Sitting at a bar on center stage, drunk and broken-hearted, Julia de Burgos, recounts her life to a bartender in the world premiere production of “Empire of Solitude” at Buntport Theater. In tears, she remembers her life on Puerto Rico and her longing for understanding, then asks for one final shot of rum.
“One last taste of home,” the poetess says before standing up and falling to her death.
This play, written by Jon Marcantoni, playwright and founder of Flamboyán Theatre, showcases the poetry of Julia de Burgos, who is recognized as the contemporary foremother of Puerto Rico and Nuyorican poetry. Marcantoni wanted to tell her story without following biopic conventions, so he focused on her final days to gain a better understanding of her life and mysterious death.
“I am very honored to tell this story—to share her life,” Marcantoni said. “I would love for Julia de Burgos to be as well known as Frida Kahlo because both of them represent strong Latinas who did not fit the mold of what society expected of women.”
The production depicts her life through four characters, manifesting the four main themes of her poetry: revolutionary politics (played by Gisselle Gonzalez), her conception of femininity (Shyan Rivera), society’s expectations of women as wives (Jordan Hull) and her artistic expression as the poetess (Lucinda Lazo). With a cast of four Latina actresses, the show is performed in English and Spanish.
Utilizing costumes, the actresses portray distinct parts of de Bugos’ personality, which helps the audience understand her life. “It’s really powerful for me to think if I could just bring those best parts of myself—who I love and who I am and what makes me feel empowered—to the stage,” Lazo said. “I think that will give more to Julia than if I try to think about what it would be like to be in the 1940s.”
Lighting and sound director Michael Castro incorporated sounds like the Puerto Rican native coquí (frog) to transport the audience to de Burgos’ native land. Through light, he emphasizes the characters’ emotions as they move back and forth through de Burgos’ life.
“A lot of the lighting is based on how I felt the energy throughout rehearsal,” Castro said. “In the script, light is a character, so we wanted to be able to play with that—we wanted it to help enhance the show and not take away from it. We’ve all heard this wonderful story; we all knew it was important and we all put in the effort to get it to this point.”
Aside from defying societal norms, de Burgos advocated for her island’s independence, which is what Marcantoni resonated with as a Puerto Rican leftist while writing the script. In the community, she is a beloved figure who was well-known in her lifetime not only for her poetry but also for her work in pro-independence journals and magazines.
“Her legacy is one that’s only grown over time,” Marcantoni said. “In 2000, the first book of her poetry to be translated into English was made available; that book of poetry is what I used for the play. If you’re a Puerto Rican and have any interest in poetry or literature, she is one of your top writers.”
To add accurate representation to the play, Marcantoni sought out a team with Puerto Rican roots who shared the same passion for their country. Director Narely Cortes focused on highlighting the underlying issues happening in Puerto Rico, like coastal development and the privatization of public beaches. Together, they wanted to not only share her story but also bring awareness to their country.
“Since Julia has been talking, our land is being stolen till this day; we can see it in her poems, we have it in the play and it’s being highlighted here,” Cortes said. “I wanted to highlight a lot of our nature, our animals [and] our plants because Julia always talked about that. Besides all the feminism and freedom, there were also those highlighted details. Those are the important things I wanted to show in the play.”
After sharing the de Burgos story at the rentable performance space, Buntport Theater, Flamboyán Theatre will move to a permanent space in September. The group will occupy a former theater in Lakewood’s 40 West Arts District, along with The Lab off Colfax and The Three Leaches. Marcantoni shares the exciting news and says the theater has big plans for the upcoming year.
“We are super excited to work with Three Leaches and have our own place,” Marcantoni said. “That’s something that so many theater companies around town are looking for and to be able to have that is amazing.”
Through his theater, Marcantoni would like to bring awareness to the Puerto Rican community and tell many of its stories through performance. During its debut at the Buntport, Marcantoni staged a bazaar in the lobby with different Latino vendors like Convivio Café and local visual artists like Giselle Bosch each night of production.
Flamboyán Theatre is also welcoming local artists to the stage during its show to keep the audience engaged and give artists experience performing in front of a new audience. Overall, Marcantoni hopes de Burgos’ poetry will resonate with the audience as much as it has resonated with him.
“Thematically, it is very heavy emotionally,” Marcantoni said. “But in the end, it is hopeful and inspiring and I hope that people walk out of it feeling confident and feeling that self-love that becomes very central to the ending of the play and to embracing one’s self-love in spite of the odds.”