di·as·po·ra - noun: the dispersion of any people from their original homeland.
"We are all yoleros… looking for that new beginning. " – Alex Vásquez Escaño
HOLA-award winning Spanish-language play is coming to The Bushwick Starr
Right now, immigration is the hot-button issue in America. All day long, talking heads spew out rhetoric on TV. Politicians argue for our votes. News programs flash out-of-focus pictures of border crossings and weave boogey-man narratives about foreigners coming to take American jobs and destroy our way of life. More often than not, the immigrant is portrayed as a faceless character – the Rorschach manifestation of America’s xenophobic imagination.
Left-wing pundits respond with the cliché, “We are a nation of immigrants.” While perhaps well intentioned, this phrase is both inaccurate and equally dehumanizing. More accurately, we are a nation of diasporic peoples. Referring to America as “a nation of immigrants” disrespects those who came to this country because they had no other choice. Slaves and their descendants are not immigrants. Political and religious refugees are not immigrants. Victims of extreme poverty and global inequality are not immigrants. These are people who have been displaced – for many different reasons. Fetishizing the immigrant experience strips these individuals of their humanity and the power of their individual stories.
Growing up in the Dominican Republic, writer Alex Vásquez Escaño heard about people taking “yolas” -- tiny boats used to ferry Dominicans across the Mona Passage to Puerto Rico. This dangerous journey became the inspiration for Yoleros. Yoleros tells the story of three Dominicans, Maximo, Demecio, and Dinora who risk their lives to sail for America in order to escape a reality with no future. Vásquez Escaño explains, “I was trying to write an honest story about people who go through these challenges…. I feel that many times we dismiss them because of how they go about looking for this new beginning without understanding the factors that push them in the first place.” For director, Martin Balmaceda, Yoleros "is very important, especially for those who decide to emigrate and leave their countries to find a new beginning."
Fresh off winning a 2015 HOLA Award for Best Ensemble Cast, audiences eagerly await Yoleros’ return December 17-19 at The Bushwick Starr Theater. Supporters of Latino theatre are excited to see such a relevant project coming to Brooklyn’s Spanish-speaking diasporic community. However, Yoleros needs your help. Vásquez Escaño produced Yoleros independently in March of this year through his production company Teatrica without the support of a grant or theatre organization.

NOW it’s OUR turn and Brooklyn Gypsies and The Bushwick Starr are bringing it to BUSHWICK BROOKLYN. Without proper funding for props, costumes, set-design, promotion, and technical equipment Yoleros cannot happen. In the words of Vásquez Escaño, “We are all yoleros. We all, at some point of our lives, look for that new beginning.” This is your chance to help Latino artists achieve a new beginning by bringing truth to their stories and our diasporic community. WATCH OUR VIDEO and support both by contributing online and in the audience December 17-19 at The Bushwick Starr. See you there!
GYPSY SPOTLIGHT
Olander “Big O” Wilson is a actor, stand up comedian, and stage manager from Lake City, South Carolina. Big O graduated from USC with a Bachelor's in Theatre and Public Relations. His favorite credits include Yellowman, The Lost and Blue Bloods. In May 2014, he took his talents to NYC with $50 in his pocket and a dream. After his side-splitting performance in Ghetto Hors D'oeuvres: Borders Collide, Big O joined the Brooklyn Gypsies family as full-time team member. Working both on and off-stage for the company, in 2016, Big O will stage manage Nick E Finn’s debut one-man-show “The Last Hipster in Brooklyn” and BG’s Conversation Part 2: Latino.
COMING UP SOON ON THE BLOCK
CATCH FESTIVAL - Saturday November 21 - Brooklyn Gypsy Nick E Finn showcases a selection from his one-man-show “The Last Hipster in Brooklyn,” alongside performances by 600 Highwaymen, Laura Bartczak, Allison Brainard, Charlotte Brathwaite, and many more!
Catch is the Brooklyn-based, Obie award-winning, hydra-headed, series of performance events curated with reckless delicacy by Jeff Larson, Caleb Hammons and Andrew Dinwiddie.
The Invisible Dog Art Center (51 Bergen St, Brooklyn, New York 11201) - 8PM - $15 at the door
Catch is the Brooklyn-based, Obie award-winning, hydra-headed, series of performance events curated with reckless delicacy by Jeff Larson, Caleb Hammons and Andrew Dinwiddie.
The Invisible Dog Art Center (51 Bergen St, Brooklyn, New York 11201) - 8PM - $15 at the door