Skip to main content

Kiss My Mistletoe



I went with my husband to see Josefina's Lopez's latest play Kiss My Mistletoe at CASA 0101. It was as hilarious as it was outrageous. Kiss My Mistletoe pokes fun of issues women face during the holidays. The show was broken up into 12 skits that ranged in themes from nosy family members inquiring about why they aren't married yet, TSA pat downs, to food cravings during the holidays. The scenes were as bold and daring as Josefina herself. I was gasping "Oh my God!" and laughing to a point of tears when Josefina was getting patted down in a skit.


What I loved the most about this experience was the interaction between the audience (made up of mostly women) and the actors on stage. We were shocked and laughing so hard, the actors reacted to our loud roars. It made them chuckle and have to pause before they could continue with their lines. That moment, sitting there in the audience, reminded me of a scene from one of my favorite movies, Cinema Paradiso.


In Cinema Paradiso, a filmmaker goes back to visit his hometown and recalls when he fell in love with movies at his village's theater and formed a close friendship with the theater's projectionist. For several decades, the theater brought the people together and was the heart of the community. There’s a warm scene in the movie where the villagers are at this quaint Sicilian the theatre, enjoying a movie and rolling with laughter. CASA 0101 reminds me of the theater from the movie Cinema Paradiso.


The skits were a reflection of our culture and our times. Hollywood couldn't have produced a movie quick enough to poke fun of TSA pat downs, and our stories are unrepresented on the big screen. That's why local theater houses are so critical. Grassroots theater houses such as Casa 0101 in Boyle Heights, or Breath of Fire Theatre Ensemble in Santa Ana bring the community together to celebrate our culture and share our stories.

CASA 0101
http://www.casa0101.org/

Breath of Fire Latina Theatre Ensemble
http://www.breathoffire.org/



Theme Song from Cinema Paradiso

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Eat, Pray, Love

I finally finished Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. It was a breathtakingly beautiful book. It reminded me of my own spiritual journey which I have been in for the last couple of years. Spiritual living is not a destination but a way of living. I recommend the book. I hope you are far along enough on your own spiritual journey to capture the depths of this book. I've heard the book gets mixed reviews. Some people just don't get it. Like Eckhart Tolle’s New Earth, you most likely have to have some higher-level of consciousness to grasp the message of the book, and it takes a while to get through the book because you want to stop and reflect. Elizabeth Gilbert takes you on a soul-searching journey with intimate details you would share only with a bestfriend.

Life Hack: DIY Bleacher Seat Cushion

One of the staples I keep in the truck of my car is my DIY bleacher seat cushion. Its a flat thin recyclable bag with a folded picnic blanket inside. This DIY is so simple, it seems too common sense to blog about. But I will since it phases me why anyone would buy one of those foam seat cushions I see on sale at sporting good stores and events. This one is on sale for $15! My DIY bleach seat cusion is way more functional than a manufactured bleacher seat cushion which has only one purpose. Having a blanket conviently stored inside makes it multifunctional.  You have a blanket on hand for those chilly early morning meets. And any time we are at outdoor events with my mom or inlaws, I'm prepared for the evening cold for them as well.  A shade for the afternoon sun. Fold it length wise for a multiple seat cushion, to reserve extra seat space, or to spread out your legs. (As a track mom of three sons, I can been on the bleachers for hours. I'm writing this bl

Detained In The Desert

I went to see Josefina Lopez’s  world premier play, “ Detained In The Desert ”. Josefina, known for her popular Real Women Have Curves, was vacationing in Arizona when SB 1070 was passed. She was unable to go to protest rallies held that night because of prior family commitments but Josefina had it in her heart to do something.  In the five years between 2003 and 2007, there was a 40 percent increase in crimes against Latinos. It’s no wonder considering the proliferation of “hate talk” that spews off the radio, TV, and internet and aims at infuriating the masses. In a climate saturated with negative propaganda, fear mongering, and increasing violence, what one would consider a random act of violence is in reality not so random after all. When we create a society that is so pitted against one another, our chance encounters become unavoidable collisions between unsuspecting individuals caught within the biome of the conflicted society in which we live. It’s like walking into a room with