Welcome to Long Beach City College’s production of Anna in the Tropics!

What you’re about to see is a work of art which is inspired from my cultural experiences in both Chicano and Afro-Cuban culture. This first part of the show is heavily influenced from the former while the latter taps into the Afro-esque imagery. When first reading this play, I instantly thought about Afro-Cuban Orishas. There are characters in this play which beam many different traits of certain Orishas such as Chango (warrior), Oshun (love, beauty), and Obatala (wise, peaceful). At the same time, I see many Cuban colors that have relationship with my Chicano environments such as flowing dresses, strumming of the guitar, colorful fashion, loud and expressive personalities, and of course, the dancing.

Then came auditions and I was inspired by the many Latinx artist in our program. I saw possibilities in every single one of them and I decided to cast as many LatinX representation as possible. In the show, my thoughts will dance, my ideas will linger, and my emotions will bloom throughout the night. My approach to the play is to invite you to see two cultures come together and have a relationship on stage. But most importantly, I’m inviting you to Chicano storytelling brought on from my experiences in non-western forms of theatre.

Tonight, we dive into tradition and progress, the power of literature, love, dignity, and escapism. This is Chicano Power. WE ARE LatinX Power.