¿Hablas español?
What do you get when you join cultural and linguistically relevant programming, interdisciplinary collaborations, student and faculty engagement, and community partnerships? A historic moment of awesomeness—also known in Spanish as La Cueva de Salamanca.
Whether you speak Spanish, want to learn the language, or simply enjoy the arts, our most recent collaboration is will get you excited. At the Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, we believe strongly in considering all aspects of diversity as a way to extend the scope of inclusion and widen the net of opportunity to provide culturally immersive experiences to the entire Kent Community. Moreover, we understand that language is an expression of culture. For this reason, we intentionally sought an unprecedented collaborative partnership between the Latinx in Theatre (LIT) student theatre organization in the School of Theater and Dance, LatinUs Theater Company Inc., a newly formed Latinx theater company in Cleveland, and our Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
In what turned out to be a unique event, La Cueva de Salamanca, the first play at Kent completely in Spanish, was performed at the Erdmann-Zucchero Theatre, open to the entire community with free admission on October 20, 2018. It was followed by a reading of La Gringa by Carmen Rivera, accomplished by our own Latinx in Theater (LIT) students and co-directed by Latino faculty member Fabio Polanco and student Viviana Cárdenas. La Gringa tells the story of a young woman, María, who grew up in New York City and travels to Puerto Rico in search of her roots and to learn about her culture, but when she gets there, she does not receive the warm welcome she had anticipated from her family. La Gringa, a story told in alternating Spanish and English bocadillos (parts), illustrates the common Latinx struggle with “belonging” after spending a long time away from home, or as second and third generation immigrants growing up in the U.S. Through María’s journey, La Gringa also tells other important stories that echo essential Latinx values.
You did not get a chance to attend? Do not worry. This is just the beginning!