From the Heart : Latinos Draw on Personal Experiences for Roles in College Play

THOUSAND OAKS — When Elsa Soto heard that her university planned to stage a shockingly realistic play about the plight of illegal immigrants, she couldn’t believe it.

“What?” she demanded of her Latino friends as flyers for the play “De Donde?” plastered the campus. “They are doing this play at Cal Lutheran?”

Her reaction typified that of the school’s growing Latino population, which says that any event at the small Lutheran school reflecting their collective experiences as second- generation immigrants is a welcome rarity.

To these students, some of them not yet citizens who recall their parents’ stories about crossing the border, the play was a chance to show the true reasons why immigrants flock to the United States and perhaps dispel some of the rancor left in the wake of Proposition 187.

“This play will let people know that illegal aliens are not just here to steal people’s jobs,” said Javier Avila, a 21-year-old language major.

The drama, which won a prestigious award for new plays, will premiere tonight at Cal Lutheran University with several Latino students in its cast. The play’s Spanish name asks, “Where are you from?”

It takes place at an Immigration and Naturalization Service processing station, where Latinos caught trying to cross the border are held until they either receive asylum or are sent back to their own countries.

The characters in the play come to the United States with harrowing stories: a Salvadoran teen-ager trying to escape torture by a CIA-backed government, a Salvadoran woman fleeing after police killed most of her family in retaliation for her brother’s anti-government activities, and a Guatemalan soldier deserting his country after he was forced to carry out orders to destroy a village.

The actors acknowledge that their families, most of them from Mexico, did not suffer persecution to that degree. But they say another sort of oppression--economic hardship--brought them here.

The desire of some Latino students to participate in the play was so strong that, though never drawn to acting, they decided to risk a new challenge.

A liberal arts and psychology major, Soto said she had never thought of acting. It’s the message she is consumed with.

“I said I don’t care if I have to sweep the floor,” she said. “This is part of who I am, part of my culture, so I should take part in it. People will see this and it will make a difference.”

Veronica Garcia, a 20-year-old English and religion major, said that since she and the other Latino actors draw on personal experiences, their performances will be more passionate.

One of Avila’s relatives once helped guide Mexicans across the border. Soto’s “auntie” was missing for three weeks after attempting to cross the border in 1990. She was eventually found wandering in Tijuana after being left in the mountains by the man who was to guide her across the border.

Garcia herself was smuggled into the United States when she was 2 years old by her mother.

“I can relate because my mother had to cross the border,” she said.

These students are now legal residents or citizens.

School officials were surprised by the Latino students’ reaction to the play, saying the school has a long tradition of open discussion.

“I guess that means it is good that we are doing it,” said Dennis Johnson, vice president of enrollment and student life. “We have always looked for ways for our students to experience things beyond just talking about them.”

Tucked in the eastern hills of Ventura County, the small, liberal arts institution has seen its population of Latino students nearly double in the past eight years. The school now has 200 Latino students--or 12% of the 1,700-student campus.

When Ken Gardner, chairman of the university’s drama department, decided to stage the play, he hoped to draw Latino students to the theater, where their presence had been scarce in his 10 years at the school.

So he went straight to the Latin American Student Assn. and asked for help. About a dozen members auditioned, most of whom will take part in the play.

Other students said the play gave them a glimpse of a life they hardly knew existed.

“It really opened my eyes,” said Lawrence Rodriguez, an 18-year-old drama student. “I was so surprised by what is going on in other countries, I didn’t think I was that blind.”