Vejigante Play Analysis

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On Thursday November 16th, I had the opportunity to see Vejigantes performed by the Pan-African Theatre Ensemble. The play calls to attention acceptance in a world where embracing heritage can be a tough decision. The play follows three women in one family. The grandmother, Mama Tona, being black, her daughter Marta being black and Puerto Rican and the grand-daughter Clarita being black, Puerto-Rican and white. The main struggle follows the daughter and her difficulty accepting her black heritage. At a time where being black caused controversy and derogatory terms were used against them, there was an immediate struggle to just accept who you are. Marta, in order to do what is best for Clarita, marries a white man so that her daughter can slowly …show more content…

I couldn’t understand its purpose, and thought it was unnecessary in progressing the plot of the show. The projections were another thing I did not understand. I particularly did not even enjoy them in the first place, also seeing no purpose for them. The content of the projections did not make much sense, the actors in their regular clothes and without the accents they put on during the show. They played at random times during the show, confusing me and not helping the story progress. I did not understand the director’s purpose of these projections, and wished there was more to know about them. Despite the things I hated about the show, they all involved design and not the actual telling of the story. I was very grateful to be able to see this show. It taught me a lot about the struggles that some black women face to accept who they really are. In a world where black female empowerment is on the rise, seeing the difficulty some women have is understandable. However, I think the story does a really good job of joining this family of strong women together in order to help them love themselves and each

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