Welcome!

In this open forum, the creative team behind Pregones Theater’s ALOHA BORICUA, a hit music theater play about the historic Puerto Rican migration to Hawaii, shares and discusses facts and fictions unearthed during their research, adaptation and staging process. We hope you’ll join our discussion with your own comments, as we explore a fresh look at immigrant experience through the lens of live theater.

Each blog entry is an opportunity to share your thoughts on a specific aspect of the show. Make sure you read through each one and leave your comments in the section below the entry. Also check out the links section for further exploration!

Notes from the Creative Team: Director Jorge Merced

Aloha Boricua is made up of story, verse, and song — an evocative, sometimes puzzling exploration of history and of the ways in which migrant experience and cultural heritage are distilled, preserved, or turned on their heads. The inspiration for it is double: on one hand, the formidable journey of Puerto Ricans to the islands of Hawaii at the very tail end of the 19^th Century; on the other, the exuberant literature of Manuel Ramos Otero, with its queer turns, detours, and multiple voices. From both I draw lessons in difference and fortitude. But what dazzles me most is a shared story-telling habit that sustains and glues together a people over time and space. Aloha Boricua is largely made up of those stories —made up, borrowed, or stolen— that make the Puerto Rican diaspora a living thing.  Jorge B. Merced – Director, dramaturg and co-composer.

Notes from the Creative Team: Indio Melendez

Indio Melendez shares his thoughts on the creative process during Aloha Boricua:

My name is Indio Melendez, on stage I play Monserratte Alvarez, who along with Chu and Queen Lilly, narrate the concert of Aloha Boricua.

I was born in New York City and raised among extended family members. Whatever borough we moved to, I had a cousin.

We moved around in the ghettos of Brooklyn, Harlem and Later Washington Heights (where I still reside).  Although I was surrounded by  beautiful people of color, I always searched for my “Boricua” brothers and sisters to partake with and share that Puerto Rican pride.

Somehow, as Boricuas, we can find a common bond that connects us as a people and make us feel like “family” even if its only because of our speech pattern.  Living in Washington Heights, where the majority of residents are Dominican, we (Puerto Ricans) certainly acknowledge each other and take the time to speak. (well, as of lately we are getting gentrified but thats another story)

found this search for family bonding, especially true while I traveled in the military for almost seven years. In every base I touched I was always in search for my  Puerto Rican brothers and sisters.  I would walk around the barracks, a ver quien escuchaba salsa; that would be the perfect reason to knock on the soldiers door and introduce myself “Baya soy Boricua, de donde tu eres”

Mon, makes reference to that search for Puerto Rican bonding and family in the piece.” There were more than 20 Puerto Rican families, celebrando la noche de San Juan, and  I’m not counting those who had no family, because they were part of our family”

My mother migrated from Fajardo, Puerto Rico in 1955.  Candida Carmona Motanez, she was seventeen years old with an 8th grade education.  In search of a better life in New York the city full of dreams, in the middle of the civil rights movement. She didnt work in the Sugar cane plantations, but she worked in the factory plantations, for over thirty years “Sunrise to Sunset” Like Flor Maria, my mother has been in New York, for over 50 years and refuses to learn English.

One of the biggest things that I have learned about this character, or maybe it was a note from the director; that is to not to be bitter or angry about how our history as Puerto Ricans unfolds. As a prideful, passionate  Nuyorican, it is so easy to get angry, guarded  and bitter about the repression we endured, but what does that accomplish? Instead divert that energy into positivity, pride and creativity. Let the truth shine in the light of the stage for all to know, our journey and perseverance.   Aloha Boricua is “edutainment” a mix of education and definitely entertaining. A story every sixth grade Puerto Rican/Latino student should know.

There were many historical facts that I learned in this process. Firstly and most obvious that there were Puerto Ricans in Hawaii, I had no clue.

I was also intrigued to find out that there was Hoola Salsa.  I bet that is fun to dance to.

One of my favorite moments of the play,  Is the “PELE” Goddess of the volcano scene.  We learn about the myths surrounding the volcanoes in Hawaii.  I enjoy it not only because, Shadia who plays Queen Lilly sings a beautiful, mesmorizing Opera . Also, the scene is a different genre of theater within the context of the play and remains relevant.  The audience travels due to the music, image projections and lighting effects.  Also, this is a little unfair, but I get to be on stage yet be an audience member for a couple of minutes and watch my colleagues sing, recite poetry and portray kings and queens of Hawaii because I have no dialogue during that scene. LOL!

Aloha Boricua did color my view of NYC.  I realize and love the fact that we are a multi cultural melting pot, it was awesome to see some of the Hawaiian-Puerto Rican community come to the show and enjoy what we have brought to life.

Aloha!

Notes from the Creative Team: Sol Crespo

Sol Crespo, whose roles in Aloha Boricua include Flora, member of The Leprosos Band and Flor María, mother of Monserrate, responds to questions relating to Aloha Boricua:

How does your character’s migration journey compare to your own?

Both of our migration stories are of those of voluntary exile. After the devastating hurricane, San Ciriaco, Flor María felt there was no other option but to go to Hawaii to work. I arrived in NY 12 years ago to study, work and breathe theater.

What is your family migration story?

Aside from my cousins, I am the first person in my immediate family to have migrated from Puerto Rico to live elsewhere.

What have you learned from the characters you portray during the play?

Drive, patience, resilience. Family is not only those who share your blood but those who are an active part of your life. Bonds that are forged when struggle, sacrifice and love are shared. As Pura tells Flor María: “A ti y a Mon no les va a faltar nada mientras estemos juntos”

What was the biggest surprise/historical fact you came across during the creation of the play?

Realizing how much Hawaii and Puerto Rico have in common. Aside from lush tropical landscapes, we share invasion, colonization. And that it happened in the same year-1898. I also enjoyed learning about Hawaiian culture: Queen Liliuokalani and Pele, the goddess of the volcanos.

What is your favorite moment and why?

One of my favorite lines in the play says that “to me Flor María and Puerto Rico are the same thing.” Since we began workshopping the play, I was always reminded of one of Ramos Otero’s quotes: “la patria soy yo”.  It speaks volumes to the immigrant story of bringing your motherland with you, wherever you go because you are your home. I don’t need to live or even be born in Puerto Rico to know very well what my “patria” is.

Has Aloha colored your view of NYC? How?

It’s made me more openminded of the Nuyorican experience. It was never my intention, but I used to take Puerto Rico (and New York for that matter) for granted. For me, it was just the place I grew up. But my Nuyorican friends have shared their nostalgia for a home they might have never even been to and now it makes me appreciate my visits home plus it makes me eager to continue exploring and discovering New York and not take anyplace or experience for granted.



Notes from the Creative Team: Yarani del Valle

Yarani Del Valle shares her thoughts on the creative process. Her responses are in both English and Spanish, similar to the style of Aloha Boricua.

Who do you play onstage?: Pura Pérez, a twenty-something year old woman that just got married to a sugar cane worker.

How does your character’s migration journey compare to your own? Things in Puerto Rico circa 1800 are very harsh. Pura is convinced by her husband that going to Hawaii is the opportunity of a lifetime. They’ve been promised a better life. Pura accepts the challenge but is not so convinced that everything is going to be so pretty and beautiful over there. I relate to my character in the way that going to another country is the only way to seek a better future. I too had my doubts that coming to New York was going to be fairy tale story, I knew I would have to work hard, and sometimes even suffer, to get where I wanted to. Even though I relate to Pura, the reality is, the Puerto Rico of the 21 century I came from can not be compared to the Puerto Rico of the 1800′s where poverty and misery was the norm.

What is your family migration story? My mother and father came to New York in 1973. My mother came to study her masters degree while my father came to work as a union organizer. They got married here and had their first two daughters. Thinking they wanted to raise us in their native country they decided to move back to Puerto Rico. Years later, facing the same migration challenges,I decided to move back to where my mother and father spent their early years building a family.

What have you learned from the characters you portray during the play? A veces quisiera tener la determinación y fuerza de Pura para enfrentar momentos de mi vida.

What was the biggest surprise/historical fact you came across during the creation of the play? El hecho de que a estas personas se les tratara com esclavos y que les suministraran comida putrefacta durante los viajes en mar me dio mucha pena. Fue un momento epifánico cuando comprendí realmente que en Hawaii existe un pedacito de Puerto Rico, un pedacito que anhela adherirse al rompecabezas y que desea ser contado como parte de la historia de nuestro país.

What is your favorite moment and why? Cuando la tripuación se arma de valor y por causa de la indignación ante el trato que les han dado deciden revelarse en contra del capitán del barco. Ese momento me emociona porque pienso en todos los movimientos sociales que han hecho que todos gocemos ahora de muchos derechos. Ese momento me hace tener fe en la capacidad del ser humano por luchar hacia la justicia.

Notes from the Creative Team: Shadia Almasri

Shadia Almasri shares her thoughts on the

The journey to our past through Aloha Boricua was one of discovery and rediscovery.  If I would have to explain who my character is throughout the play I would have to say that it is definitely one of many dimensions.  At first I was going to be Queen Liliuokalani: the last monarch of Hawaii before the invasion of the United States took place in 1893.  As rehearsals continued my character began to redefine itself as a narrator and conscience of the plot.  I would say that she is, in many ways, more related to Chu than to Queen Lili but she also maintains that sense of entitlement and power as if she were a queen.  Her narration is done mostly through music and song as opposed to Chu and Monsserate which use, in most part, verbal narration to drive the story. Her feelings towards the journey of the Puerto Ricans to Hawaii are one of justification.  In other words, she feels that all of this needed to happen so that the sense of nationalism would reach its maximum potential which is no matter where you are where or where you end up in life, geographically or emotionally speaking…la patria eres tú.

I really did not understand what migration meant until I decided to move to this city a couple of years ago.  Growing up in Puerto Rico, I really never new what it meant to be a minority or to have to constantly prove yourself as anything more than an individual.  Once I moved to New York I automatically was labeled as many things, without even choosing to do so.  All of a sudden I was a 20-something-single-puertorican-singing-studying-arabic-non New Yorker-musician-performer-trying to make it in the big apple-dudette. And I saw myself forced to prove myself against or in favor of these self or auto imposed stigmas.  This city forces you to question who you are on a daily basis and I guess I have gotten use to that by now; but it was quite an imposition when I first got here.

As I began to meet this regal type narrator through “Aloha Boricua”, my concept of nationalism and migration began to change, if it was ever defined to begin with.  Who you, we, or they are is something that humbly changes from time to time. But Queen Lili helped me deal with the resentment of the past. She has helped me understand that history is greatly responsible of whom we are and if anyone is proud of whom they are, they have to embrace their journey instead of resenting it.

I am, as many, a product of two cultures.  My father (RIP) was Syrian and my mother is Puerto Rican.  They both met in Spain during their college years. They moved to USA shortly after getting married and I was born in Gainesville, Florida.  When I was 5 years old, I and my mother moved to Puerto Rico where I was raised until I moved to New York. Getting to know Flor, Pura, Manuel, Chu and Monserrate has played an important part in this ever-changing, never-ending migration story perspective and journey of mine. From Manuel I could see the innocence and the optimism I once had and hope to never lose when confronted with change and challenges.  I hope to keep and continue to be inspired by Pura’s integrity, commitment and leadership.  Flor’s strength and courage will always remind me of my mother’s and many mothers’ unconditional love and faith in their children. I will always be cautious of how history can surprise you, confuse you, and amuse you just how Chu does throughout the play. And I will always honor and respect the wisdom and history that decorate Monserrate’s lips with every word that he says. Thanks to “Aloha Boricua” I will keep reminding myself to always listen to the voice that tells me to never stop my course “…siento una voz que me dice, nunca detengas tu rumbo, siento una voz que repite, busca siempre donde laborar”.

Notes from the Creative Team: Omar Perez

Omar Perez answers a few questions about the creative process during Aloha Boricua

Who do you play onstage?

During Aloha Boricua, I play Chu, one of the narrators of this story.

What is your family migration story?

My family came to NY from Puerto Rico at the end of the 1970′s. They spent over 20 years in the Bronx and then decided to return to Puerto Rico. They currently live on a beautiful hillside in Jayuya P.R.

How does your character’s migration journey compare to your own?

Chu does not experience a physical migration during Aloha Boricua. He is a stage representation of Manuel Ramos Otero’s voice. As such, I feel Chu personifies a sort of mental migration. He unlike most of us, is able to view ideas, norms, and social pressures and leave the expected. His journey involves taking the audience through a series of questions and challenge them to come out with their own answers.

What have you learned from the characters you portray during the play?

Chu has challenged me to find the other side to every story. I have learned not to take things at face value and that there are in fact many truths within each slice of history.

What was the biggest surprise/historical fact you came across during the creation of the play?

I think the biggest surprise for me in Aloha is that the seas turned red when Queen Liliuokalani died. It is perhaps the most subdued yet powerful statement for me in Aloha Boricua. We live in a time where technology is held high and the seemingly simplistic tendencies of nature are looked over.

To know that there was pain and suffering and that we were taken advantage of is not a surprise since it unfortunately still occurs. However, to hear that seas turned red when your Queen died, what better poetry is there?

What is your favorite moment and why?

First of all this is a trick question. Aloha is filled with moments that I cant wait to hear every night. Pele is an insane number that brings the house down every night. To hear Flor Maria sing her last thoughts to Mon is heart breaking. Since I have to choose, I will put this quote on the top of my list: “Right then you realize that the home you yearn for is…un cuento (a story). Que esa patria que buscas, eres tu mismo (that the homeland you are looking for, is yourself).”

Historical Background

Puerto Rican immigration to Hawaii began when the Caribbean’s sugar industry was devastated by two hurricanes in 1899. The devastation caused a worldwide shortage in sugar and a huge demand for the product from Hawaii. It was then that plantation owners —dominated by Hawaii’s conservative, fiercely commercial, and politically influential “Big Five” sugar conglomerate— began to recruit jobless but experienced Puerto Rican cane laborers. On 22 November 1900, the first group of Puerto Ricans began their long and unpleasant journey. They set sail from San Juan harbor to New Orleans, then boarded on railroad to Los Angeles, and shipped again across the Pacific. According to the press, the Puerto Ricans were mistreated and starved along the way. They arrived in Honolulu on 23 December 1900, and were assigned to work at different plantations throughout the archipelago. By 1901, 5,000 Puerto Rican men, women, and children called Hawaii their new home. That community has endured and multiplied, and now exceeds 30,000.