For those of you who feel inclined to the arts, who relish in the feeling of stories: don’t make plans February 9, 10 and 11 at 8 p.m. Fellow FSU student, Cristian Mercado, created a one-act play that revolves around a post-Hurricane Maria Puerto Rican family. El Coqui is a play written and directed by Cristian and will be shown in the Augusta Conradi Studio Theater on campus. I sat down with Cristian to ask him a few questions about his play, his heritage and sharing this very important story.
Her Campus: So, I know the play El Coqui is centered around the recent hurricane. Is there any particular political statement you’re trying to make?
Cristian Mercado: The safe answer is no. But I’m not usually one to try and be safe when it comes to things like this. To be quite blunt, I am trying to show people that what we have seen with regards to the U.S. neglecting the people of Puerto Rico is not uncommon. It is a historical fact that Puerto Rico has been neglected and kicked to the curb by the United States socially, politically and economically. Something needs to change, being a commonwealth just isn’t cutting it anymore.
HC: The inspiration for the play comes from someone very close to you. Can you explain who is Rafael Cancel Miranda and how he helped you create El Coqui?
CM: Rafael Cancel Miranda is my great-grandfather. He is an activist for Puerto Rican Independence and a member of the Puerto Rican Nationalist party. He is also a poet. In fact, it was a poetry book of his that I found in a closet back home in Jacksonville that inspired me to write this play. It was the passion for Puerto Rico that I found in his poetry that really moved me. I realized that many of the struggles that he dealt with back then are the same struggles Puerto Ricans are having now. I don’t want to say too much else about him because I want it to be a surprise when people come and see the show!
HC: Where does the title of the play stem from?
CM: Anyone who is Puerto Rican will instantly understand. El coqui is a small frog native to the island of Puerto Rico that has a very unique and beautiful sound. Every time I went to Puerto Rico I would fall asleep to the sound of el coqui. Pictures of the coqui can be traced back to the Taino Indians, the native people of the island. I chose the sound of the coqui as an entryway into the cultural memory of the island because I believe el coqui to be a fundamental cultural symbol of Puerto Rico. Thus, the perfect title for the show.
HC: What does being Puerto Rican mean to you?
CM: That has always been a very hard question for me. I didn’t really speak Spanish because when I was growing up my dad was learning English, and I didn’t really hang out with other Puerto Ricans. I did eat the food though, and I have to say if you’ve never tried Puerto Rican food, you haven’t lived! So being Puerto Rican to me was kind of this abstract idea until I got into college and really began to explore my own cultural history. Puerto Ricans are so much more than people realize. We are doctors, poets, playwrights, lawyers, authors, the list goes on and on. For me, it means I am a member of a great community that I want to help succeed. I am proud to be Puerto Rican.
HC: What do you hope people can take away from El Coqui?
CM: My mentor always says, “an artist without a cause is no artist at all.” I went into writing this play with the hope that people from all kinds of backgrounds would come to see this show. A show about a small island off the coast of Florida that most people only think of when they want to go on vacation. I want them to see that we are a people, just like the rest of you, and we have been wrongly treated since day one by western imperialist powers. I want people to understand that imperialism and colonialism still exist in the U.S.A. today, but because we live here, nobody talks about it.
I hope you’ll join me in viewing El Coqui and having a great night of story-telling and theatre. The play is an estimated 20-30 minutes and sponsored by the Student Theatre Association and the HLSU.
All images courtesy of Cristian Mercado.