Theater has been part of my life for many years. Not the first part, and maybe not even the most important. Not the “official” partner, but that secret lover you keep on the side, the one you don’t give much time to, but who is always there whenever you’re available. You know what I mean.

My debut in the realm of Melpomene (not trying to sound scholarly, I just dig all that Greek stuff) happened while I working on my PhD at UNM. It was during a Southwest Studies class with Professor Enrique Lamadrid. The topic was La Llorona, New Mexican style, though there are so many other versions in virtually every culture. It was mid-2002, and Andrea Yates was all over the news. Suddenly, right in the middle of the lecture, it occurred to me to combine the two themes into a play. But at the time I was deep into my first novel and left the idea on the back burner.

Eventually, I wrote La hija de La Llorona in one sitting, featuring a Cuban protagonist. Outspoken Caridad is a former jinetera turned respectable wife and now part of a conservative New Mexican family. Most characters were inspired by people I had met in Albuquerque.

Once the play was finished, I sent it off to Aguijón Theater in Chicago without much hope. Imagine my surprise when Rosario Vargas, the founder and co-director, told me they were going to produce it. I’ll never forget the first time I saw my characters on stage. Marcela Muñoz played an unforgettable Caridad that I still remember. There’s nothing like seeing your own creations take on life and movement!

A few years later, Rosario suggested that a group of playwrights take the theme of Death of a Salesman and adapt it to the circumstances of a modern Latino immigrant. What did achieving the “American Dream” mean for us? That’s how Philip, Bill, Kathy, Yordanka, and cat-lover Dalila were born. Hasta que el mortgage nos separe premiered at Aguijón Theater in May 2009. That play later became the novella El Difunto Fidel, which won the Rincón de la Victoria prize in Spain and was published by Renacimiento in 2011.

In 2012, three lovely ladies who had been my students at UNM-Taos asked me for a play they could perform that would also help them practice the language. La sartén por el mango was the result.

The Door to the Stage

In 2024, I entered the theater through the stage door while taking two acting classes at NMJC, where I teach English and Spanish. Professor Nathan Miles taught us about the representational and presentational approaches, how to interpret movements and pauses on stage and to find out the characters’ main goals. (Ah, those G.O.T.E. sheets!) Needless to say, I incorporated all of that into my writing afterwards. The short scenes I performed left me with a deep respect for anyone who dares to face an audience.

Now, I am thrilled to announce that La hija de La Llorona, Hasta que el mortgage nos separe and La sartén por el mango are available in a book published by El Ateje.  It has been a joy to finally give this “secret lover” the time and space it deserves. With Del escenario a la página, our long-standing affair is finally made public. El teatro es vida and all the world is a stage!