Laughs, and more, in Spanish

Each year, from September 15 to October 15, Latinx History Month is celebrated. The SpeakEasy Stage Company begins the month with "Laughs in Spanish" by playwright Alexis Scheer. It is a fast-paced 90-minute play with no intermission, part mystery and part telenovela-style comedy that keeps you laughing from beginning to end.

However, make no mistake that "Laughs in Spanish" is all belly-laughs. While the play keeps you in hysterics, its message is profound and provocative, shedding light on debunking stereotypes, the complications of mother/daughter relationships, and the politics of code-switching.

"Laughs in Spanish" is a snapshot of the Cuban and Colombian-American culture of Miami's Wynwood arts district. The play opens on the eve of Mariana's, a gallerist, career-defining show at Art Basel, and she discovers the entire collection of paintings from her star artist has vanished.

To further complicate matters, her mostly-absent, once-famous movie star mother, Estella, arrives in town with an agenda to solicit her daughter's assistance. However, learning of her daughter's crisis, the mother's well-meaning attempts to save the exhibit are hilarious.

Mothers and daughters

The mother-daughter relationship between Mariana and Estella is at the heart of the story. Their relationship is fraught with complications- anger, guilt, hurt, and there's a need for reconciliation.

Estella is charismatic, regal, and an attention-grabber. She is a self-absorbed mother who sent Mariana to boarding school rather than raising her. Scheer depicts Estella as a nontraditional mother as another example of debunking stereotypes.

"I think what's unique here, at least in terms of the kinds of Latine stories that populate our stages and screens, is that, instead of a story about a mother sacrificing everything to support her daughter's wild ambitions, this is a story about a mother who went after her own dreams and sacrificed her relationship with her daughter. But their unconditional love for each other, I think, is what makes it feel classic."

The universal theme of forgiveness between mothers and daughters begins to mend their relationship.

Code-switching

"Laughs in Spanish" demonstrates the art of code-switching. "Laughs in Spanish" was written to be performed in English with brief portions in Spanish. Code-switching comes naturally to Scheer. Scheer, who now resides in Boston, is also Spanish-speaking and grew up in a multicultural and multilingual household in Miami. Her father is a white Floridian, and her mother is Columbian.

Scheer highlights that code-switching is not only related to race but also occurs in multiple Spanish-speaking cultures within the U.S. The largest and oldest Spanish-speaking community in Miami is made up of Cuban Americans. Now, the Spanish-speaking communities comprise Nicaraguan Americans, Venezuelan Americans, Mexican Americans, Dominican Americans, and Colombian Americans, to name a few.

The play also highlights the various nuances in Miami's Spanish-speaking languages—different dialects, accents, language combinations, and mannerisms—to project a particular identity. It is done to celebrate and accept what makes Miami a culturally rich and exciting place.

"It's interesting and fun to discover in the play how much can be presented on stage while still being accessible to English-speaking audiences," Scheer shared in her Speakeasy interview. "It was equally enjoyable to incorporate Spanish to inform the characters without excluding those who don't speak Spanish. I found it crucial to bring this aspect of Miami's flavor and texture to the stage, as it authentically reflects the city's linguistic diversity."

Representation Matters

There is a dearth of Latinx representation in both film and theater. The depiction of their real lives is invisible and hidden. "When I was in graduate school in Boston, my professors encouraged me 'to go home' with my writing, to introduce audiences to the people and the culture I grew up with," Scheer shared.

Lin-Manuel Miranda's Broadway hit musicals In The Heights (2005) and Hamilton (2015) should not be the only plays, at present, that come to mind to American theater-going audiences. The stereotypes of Latinx portrayed in both film and theater as violent immigrants, fruit pickers, cooks, maids, or sex objects are demeaning and dehumanizing. And the hackneyed excuse for not financially supporting Latino projects that there's no market and they don't make money is a myth.

"Representation is an act of affirmation," Scheer told Bay State Banner. "I like to write Latine stories that expand on the stereotypes the media presents and show audiences how diverse the Latino experience in our country is. And that includes joyful, light-hearted experiences!"

Seeing that "Laughs in Spanish" debunked these prevailing stereotypes and myths was refreshing. You'll laugh and enjoy the vibrant, funny, messy exploration of family and identity. Rush out to see it!

"Laughs in Spanish" runs five weeks, from September 13 — October 12, 2023, in the Roberts Studio Theatre in the Stanford Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts, 527 Tremont Street, Boston. https://www.bostontheatrescene.com/shows-and-events/laughs-in-spanish/