something, then watch what it would look like presented.”
Cruz said that sharing stories in that fashion, particularly things drawn from a writer’s experience, has become increasingly important, and she hopes the audience will connect with the pieces performed.
“In times like the ones we’re living in,” she said, “it’s so important to share stories. The more personal, the more universal somehow. I hope people walk away with a sense that they’re not alone, a sense of heritage and belonging.”
Writers and performers of Palabra Artist Showcase Vol. X: “Remedio”
Melissa Flores: writer of the short play “El Té” & the poem “Llévate tus remedios”
Michael Jasso: writer/performer of the spoken word “Trinity” & “A Place”
Mary Macias: writer/performer of the poem “Trenzaré tu pelo”
María Ochoa: writer of the short story “La Galliñita Roja”
Diego “El Baqueton” Rubio: writer of the monologue “Monsters of Addiction”
Mauricio Sámano: writer of the monologue “El Silencio También Hereda”
Christopher Soriano-Palma: writer of the short play “One More Day”
Lidia Solecito: writer of the poems “Telenovelas y sentimientos” and “Correr hacia el sol”
Yesenia Villa: writer of the monologue “Ode to Our Matriarch”
Vendors at Palabra
El Xacalito
Mexican Gothic
Michael Jasso
Shot of Tequila
Three performances of Palabra: Remedio will be held on Sept. 18 and 19 at the El Teatro Campesino Playhouse, 705 4th St,, San Juan Bautista. For more information, visit El Teatro’s website or call (831) 623-2444 weekdays from 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Tickets are available through Eventbrite and, subject to availability, at the door on performance days for a slightly higher fee. VIP seating is also available, which includes a complimentary drink.
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Video trailer: ETC’s Annual “Palabra Artist Showcase (courtesy of El Teatro Campesino)
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