Students were happy to get out to Repertorio Español for Carmen Rivera’s play, La Gringa.
New York City offers a plethora of cultural experiences, and such experiences are an excellent way to extend learning beyond the classroom. Through learning journeys, WHSAD students often witness the artistic application of elements from their class study. Past trips to Edgar Allan Poe’s cottage and the Metropolitan Museum have provided first-hand artifacts that help reinforce the information that can sometimes feel a bit too theoretical in the classroom. Another such trip took place this past Wednesday, January 10 as students from Ms. Soto and Ms. Viscarra’s Spanish classes visited Repertorio Español to enjoy Carmen Rivera’s play, La Gringa. Below, Sophomore Jessica Juarez offers a synopsis of the play.
Darlenis Durán portrays María’s turbulent journey.
The play “La Gringa” is about a young lady named Maria. She went to go visit her mother’s family in Puerto Rico. She was born and raised in New York, so she didn’t really speak a lot of Spanish. Maria really loved Puerto Rico so she wanted to stay there. Her aunt didn’t like the idea because she thought that Maria and her mother wanted to keep the family’s house. She thought that because when Maria’s mother was younger, she migrated to the United States to find a job and built a house with her money from Puerto Rico. After she left, her mother died. Maria’s mother told her sister to bury her on the other side of where they lived because that’s where all their dead family members are. Maria’s mom didn’t want that, but she couldn’t do anything about it. She was really upset and stopped talking to her sister. When Maria told her family that she wanted to stay in Puerto Rico, everyone liked the idea except her cousin and her aunt. They tried to convince her to go back to New York, but they did not convince her. Then Maria went to a job interview but didn’t get the job because she didn’t look Puerto Rican. She was really upset and said that she will go back to New York. But later on her grandfather took her to her grandmother’s grave. She was really happy because she was also with the boy she met. They both had a crush on each other. Maria was really happy, but then her grandfather died. The only outcome was that Maria’s mother and her aunt talked again after everything.