American Theater Magazine: ‘This Is Why We Tell Stories’: 3 Afro-Latina Playwrights on Their Off-Broadway Debuts

What is the significance of three Afro-Latina playwrights all having their New York City stage debut within a month or so of each other? This extraordinary moment carries with it decades of hard work and determination, as well as the high expectations of a community striving for accurate representation. It also reflects a shift in theatre culture, with the emergence of Afro-Latine voices bringing new forms of storytelling to the stage.

The Off-Broadway debuts of Sancocho by Christin Eve Cato at WP Theater (in a co-production with the Latinx Playwrights Circle and the Sol Project, now running through April 23), Vámonos by Julissa Contreras at Intar Theatre (April 22-May 21), and Bees & Honey by Guadalís Del Carmen, a co-pro with the Sol Project at MCC Theater (May 4-June 11), mark the culmination of years of labor, manifestation, and possible ancestral intervention for these three artists. All three have been produced widely: Cato by Road Theatre Company and the Latinx Playwrights Circle, Carmen by Aguijón Theater and UrbanTheater Company, and Contreras by Middle Voice Theater Company (she is also the creator and producer of the podcast Ladies Who Bronché).

The topic of Afro-Latine representation hit a cultural height around the 2021 release of the movie adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s stage musical In The Heights. Audiences noticed the scarcity of dark-skinned Afro-Latine actors in lead roles, sparking conversations across all corners of the internet about the intersection of Black and Latine identities, as well as colorism within the Latine community.

Sancocho, Bees & Honey, and Vámonos all touch on the experience of being Black within Latinidad, on colorism within families of different shades and skin types, and on the importance of owning and claiming one’s Blackness. It’s a rare opportunity for Afro-Latine folks, who are too often marginalized within an already marginalized identity, to be seen.

This chance to represent their community on an NYC stage has been a long time coming for Cato and Contreras, who are NY natives, and Carmen, who is based in NYC but was raised in Chicago. With these productions, three unique artists with vital stories to tell about family, love, and healing take centerstage. 

I had the privilege of facilitating a conversation between Christin, Julissa, and Guadalís about their plays and how they are feeling about having their Off-Broadway debuts alongside each other. What follows are edited excerpts of that conversation.