FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM JANUARY 30, 2020 • BUZZ • THE QUEENS COURIER 45
New play brings stories of Latinx
undocumented immigrants to Queens
BY ANGÉLICA ACEVEDO
aacevedo@schnepsmedia.com
A play meant to humanize the
“struggles, hopes and dreams”
of undocumented Latinx immigrants,
“Fandango for Butterfl ies
(and Coyotes),” is coming to
Queens in February.
The lively show will follow
a group of immigrants in a
community center somewhere
in New York City who, on
the eve of citywide ICE raids,
gather for a fandango dance.
Although they are fearful —
“fearful for family left behind
in their home countries, for
loved ones in the middle of
their dangerous journey to
New York, of leaving the sanctuary
of the community center
simply to get a bag of ice” — a
sense of camaraderie begins to
build among them.
Th e play is produced by
En Garde Arts and will kickoff
their fi ve borough tour on
Th ursday, Feb. 6, at La MaMa
in Manhattan. Th ey’ll then
make their way to LaGuardia
Performing Arts Center on
31-10 Th omson Ave. in Long
Island City for two nights
(Wednesday, Feb. 19, and
Th ursday, Feb. 20, at 7:30 p.m.).
En Garde Arts’ founder
and artistic director Anne
Hamburger said that they
turned their focus toward using
their full producing and artistic
resources to humanize the
lives of undocumented immigrants.
It was written by Andrea
Th ome, directed by José Zayas,
with original music by Sinuhé
Padilla and choreography by
Alexandra Beller.
Photo by Maria Baranova
Th e story was inspired by
interviews with undocumented
immigrants from Latin America
living in New York.
“Th e dehumanization of the
undocumented in the United
States lays at the feet of the rhetoric
of our politicians, the sound
bites expressing hatred on social
media, but also emanates from
a lack of experience with people
coming from diff erent cultures,”
Hamburger said. “Using
theater to paint people in fl esh
and blood terms can help build
bridges to understanding. Th is is
what the theater is uniquely positioned
to achieve and why I’ve
chosen to produce ‘Fandango.’”
Th e performances will be in
English and Spanish with supertitles
so that it’s fully accessible to
Spanish- and English-speaking
audiences. Each show is approximately
90 minutes. Th e Mayor’s
Offi ce of Immigrant Aff airs will
be at select performances to provide
both immigrants and allies
with resources and actionable
steps.
Tickets are $20 for general
admission, $8 for LAGCC students
and $10 for all other students.
To purchase tickets or for
more information, visit www.
engardearts.org.
buzz
Photo by Maria Baranova
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