Latinos take center stage in new Garden Theatre play
When the play “Destiny of Desire” opens today at the Garden Theatre, audiences will encounter love, infidelity, revenge — and a power-hungry beauty queen with a penchant for stealing babies. But behind the onstage twists and turns in Winter Garden lies cultural significance: The new comedy, written by Mexican playwright Karen Zacarías, features an all-Latino cast and director.
Despite Central Florida’s burgeoning Hispanic population, it’s almost unheard of locally to see that many Latino faces in a play written in English. It’s the first time the Garden has produced such a Latino-centric show, which caused the theater to find 10 actors with Hispanic heritage, all brand new to the Garden.
Latino casting “doesn’t happen as much as I’d like to see it happen,” said veteran Cuban-American director Paul Castaneda of Winter Park. “All the theater companies in town should look at the diversity of actors and audience members here.”
Orange, Seminole, Lake and Osceola counties are home to more than 500,000 Latinos, ac-
cording to 2010 Census data. The area has several Spanish-language troupes, and Orlando’s Mad Cow Theatre presents a series of play readings in Spanish.
But producing Latino-focused works for a non-Latino audience is a different ballgame.
“I think people get a little scared of the unknown,” said Melissa Crespo, the show’s director.
“Destiny of Desire” examines a staple — some might say obsession — of Latino culture: the telenovela. (That’s where the powerhungry beauty queen comes in.)
Telenovelas are similar to U.S. prime-time soap operas, except they have have a definite end in mind when they start. Exported around the world, they are watched by millions and fill Spanish-language networks’ prime-time schedules.
“Embracing the passion of our culture with the telenovela is a must,” said Crespo, who is based in New York.
“Pretty much from 7-10 p.m., most Latinos don’t expect to see anything else,” said “Destiny of Desire” actor Alina Alcantara, who grew up in New York watching the programs with her mother and grandmother.
“No one is allowed to call,” Crespo interjected.
“No guests, ‘don’t talk to me,’ ” recalled Alcantara, with a laugh. She spent six years in the Dominican Republic and moved to Orlando two years ago.
Amid their campy fun, telenovelas also touch on social issue, such as birth control and women’s rights. “They were the first to talk about safe sex and are starting to introduce gay characters,” said Zacarías, who lives in Washington, D.C.
Similarly, “Destiny of Desire” mixes the fun of telenovelas with deeper issues.
“We’re using comedy as social commentary, as a way to push people to change,” she said.
Zacarías was inspired to write “Destiny of Desire” in 2015 as a way to change the conversation about Latinothemed theater. She despairs when writers use the word “telenovela” to describe a play — almost always with derogatory intent. She shudders at the cliched use of words such as “spicy” or “caliente” (hot) to describe Latino art forms. “Don’t use any words that describe food,” she says sternly.
Equally important, Zacarías wanted to give a voice to her heritage.
“I like writing plays that show people who have not been represented on stage very often,” she said. “This is a reminder that Latino stories are part of the American story. We’re latecomers, but we’re part of the American canon.”
“There’s something educational and very ‘melting pot’ to be able to present works about Latinos in English,” Castaneda said. “It creates bonds across cultures that really strengthens us all.”
In 2015, with a mostly Latino cast that included Alcantara, Castaneda directed a local production of “In the Heights,” a Broadway musical about New York City’s Dominican community. He was inundated with actors who wanted a role outside the norm.
“They usually get to play the gardener, the gang leader or the maid,” Zacarías said of Latino performers. “These are the roles these super-talented people get.”
The success of “In the Heights” proves there’s a local audience for such cultural fare, Castaneda said.
“They’re there,” he said. “The challenge is reaching out to them with material they relate to.”
To reach as wide an audience as possible, the Garden created a task force with Hispanic leaders to better “embrace the culture,” said marketing manager Matt Heim. That resulted in partnerships with the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metro Orlando and the Telemundo TV network.
“Destiny of Desire” is accessible to anyone who enjoys comedy, said Crespo and Alcantara. But don’t be surprised if you pick up on something more.
“When you leave, you’ll have a smile on your face and be humming the theme song, but perhaps your heart and mind will be a little more open,” Alcantara said.
“It is a volatile landscape, in terms of cultural representation,” added Crespo. “Love and laughter are the way we can come together now.”