On April 29th, I had the absolute pleasure of seeing a performance of the play, “The Mexican OC: Triumphs and Contributions of Orange County’s Mexican Communities. “It was the first time I had ever gone to see a theatrical performance of any kind. Directed and written by Sara Guerrero in collaboration with Heather Enriquez, Apolonio Morales, Cristina Nava, and Elizabeth Szekeresh, the play recounts historical stories of our community’s triumphs and struggles. “The Mexican OC,” navigates through such history via its two main characters, “Yolanda Gomez,” an indignant woman searching for an unjustly ignored history and “Debi Murillo,” a pocha real estate agent. The two clash in a confrontation during the opening scene that underscores a fundamental paradox of Orange County. The subject matter that the play dealt with, coupled with the charged atmosphere of our nation’s current immigration debate, was more than enough enticement for me to go.

Before I headed out to El Centro Cultural de Mexico in Santa Ana, where the play was showing for a six-night run, I watched an episode of “The Real Housewives of Orange County.” For purely comparative reasons, I contrasted the leisurely lives of those women living in Coto de Caza, one of Orange County’s richest communities, with that of the gripping second scene of the play, “The Not So Modest Modesta.” The scene focused on Modesta Avila, a San Juan Capistrano woman who in the late 1800’s resisted the Sante Fe Railroad running through her land in by hanging a clothes line of wet laundry. Avila was eventually sentenced to prison where she would die two years later due to the poor conditions she was incarcerated in. The archival research that is the foundation of the play’s first act was met by the talented and impassioned portrayal of Modesta Avila by actress Analy Garcia. Garcia brought Modesta’s moral desperation, religiosity, and sorrows back from the forgotten pages of history in a compelling manner.

Avila’s act of resistance was a history I was previously unaware of. Another of Act One’s compelling scenes, however, was a history that I was aware of; that of Mendez vs. Westminster. The case challenged the segregation of Mexican children in Orange County schools years before Brown vs. The Board of Education, yet remains obscured by mainstream history. It’s also something my high school history teacher woefully ignored. In the play’s retelling, actor Alejandro Lara’s voice accentuates Gonzalo Mendez Sr.’s simple yet determined call for desegregated schools on behalf of his children.

Act Two mixed history with current issues with protagonists who I have come to know personally. OC Weekly columnist, Gustavo Arellano has his infamously funny column, “Ask A Mexican,” adapted. Rueben Martinez, a recent MacArthur award recipient and owner of Libreria Martinez is also portrayed. His is a story of activism against Miller Lite’s ads aimed at targeting the Mexican community, in particular its youth. Lara, who plays the part of Martinez, recites that selling books makes one rich in the soul and not in the pocket. I, for one, have been enriched by the presence of Libreria Martinez as I’ve been going there since I was 17 years old. Coyotl Tezcatlipoca’s ordeal at Costa Mesa’s City Hall is featured in the play as well. However, it’s a backdrop to Coyotl’s experiences of alienation on the elementary playgrounds of Orange County. The scene made me remember the time when I was in 3rd grade. I was grabbed by the collar of my jean jacket by my principle and told with scorn, “Why do you people always dress like you’re getting in trouble?”

I don’t want to give the wrong impression. Though “The Mexican OC,” delves into weighty historical issues of triumphs and tragedies, it is lighthearted most of the time. Interspersed with biting humor, the play will get you laughing out loud. “The Mexican OC,” is heralded by OC Weekly’s Joel Beers as, “One of the most significant plays in Orange County theater.” I echo his sentiments.

And if that’s not enough, the play couldn’t have come at a better time. In fact, I saw the performance just two days before Santa Ana would see a massive convergence of tens of thousands of immigrants marching on May Day. Personally, being torn between going to Los Angeles or Santa Ana to demonstrate, I ultimately choose the latter after seeing the play. On May 1st, as I made my way to Santa Ana’s Plaza de Banderas, I ran into the play’s director, Sara Guerrero by chance. We were both there to rally for the rights of the undocumented. For us and countless others, there is still history to be made in the Mexican OC.

Check www.themexicanoc.org for more information and possible upcoming performances