In a style resembling Latin American literature, Playwright Georgina Escobar presents a story set in the bordertown of Juárez in the late 80s, where drugs, alcohol, addiction, and suicide corrode the cohesiveness of a family facing the ravaging effects of the drug trade.
Hector Zermanis (Markuz Rodriguez) is reluctant to accept money from narcos to buy his ranch. His wife Birdie (Valeria Vega) is experiencing mental issues. His daughter JoJo (Vanessa Flores Cabrera) is in a bitter relationship with her cheating husband. His other daughter, Mage (Adriana Cuba Cuentas), is getting addicted to Quads. Witnessing the tension is Samara (Lourdes Arteaga), a native exchange student staying at the Zermanis’ home.
The Zermanis belong to the upper class, so their attitudes toward Samara reflect the pervasive opinions on race and class. As the money runs out, Hector faces the pressure to accept money from the narcos. Their economic tribulations are especially hard on the family, as they are used to a privileged position. Despite her elitist perspective, Birdie starts to develop an intense attraction to Samara, who gets caught up in the intrafamilial drama.
One of the most intriguing symbols of the story is the relationship between the Zermanis and the Mesoamerican figure of Chac Mool, a representation of the rain spirit which holds a container believed to be used to place human hearts in it. Escobar connects the human sacrifice aspect of the ancient rituals with the brutal bleeding of Mexican society as a result of the turf war among the various cartels vying for the control of the lucrative drug corridor of Juárez-El Paso.
Stone Heart also explores the role of women in the family and society. The women in the play experience the tragic consequences of the Zermanis’ implosion. This is significant in the context of the multiple rapes and murders of women in the border region. Unnerving and devastating, those cases served as an example of the moral decay of a society left to cope with the violence and impunity of the criminal organizations running the region.
Birdie’s mental decline and her family’s deterioration represents the decadence of the social fabric of a city as a result of the drug trade.
Persecution, forbidden love, drugs, alcohol, suicide, addiction, and curses are effectively displayed in this production helmed by Director Daniel Jáquez. For this staging, he used non-professionals actors from the San Diego-Tijuana area. Even though they’re amateurs, Jáquez manages to bring the best of them to capture the tension and sense of danger implied in the script.
Stone Heart is presented as part of the Encuentro 2024: We Are Here – Presente!, a theatre festival presented by the Latino Theater Company.
Stone Heart
The Los Angeles Theatre Center
514 S. Spring Street
Los Angeles, CA 90013
Oct 25 – Nov 9, 2024 ( see link below for schedule)
Tickets: latinotheaterco.org
Written and translated by Georgina Escobar. Directed by Daniel Jáquez.
Cast: Valeria Vega (Birdie), Lourdes Arteaga (Samara), Vanessa Flores Cabrera (Josefina aka JoJo), Adriana Cuba Cuentas (Magdalena aka Mage), Markuz Rodriguez (Hector), Lester Isariuz (Cowboy/Ricardo), Andrea Agosto (Voice Over Narrator).
Creative team: Original sound design Salvador Zamora, Co-sound designer Estefania Ricalde, Lighting designer Elba Emicente, PSM/Co-sound designer/Video designer Estefania Ricalde, Assistant director/Company manager Laura Reynoso Jimenez.
