Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Latin History for Morons by John Leguizamo

2019; Johns Hopkins University Press; Volume: 71; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1353/tj.2019.0009

1086-332X

Jimmy A. Noriega,

Latin American and Latino Studies

Reviewed by: Latin History for Morons by John Leguizamo Jimmy A. Noriega LATIN HISTORY FOR MORONS. Created and performed by John Leguizamo. Directed by Tony Taccone. Studio 54, New York City. February 23, 2018. Latin History for Morons is John Leguizamo’s sixth solo performance and the fourth to make it to Broadway (his previous shows include Ghetto Klown, Freak, and Sexaholix . . . a love story). It was developed at Berkeley Repertory Theatre and had a sold-out run at the Public Theater before its transfer to Studio 54. Subsequently, Leguizamo received a special Tony Award, as well as a nomination for best play, for the production, making it one of a handful of Latinx-penned shows ever nominated for a Tony. The celebrated film and television star’s previous accolades include Drama Desk, Obie, and Prime-time Emmy awards for his monodramas, which make him one of the most successful Latinx solo performers of his generation. Leguizamo is known for his energetic stage persona, ability to transition quickly among multiple, eccentric, and over-the-top characters, and self-deprecating humor. He brings to each of his solo endeavors a combination of autobiography and Latinx-centric storytelling that sheds light on the complexities of living as a person of Latin American descent in the United States. He does not shy away from ethnic stereotypes or embarrassing tales about sex and love, and his ability to recount childhood stories of poverty, abuse, and self-discovery make him as relatable as he is hilarious. In his latest endeavor, the protagonist comes across as a more mature version of his previous iterations, if only for the fact that the audience gets to see him through the not-so-flattering eyes of his two children. Click for larger view View full resolution John Leguizamo gives a history lesson in Latin History for Morons. (Photo: Joan Marcus.) The premise of the show is simple: Leguizamo is trying to help his son find a “Latin” hero for a school history project. This sets the father on a frenzied journey whereby he tries to learn about the histories of Indigenous peoples in the Americas, their colonization by Spain, and the subsequent contributions of Latinx people to US history. This timeline—what he refers to as 1,000 b.c. to the Age of Pitbull—becomes the basis of the lecture he provides to the audience and a primer for understanding the ways that Latinx history is omitted from our public education system. In many ways, the performance is an embodied work of archaeology, with Leguizamo extracting forgotten and unknown figures from history to present them to a US audience in need of (re)education. The first part of the performance focused mainly on the largest Indigenous cultures of the Americas: the Taíno, Maya, Aztec, and Inca civilizations. In each vignette, which featured Leguizamo performing Indigenous and European characters, the audience receives a general description of some of the achievements of each culture and its subsequent colonization by the Spanish. Although he was representing stories about cultural destruction, rape, and ethnic genocide, Leguizamo somehow managed to walk the fine line between comedy and offense. This was perhaps only possible because he clearly [End Page 100] stated at the top of the show that his mission was to bring attention to historical omissions, and to do so by giving primacy to non-European perspectives. Click for larger view View full resolution John Leguizamo as the king of Spain in Latin History for Morons. (Photo: Joan Marcus.) One of the weaknesses of this approach was that the history presented sometimes felt rushed or over-generalized, although it must be noted that this grand lecture occurs in just ninety minutes. Take, for instance, the first half of the show, in which Leguizamo relied upon over-romanticized notions of Indigeneity. His Native characters were often cast as mythical and essentialist representations of nobility and self-sacrifice. The Taínos, for example, were represented as cute and peaceful, and the Inca warriors who defended Emperor Atahualpa as he was executed under the orders of Pizarro were nothing less than fearless, brave, and loyal. The scene about the conquest of Mexico, however, interrogated the...