Student production turns pro

Due to its success in the small theatre, “Viva the USA,” a musical comedy, plans to record a professional demo tape here in Dallas.

Spanish Professor Dr. Manuel Guerra put the play together in collaboration with students from the Spanish Language Department.

“Viva the USA” is a dramatic reading that tells the story of a Mexican-American girl who struggles in the search of her true identity.

“This play, unlike other Latin American events held frequently at SMU, actually had a message,” graduate student Bill Allen said. “SMU students tend to blend into the white majority. The students who participated in this play were courageous because they did just the opposite by sending a message about finding your true self.”

Accompanied with the original music of Hollywood composer and arranger, Eddie Cano and the original lyrics and story of Guerra, “Viva the USA,” defines the good life that comes from pursuing cultural ambition and opportunities.

“The play does a good job in sharing the other face of America, the Mexican-American community, which usually goes unrecognized in many aspects,” senior Hortencia Rubalcava, an actress in the play, said.

Manny, the co-protagonist, is a United States Marine who is also trying to find his true identity, but searches in all the wrong places.

“I definitely identify with my character,” first-year Sebastian Dañino, who plays Manny, said. “I lived in the States all my childhood, but remember feeling lost and trying to blend in. Once I got a chance to go back to Peru, where my parents are originally from, I found who I really was and what I was looking for. Although I don’t live there anymore, it doesn’t matter anymore where I am, as long as I know who I am.”

Not only does the play stress the importance of finding one’s true roots, but it also emphasizes the importance and success of a bilingual education.

Although the play was organized and put together rather quickly, all 16 students managed to give their time and gather for the play’s final performance in the beginning of April.

“Considering the very little time I know Dr. Guerra had in setting up the entire play, the outcome turned out to be great,” Rosemary Sanchez from the foreign language department said. “My husband and I enjoyed it a lot.”

The play consisted of two acts with six scenes each and lasted approximately an hour and a half.

“I don’t think it was long enough, I loved it,” Sanchez said.

The plot of the story is suitable following the aftermath of the September 11 tragedy.

“‘Viva the USA’ is a search for who you really are and even though people come from different backgrounds, the mainstream joins us together,” Guerra said.

The most important factor is to get the message across.

“Eddie Cano and I spent many hours talking about the message of the play which is ‘don’t try to make yourself someone you’re not, because you don’t know where you’re going until you know where you’ve been,'” Guerra said.

Guerra plans to take “Viva the USA” to Los Angeles and hopes to see the play produced off-Broadway or perhaps turned into a Hollywood movie.

“The quest of Mexican-Americans in search for their true identity is an ongoing education,” Guerra said.