As the festive notes of a guitar fill the room, and smartly dressed men and women set up towers of tamales that threaten to overwhelm their containers, it feels for a moment as if nothing could go wrong in the world of Andrea Thome’s rapturous “Fandango for Butterflies (and Coyotes).”
But the truth is that most of the characters in this En Garde Arts production are undocumented immigrants gathering in a church on the eve of an ICE raid that threatens their presence in the United States.
They are there for a fandango, a traditional gathering in which musicians, dancers and guests take turns performing on a wooden platform surrounded by the others. Inspired by stories of real-life immigrants (including Sinuhé Padilla, who wrote the songs and portrays a musician), Thome’s play is a sensitive portrait of the in-between: characters balancing the small joys of everyday life with the fear of uncertainty.
At the center of the festivities is Mariposa (Jen Anaya), who has become the unofficial leader of this immigrant community. As Anaya portrays her, Mariposa (the word for butterfly in Spanish) is the embodiment of Zen, all sweet smiles and softly spoken responses. But look closely at her careful movements and alert eyes and Anaya also reveals anxiety. She is not exempt from the terror.
Still, she encourages others to let the music of the fandango transport them to a place beyond panic. And as they step up onto the platform, cast members both perform and share their stories of border crossing.
Originating in Spain, fandangos gained prominence when the conquistadors brought the tradition to Mexico. They are common in Veracruz, where composers created the son, jarocho and jarabe, upbeat genres that revolve around guitars and tap dancing. Less common in Latin America, the musical gatherings have been adopted by Latinx immigrants in the United States, who use them to quench their thirst for the culture they left behind.
When Rafaela (Silvia Dionicio) explains that she can’t stay for the fandango because she’s Dominican, Pili (a scene-stealing Frances Ines Rodriguez), who is of Mexican descent, counters: “You don’t have parties? With music, dancing and food?”
Rafaela stays, of course; who would refuse an offer of such merriment? And we in the audience are invited to partake in the singing and dancing with the cast after the play is over. But under the astute direction of Jose Zayas, it is clear that this a bittersweet get-together: We tap our feet to the music but also to the unease of not knowing what awaits the characters.
In between songs, dread fills the room, Beckett-style, as attendees wonder when their loved ones will arrive. Honduran cousins Rogelio (an extraordinary Carlo Albán, who you might remember from “Sweat”) and Elvin (Andrés Quintero) are expecting Johan (Roberto Tolentino), who just took the trip across the border.
We hear Johan’s story in a riveting scene in which Marcelo Añez’s harrowing sound design, Lucrecia Briceno’s lighting and Johnny Moreno’s projections converge to show us the way in which the faintest light provides hope.
The light here is music, as Johan remembers how the ominous sounds of the freight train in which he traveled started to sound like drumbeats.
Following its premiere at La MaMa, where I saw it, “Fandango for Butterflies (and Coyotes)” will be presented in every borough of New York, in the hope of reaching immigrant communities and audiences who don’t always go to the theater. May they come to realize there are maladies that can only be healed by a guitar.
Fandango for Butterflies (and Coyotes)
Through March 28 at various locations; engardearts.org. Running time: 1 hour 30 minutes.
Source: Theater - nytimes.com
