Liberating Latinas
Although all six performers in Yo Soy Latina! were female, Mike D. Donaldson still could relate to them.
“I can relate to how (Anna) gets pushed off to the side — she becomes the invisible Latina,” Donaldson said. “No one knows where Panama is. You have to remind them it’s the one with the canal.”
Donaldson, a Mount Pleasant senior and Hispanic Heritage Month committee member, was one of more than 1,200 students who attended the play which discussed what qualifies as a “typical” Latina in today’s world and the stereotypes surrounding them.
Yo Soy Latina! is a comedic and moving ensemble which features six Latina women, all from different backgrounds, who are trying to understand what it means to be a Latina in contemporary America.
The six women come together to discuss their personal experiences of living in America and discover being Latina is more than red lipstick, Telemundo and speaking Spanish.
Minority Student Services and Residence Life hosted the play in Warriner Hall’s Plachta Auditorium as part of Hispanic Heritage Month.
Southfield junior Chris Maxwell said the simple set design of six folding chairs and six actresses added to the play’s simple, but powerful message.
“It talked about a topic that is usually missed,” Maxwell said. “They did it in a way that everyone can relate to.”
Grand Blanc senior Tamara Stringer attended the performance because she has cousins who are of Hispanic heritage.
“I learned not to stereotype in the Latino culture,” Stringer said. “There is a variety in Latino culture just like in any culture.”
Lina Sarrapochiello, assistant director of the play’s college tour, agreed with Stringer.
“We Latinas come in so many flavors that Baskin Robbins is planning on putting out a new line,” Sarrapochiello said.
