United States of Banana Theater production, Columbia Stages, New York City, 2015.

United States of Banana: Postcolonial Theater

“United States of Banana: A Postcolonial Dramatic Fiction” (2015)
By Juan Pablo Félix, theater director

EXCERPT

“I think the notion of dreaming in a time where we are told that it is foolish, futile or not useful is one of the most revolutionary things we can do. To have our lives determined by our dreams of a free world–instead of reactions to a state-imposed reality–is one of
the most powerful tools of decolonization.”

― Harsha Walia, Undoing Border Imperialism

“Catholics, Muslims and Jews, we all used to live together in the middle ages in Spain—but some witchcraft broke the enchantment of camaraderie—and now we’re boiling in the cauldron of the dungeon of liberty”.
― Giannina Braschi, United States of Banana

[an excerpt from a dissertation on adapting and directing Giannina Braschi’s postcolonial tragicomedy United States of Banana in New York City]

“I wish I had planned it all. I wish I had had any kind of control. There was so much doubt, however. So much chaos and creative hesitation. With such confidence our intuition guided us, that all I have now is public gratitude and a secret smile.

This is a recollection of the process of staging the play “United States of Banana” based on the original text written by Puerto Rican author Giannina Braschi. This work has been widely praised by academics both in and outside the United States and has opened new spaces to reflect on the ideas that concern the Latino population living in the US. These literary expressions are the sign of a vital community that is slowly assuming a historical role in the shaping of the most powerful nation in the planet.

United States of Banana Theater Production at Columbia Stages, 2015.

Since I consider theater to be a social thermometer, I chose this play as my thesis project to testify about the state of affairs regarding the situation of Puerto Rico. Its lack of sovereignty and self-regulation constitute a metaphor about the foreign policy the government of the United States has exercised in many countries, but especially in Latin America. However, it is also time to set our own proposals over the table and abandon the paternalist model that justifies and supports our attitude of beneficiaries of the charities coming from the first world.

In this play, characters from Classical literature become symbols of entire races and populations to polish a gigantic mirror in which we can look at ourselves. Despite its scathing humor and harrowing critique, the text helped us create a performative event in which we all, creators and spectators, shared a common responsibility: that of contributing to making a world that is fairer and a society that finds hope more easily…” Juan Pablo Felix

tags: postdramatic theatre, postcolonial theater, Puerto Rican playwrights, latinx theater, Puerto Rican theater plays, Boricua theater, Estados Unidos de Banana,

United States of Banana: Postcolonial Theater

United States of Banana theatre links