Mesa College’s Theatre Company came together the weekend of Oct 24th to the 26th to perform: Just Like Us. Written by Karen Zacarias and directed by Kris Clark.
Just Like Us was an emotional and real-life representation of Chicanx immigrant children growing up in the United States, presenting themes of racism, xenophobia, assimilation, and even division between one’s own community.
The story is based on the bestselling novel by Helen Thorpe, Just like Us, consisting of the lives of four Chicana teenagers: Marisela, Yadira, Clara, and Elisa.
It covers their experience as Mexican immigrants in Denver CO, but in Marisela’s and Yadira’s case, as paperless immigrants. They became friends in high school and all, except Elisa, attended DU, where they wrestled with the hardships immigrants go through to live in this country. These included not being able to afford college or due to not receiving financial aid, extreme social conditions, constant fear, diluting one’s cultural identity to fit in, and racial profiling goes without saying.
The cast played their roles beautifully. Some members by the names of Natasha Polendey-Rodriquez, Leah DeWitte, Keely Harvey, Diego Portillo, Osvaldo Moreno, and Aragon Paradiso-Francis had to play multiple characters, which were also played seamlessly. The intention and thought they put into their acting had the audience capture the message clearly, even those who don’t exactly relate to any of the scenes.
“Sometimes the best way I can help is just to listen… listen to what they have to say”, mentioned an audience member, as the cast opened the floor to an open conversation between cast and audience.
This exchange of experiences and anecdotes between the room allowed for interesting insight from those who could compare moments in their lives to scenes in the play.
“I can relate my life to the police scene,” I myself answered, relating my experiences to a scene that featured Marisela, the protagonist, getting stopped by police whilst fearing for her future, potential deportation, and worse, police brutality. “I fear the police more than I feel safe by them. Although they are law enforcers, I’m more scared of them than anything back home in Mexico and in the States.”
More audience members, as well as the cast, opened up their hearts to the room. Those who did not say anything were listening attentively, which was just as engaging as speaking.
The crew was later asked, “What does the name ‘Just Like Us’ mean to you?”
“You are an immigrant, I am too,” said Sonya Ayers, who played Yadira Vargas, “I don’t have one single memory of Mexico, I’m just saying I am just like these people, but not exactly.” She continues.
She concludes her answer by saying, “ We may have different cultures, different ideals, and different aims, but at the root of it all, we’re all just human.”
The play concluded with a sound ending. It featured Marisela finding herself through her experience as an immigrant. She was never meant to assimilate.
Her identity includes everything it picked up while being dragged along one side of the border to another, with no reason to choose whether she’s from “here or there”.
This story is retold every single day, with every immigrant enduring hardships in America. Just Like Us reminds those who witnessed it that, no matter who you are or in what document your name was written down at birth, we are all human. We all adopt culture, we all remain in community, and you are just like us.