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San Antonio’s Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center is bringing back “Las Comadres de Morales Street.” for a limited time.
It was first presented as a staged reading by Teatro Salón. Irene Chavez is the playwright of the fully staged production that will run this week at SAY Sí.
Chavez was inspired to write a story while working with Seniors In Play, an organization founded by award-winning actor, Tony Plana, where senior citizens can write their own stories.
“I was hearing such wonderful stories of resiliency from our elders, and then also just chismoso (gossipy) kind of stories that were making me, crack up,” said Chavez. “And I thought, I'd like to write and honor our elders and talk a little bit about what was happening during COVID and the Snowvid (winter storm of 2021) episode and just all of that.”
Chavez says that the play is a love letter to the city’s historic West Side. She’s found inspiration in its comadres and other characters who make up the heart of the neighborhood.
“We have the comadres as the center main characters, but we also have the angel of death, and we have a character, Don Julio,” she said. “I was inspired by Edgewood ISD and their veterans district group because they have the distinction of having the largest sacrifice during the Vietnam War, and they lost over 50 of their classmates.”
Chavez said she was grateful to actor Tony Plana for his encouragement of storytelling. She emphasized the importance of the community telling their stories.
“We don't often see ourselves represented on the screen or on the stage, and this story is very much centered in the West Side, and [we] were intentional about keeping it on the West Side, which is why we're at the SAY Sí Black Box. So I want people to know that this is a labor of love. That these actors have full-time jobs and they're doing this. And so we're really excited to present this wonderful play, ‘Las Comadres de Morales Street.’,” said Chavez.
“Las Comadres de Morales Street” runs Nov. 12- 22 at the SAY Sí Black Box Theater at 1310 S. Brazos.
