LACC Theatre Academy students in “August 29.” (Photo by Yazlin Juarez)
Reviewed by Steven Vargas
The Los Angeles Theatre Center
Through August 24
RECOMMENDED
Note: This show is a co-production between Latino Theatre Company and the Los Angeles City College Theatre Academy. All of the actors are students in that academy.
I didn’t understand why my grandfather insisted on being called Chicano. Growing up, he wore the identity proudly like a badge. I had nothing against it; I was just young and still learning what it meant to be a Latino in America. As Ruben Salazar (Alex Bravo) and Lucero Traviño (Melody Zamora) recount their upbringing as Chicanos in Los Angeles, Latino Theater Company’s August 29 begins to unearth the subtle complexities of Latinidad that many of us, like myself, have had trouble putting into words.
The show created by the Latino Theater Company was first produced in 1990. Thirty-five years later, its message on resistance and identity is just as strong. August 29 follows Traviño as she struggles to complete her book about Salazar as part of her tenure. Salazar, a Los Angeles Times columnist who was the first Mexican journalist to cover the Chicano community at a legacy media outlet, was killed during the National Chicano Moratorium March against the Vietnam War. Traviño is fixated on this day; she is trying to understand the events behind his tragic death and where his cultural pride derives from. To understand her subject, she must look within and explore how her Chicano identity has made her an activist and historian.
Like Traviño, I couldn’t start this review without reflecting on my own relationship to identity. The heart of the show is in the collective experience of Chicanos. August 29 does more than just reflect on Salazar’s legacy. It reminds viewers that to be a Chicano is to be a fighter, a lover and everything in between, even when the land you inhabit sees your pride as a threat.
The production begins with a few stumbles, both technical and performance-wise. However, it quickly finds its balance when Traviño first encounters Salazar in a dreamlike afterworld as her writing transports her to the same room as the late journalist. The first thing she does for him is put on his favorite song: “Is That All There Is?” by Peggy Lee. As the music plays, a smile spreads across his face. August 29 is riddled with unexpected details about Salazar that help paint a picture of the man behind the revolutionary stories in the paper. The show’s biggest strength is how quickly it gets to the heart of the characters, building them up with detailed traits about their identity and what makes them tick.
The set, designed by Maureen Weiss, immerses the audience even deeper into Salazar’s work by incorporating clippings of his writing for the LA Times into various elements. Notably, three large banners made of newspaper clippings hang from the ceiling. Throughout the show, they become the canvas for projections. Costume designers Emily Zella Volz, Sophia Clark and Madeleine Campbell also utilize Salazar’s writing in the design for his suit jacket. Within the show, these details provide a roadmap through his career and Traviño’s research. As moments along the way are referenced, you can literally see the writing on the wall. Notwithstanding this strong point, the scenic design does have its weak ones, particularly in the stage structures. Two separate boxed structures that characters inhabit as bedrooms block the audience’s view. The only way you can see in is through a medium-sized square cut into it, creating some sightline issues when Traviño goes to write or search for objects in her home.
The story itself is heavy, exploring such topics as police violence, heartbreak and the Vietnam War. The dialogue is sprinkled with humor to alleviate this weight. Ensemble actors Michelle Fercano and Jayson Abrego each have their fair share of quips and sexual innuendos to bring out a quick laugh when needed. The leading performers, Bravo and Zamora, dazzle the stage with their presence and chemistry throughout the entire piece. Trini (Cicalady Rodriguez), Traviño’s mother, has a series of heart-wrenching monologues that she delivers with all-consuming rage, encased in a particular poise a grieving mother holds.
After Jesse (Felipe Iglecias), Traviño’s brother, dies in the Vietnam War, Trini imagines what he would say and how he felt dedicated to the nation. This is where the show truly starts to dissect the Chicano identity. Jesse’s love for the country is juxtaposed with the senseless killing of Chicanos at the hands of the police, the most notable being Salazar’s impending death.
Although this new production arrives 35 years after its first performance, it remains just as relevant, and its story feels just as visceral. As ICE raids continue to target Latinos across the nation and protests resurge, Salazar’s reality feels just like the present. August 29 is a reminder of the love for humanity that must be utilized in the community to survive such bigotry and violence.
I can only fully dissect this work by first recognizing that I am a Chicano who feels the heartbreaking impact of this piece. To do otherwise would be a disservice to Salazar’s legacy, one that I am particularly aligned with as a former LA Times reporter with a beat in the arts for social change. With each prideful anecdote Salazar shares about his identity, my grandfather comes into view. He was a Vietnam War veteran with a deep love for supporting others in the community and a habit of letting out a big grito at the beginning of his favorite Tejano songs. As Salazar and Traviño break the ice, they each let out their own grito, laughing at the outcome. This moment, like many others, encapsulates the complexity of being a Chicano. Even when the road is rough, there is always time for one big joyous release.
The Los Angeles Theatre Center, 4 S. Spring Street, downtown LA. Fri.-Sat., 8 pm, Sun., 4 pm; thru Aug.24; also, Fri., Aug. 29, 8 pm, at East Los Angeles College, 1301 Avenida Cesar Chavez, Monterey Park; Thurs. Sept. 18, 8 pm and Fri., Sept. 19, 8 pm at Mt. San Antonio College,1100 N Grand Ave., Walnut. latinotheaterco.org
