Epsilon Chapter in the News
November 14, 2002

http://www.dailytargum.com/main.cfm?include=detail&storyid=324821

Sorority sponsors 'Yo Soy Latina'
Jean Lee

More than 100 people gathered Wednesday at College Hall in the Livingston Student Center for "Yo Soy Latina," a play emphasizing the importance of knowing and understanding Latino culture.

Celebrating its 15th anniversary at Rutgers, the Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority sponsored the event and felt the play was essential in understanding the various experiences of Latinas living in the United States, said Jane Ortiz, LTA vice president.

Linda Nieves-Powell, the play's writer and producer, is a free-lance writer for Latina and Estylo Magazines and is the '94 and '95 winner of the HBO New Writers Project. In 1997, she started the play by writing a 10-minute monologue and posting it on the Internet. The monologue now appears in the beginning of the play, according to the Planet Latino Web site.

After receiving hundreds of e-mails from Latinas across the country who said they had been touched and were proud of what they were reading, Nieves-Powell decided to interview Latinas nationwide ranging from 18-70 years old, she said.

"I felt like we were all saying the same thing whether we were dark-skin or fair-skin," Nieves-Powell said. "So I decided to write a play inspired by the monologue. No one knows what a Latino really is because there are so many different types of Latinos, so this play has been inspiring and teaching people at the same time."

The play features six Latinas, all from different ethnic backgrounds, who share experiences of what it is like to be a Latina living in the United States. The play emphasizes the importance of being united within the Latino community in order to grow as a whole, the cast said.

"I see a little bit of me in every Latina," said Lina Sarrapochiello, who played Alicia Blanca in the show.

Susan Ortiz, who played Soledad Tejeda, said she felt the play was most important for college students. "[Students] are the people that if they really get it right, they make change happen," she said. "We're just putting in the seeds and, hopefully, it's going to grow into this big thing. And little by little, our community will continue to grow until we unite."

The show brought audiences from the University and higher education institutions such as Monmouth and Temple Universities, from which different Latino greek organizations came to show support. Although the play was mainly directed toward Latinas, some men who attended the show said they were able to relate to the play.

"I thought the play was great. The women out there portrayed a message that's more than just for women — it's for all Latinos to come together as one, as a unit, in unity," said Jayson Santiago, a Monmouth student.

Jane, a Livingston College student, said she hoped the play would "open up as many eyes to the faculty, staff and to the students of how important [Latino] culture is for the University and for the community."

Livingston College junior Gisela Castro, president of LTA, said she felt the play was a good chance for women to relate to other Latinas. "I think the turnout was good, and it gave women a chance to identify with the women on stage."

Nieves-Powell said she hopes the audience will get the play's message: "You have the power to be whatever you want to be regardless [of] what people think you should be."