Interview with Wanda Arroyo, audience member

By Arnaldo Lopez

Arnaldo Lopez: Thank you for agreeing to participate. First, I’ll ask you to introduce yourself and then tell us how you first learned about Pregones and how long ago.

Wanda Arroyo: My name is Wanda Arroyo and I heard about Pregones through a friend who was hired to work there, this was about two years ago.

AL: Priscilla?

WA: Yes, Priscilla Aguilar. She always spoke to me about the theater, and even though I was interested, it really was something new for me. I remember that once we went to a theater outside the Bronx, Priscilla, a friend, my husband and I. I had a great time. It was my first experience with the theater, because in Puerto Rico I had gone, but I was very young and it was in school; it’s not the same to go to a professional theater production. I had always heard about the theater in Manhattan and I was always interested, but I never gave myself the opportunity to go. So, the first time that I went with Priscilla, I was very impressed to see how these people handled themselves [on stage] in that small theater.

AL: The PRTT [Puerto Rican Traveling Theater]?

WA: Yes, the PRTT in Manhattan. That was my first experience, and I fell in love with it.

AL: Nice.

WA: Then my second visit to the theater was to Pregones, I went there, invited by Priscilla, and it was fabulous. From the beginning, it was a super experience. I asked her why they only had a certain time in which they had presentations and not all year – because I don’t really know how that works. She explained to me that there is a theater season in which the shows take place. She also told me that the seasons are five or six months long because they [the ensemble] also travel. For me it was fabulous. I love it. I went to see two shows, or monologues, is it? With only one actor?

AL: Right.

WA: That for me is so impressive, because it’s not the same to see two or three actors on stage than to see only one person, that for me was – wow! – incredible, incredible.

AL: How many shows have you seen ?

WA: In Pregones, I think five, plus the one at PRTT. Before that I had never been to a professional theater.

AL: I understand that when you went, you organized a group, right?

WA: Correct.

AL: That was some time later?

WA: That was later. That was after I had experimented twice on my own. Yes, and later Priscilla asked me if we could put a group together, and so my husband and I took on the task of creating a group. We put a group together of about 50 people, and it was all very successful. They always ask me when we’re going to the next show, they are always looking forward to it. When the season ended, a lot of people had been left out, because my husband and I have a huge circle of friends and we aimed for 50, which is the amount Priscilla had suggested. But I think we ended up bringing more than 50 on one occasion. The people we brought along with us were amazed and loved it, and they are always on the lookout and they always say to us "sign me up for the next show."

AL: Can you tell me about the group? Are they friends from your neighborhood or from work? Are they Latinos?

WA: Yes. Well, they’re not all from work. But we don’t discriminate. I invite some friends from work and my husband invites some people from his job, plus, we also invite people from the community that also go to our church, these are people that we socialize with and share certain activities with. They are a group with whom we are always in contact.

AL: And they are mainly Spanish-speaking?

WA: All of them. They are all Hispanic, some are bilingual, but I would say that about 70% are Hispanic.

AL: How would you describe the atmosphere or the mood in the theater?

WA: When we are in a group?

AL: Yes.

WA: Okay. I can only speak for myself, and for my husband, it’s a shame he’s not here, but for now I’ll speak for the both of us. We like any kind of activity that involves people, we are always involved in that. For us it’s like a mission. We agree to meet at Pregones at 6:00 in the afternoon and at 5:30 p.m. they’re already downstairs anxiously waiting for the moment to get in. On one occasion, the first time, we arrived, I can’t remember which of the plays it was, but we filled up the theater with about 55 persons, not counting the people who were not with us, and we heard music and we all wanted to start dancing, because our friends are very happy, fun people. We like to have good clean fun. In fact, two of the people in our group walked down onto the stage area and started dancing. We loved the fact that they have a little shop, the little Pregones shop. Some of our friends went in and bought things.

Personally, for me, it was a pleasure to have done that. This had nothing to do with doing a favor, we love that stuff. If you ever say to me, "Wanda, you think you want to bring some of your people?" I love that, I really like that environment. This was such a mission because from the moment we began to organize people wanted to be added to the list. [Priscilla] suggested 50 people, and really there’s only room for 50, but when we reached the 50 and the phone kept ringing all through the night, "Hey, you left me out…" or "Please, please, please…". Every night I called Priscilla and gave her an update. "We have 10" or "we have 20". I remember that the night I told her we had 45, she almost cried, "Wanda, I can’t believe it." I told her it was true. And when we showed up at the theater, I told her I thought other people would come and pay at the door. Because I had gotten on the computer and made a huge list and told people they had to pay in advance. It was incredible. Just tell me how many people and how much for the ticket and I’ll be there. Fabulous. For me that is a personal triumph. "Wow, I did it!" And our friends like it, they look forward to it. We are all going to the next show. We’ve already told them, and they’re already asking when and how many. Unfortunately I will not be there because I’m going out of town, but—

AL: Did you know that the season was moved? It’s at a larger space.

WA: Yes, Priscilla told me. In a way I feel a little sad, because the little Pregones Theater [Pregones Studio] is very familiar and it’s very intimate and it’s easy to identify with the person down there [on stage]. I went to see "El bolero fue mi ruina" ["The Bolero Was My Downfall"]. I want to see it again and I’ve been told it will not be part of this season.

AL: Not this one, but I’ve been told it’s coming back.

WA: That was one I went to with my son and my husband. Because I have a 12-year-old son, and my son felt he also identified with the character . He speaks little Spanish, because here in school they don’t speak Spanish, but he understood a lot, and afterward I asked him how it went and how he felt. And for him it was a very [heartfelt] show…

AL: It’s got all that music.

WA: All that music. Beautiful, beautiful. I told them to just let me know and I will fill that house. I identified so strongly, it was a profound experience. I couldn’t get the group together for that show but I did tell Jorge [Merced, the protagonist] directly that next time I will bring a group, so I can take my dear ones.

AL: The piece has been very well received. It’s a difficult subject but it has a lot of heart.

WA: It’s beautiful, I loved it. I felt so close to that character.

AL: Have you stayed a while at the theater after the shows?

WA: Oh boy, let me tell you. You don’t know who you’re dealing with. Just play some music and a couple bottles of water and they will dance all night. We stayed because they gave us a great [post-performance] reception, a beautiful reception, I even had to kick some people out. "Let’s go, time to go, these people have to work tomorrow." Receptions are so much fun. Alvan [Colón Lespier] invited us and shared the time with us, and that’s something you don’t see in big theaters. Actors can’t do that, and that’s what I like so much about Pregones, because it’s really intimate and when it’s over you have the opportunity to talk with the people who put on the show and with others [in the audience].

AL: Did you go to the Trovadores show [part of the Conversations series]?

WA: No, I missed that one.

AL: I missed it too. I want to find someone who has seen it so we can talk about it.

WA: Unfortunately, I couldn’t be there.

AL: That series is going to continue. I think the plans include a flamenco segment, that sounds really nice, and another one on traditional styles of declamation.

WA: I went to see Yuyachkani.

AL: Oh yes, with "Antigone."

WA: I bought the book. I couldn’t do the group thing for that one, either. I’ve taken the group on two or three occasions, I think. I didn’t take the group but I did buy the book. I bought it for myself, and I also bought it as a gift for my closest friends. I have two or three really dear friends who identify with the theater, they like all that stuff.

AL: Was there anyone from Peru in the group?

WA: Not on that occasion. Not then, but, incidentally, I have friends from Peru.

AL: Yuyachkani is coming back this season.

WA: That’s good.

AL: With a bigger piece, four actors plus musicians, it’s called the "Los Músicos Ambulantes" ["The Wandering Players"].

WA: The list is nearly ready. We’re just waiting for instructions. [Laughs.]

AL: You’ve given me a lot of nice material. One thing I’d like to touch upon, perhaps, is whether you can make some comments about the relationship between the audiences and what is being staged, in cultural terms. Why the desire to attend these sorts of programs?

WA: Personally, like I said before, this is something new for me. I’m 33 years old and I had never been interested in this kind of thing. My hobbies were going to the movies, listening to music, reading a book. But I’d never gone to the theater. So then, going to the theater means a new experience, something new to learn. Because I go and I enjoy it, but I’m also learning. I’ve gone to some shows and I’ve learned stuff that I knew nothing about. I’m surprised, I find myself thinking, "I never knew that" or "I never knew it could be like that." Plus, I love the intimate connection between the actor and the audience. In one of the shows I saw, the actor stepped into the audience and made the audience a part of the show and that made me feel comfortable, very comfortable – it made me feel at home, nothing to be afraid of. That’s why when you told me about Hostos [where the 2001 season will be performed] I felt a little like: You’re here and I’m over there. But I know that the actors will later have a reception and we can spend a little time with the actors and that’s one of the things I like.

AL: Did you move [to New York] from Puerto Rico a long time ago or not too long ago?

WA: About nine years.

AL: Nine years. What other connections do you have in terms of Latino cultural events? I wonder if that is part of your attraction to Pregones. How do they fit with other pieces of the cultural that people are being interested in?

WA: I had never been to theater shows in Manhattan because most of them are in English and even though I speak some English it’s easier for me to understand and listen to shows in Spanish. That’s one of the things that I love about Pregones, because everything is in Spanish, and everything is cultural. Not everything is necessarily from Puerto Rico. People think that when you say "theater in Spanish" it means it’s for a certain community, they don’t think that the Latino community includes all the other countries. When I visit the island I try to stay in touch with the cultural stuff and when I’m here I go to see shows that have to do with my culture, and shows that will teach me about other cultures. I’m really interested in that, because I may know about my culture. but I don’t know about the Mexican or Peruvian culture, which are sometimes so similar and other times different. That’s one of the things that attracts me.

AL: This is a pretty general question, but what other type of activities would you like to see in the theater?

WA: What type of activity would attract me?

AL: That you would you like to see.

WA: Honestly, I can’t really say because this is my first time, the first time I’m experiencing the theater. I’ve been to it five or six times and I’m very satisfied with what I’ve seen. What would I like to see? More things from other Latin American countries, not necessarily only from Puerto Rico and Santo Domingo, because I pretty much have those close by, and they are more or less the same. I would like it to be from Ecuador, Peru, as we mentioned. From places where I know they speak Spanish, from Spain… Different things that I don’t know about so that I may learn about other cultures.

AL: Thank you very much. If you have anything to add, please.

WA: No, but thank you very much.

An ensemble-theater scholar born and raised in Puerto Rico, Arnaldo J. Lopez studied English literature, typography and letterpress arts in Pennsylvania, where he also lived and worked as a graphic designer. A Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at NYU, he likes to write on issues of identity, arts and politics.

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