Alejandra Flores and Gavin K. Lee (Photo by Grettel Cortes Photography)
Reviewed by Martίn Hernández
Los Angeles Theatre Center
Through October 29
RECOMMENDED
What happens when a Chicana social media maven learns about a “Chinese guy” making upscale tacos in her Eastside L.A. barrio? For Chino (Gavin K. Lee), it is a ride bumpier than the hydraulics on a ’65 Chevy lowrider. Is he appropriating Mexican culture and catering to the trendy hipsters who are gentrifying the Mexican-American neighborhood of internet influencer Yesenia (Esperanza América)? Or is he honoring his abuelo, Don Agapito (Sal Lopez), who took him in as a lonely and hungry kid and taught him to respect Mexican food, community, and the way of the taco, auténtico estilo Hidalgo, no less?
There is more than meets the smartphone in playwright Joel Ulloa’s funny and tender celebration of family, which is complemented by Fidel Gomez’s thoughtful and methodical direction. The play also serves as a pointed critique of the rise of internet influencers who, with a swipe on their alienated digital devotees’ screens, can wipe out a small business, and of elected officials who, with swipes of their pens on corporate developers’ contracts, can wipe out low-income communities-of-color.
At an unlicensed night market in Boyle Heights, Chino’s taco cart is a hit with the ‘hood’s newer denizens, creating a mostly friendly competition with fellow vendors Mike (Xavi Moreno), and Monse (Zilah Mendoza). More serious disagreement arises about how to respond to threats that the city might shut down their businesses, with Chino wanting to work things out legally with officials and Mike feeling the less attention from government the better. Meanwhile, Chino is saving up to fulfill his and Don Agapito’s long-term dream of opening a restaurant.
In flashbacks, with narration by Chino’s long-time friend Lencha (Alejandra Flores), we learn how the aging taquero Don Agapito reluctantly took on the neglected Chino as an apprentice.
Over the years they eventually become closer, with the elder man teaching the younger one his taco skills. As Yesenia finds out about Chino’s tacos and calls on her followers to boycott his business, Chino responds angrily. With their digital war escalating and his customers peeling away, he sees his dream going up in barbacoa smoke.
While the ending is far from surprising, the ride is comical and touching, and Gomez manages the theatrical traffic well. Designers Pablo Santiago’s lighting, Wei-Fang Chang’s production animation, Hsuan-Kuang Hisieh’s projections, and John Zalewski’s sound all combine for phantasmagoric moments, with spinning lights, glowing hashtags, smartphone clips of various characters, and cacophonous noises. Gomez’ use of lighted squares where characters deliver dialogue reinforces a wider society’s need for keeping certain people in their respective boxes.
Ulloa also presents a hilarious take on the cosplay of Chicano culture in Japan that especially sparks Yesenia’s ire (“Japanese cholas?”), with Paul Dateh, Sayaka Miyatani, and Ariel Kayoko Labasan stealing the show as Tokyo homies Benjiro, Little Triste, and Whisper, respectively. The musical interludes of recorded “oldies” and the rousing Spanish songs from El Musico (an excellent Jesus “Chuy” Perez), representing the ubiquitous Mexican street musicians on the Eastside, add a lovely touch.
Lopez and Lee provide moving moments illustrating their characters’ inter-generational and inter-cultural bonding. Lee, Moreno, Mendoza, and América also shine as they chastise, cajole, and comfort each other, presenting both a credible camaraderie and fierce conflict — the latter born of a struggle to survive in a White world that prefers seeing people-of-color fight among themselves rather than unite for their common cause.
Latino Theater Company in association with East West Players, Los Angeles Theatre Center, 514
S. Spring Street, downtown LA. Thurs.-Sat., 8 pm, Sun., 4 pm; thru Oct. 29; https://latinotheaterco.org Running time: approximately two hours, including ten minute
intermission.
