Reviewed by:

• The Cuban Vote by Carmen Pelaez
• Horacio Sierra

Carmen Pelaez’s The Cuban Vote demonstrated just how vital regional theatre is and how well it is able to reflect the realities of local communities and the sociopolitical discourses they sustain. Inspired in equal measure by the international attention Miami’s Cuban American community garners every election cycle, William Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, and the snappy writing of Aaron Sorkin’s The West Wing, Pelaez’s play buzzed with urgent energy and left the audience pealing with laughter at jokes that lampooned the three-ring circus that is Miami’s political scene. But just as the retort “Fidel Castro is dead”—delivered deadpan by the play’s main character, Carolina Clarens (Carmen Pelaez) when she was being interviewed by a right-wing, Spanish-language radio host—sent shudders through the audience, The Cuban Vote takes everyone to task for the political mayhem of the last twenty years. Liberals, conservatives, candidates, political consultants, mainstream media, social media, naïve Cuban Americans nostalgic for pre-Castro community, cynical Cuban Americans who are “over the whole Castro thing,” and every disengaged Miamian in between are all held to account.

Carolina is an intelligent and wonky candidate for mayor of Miami-Dade county. Despite having managed the office of a former mayor, who also happens to have been her father, Carolina is faltering in the polls. With a skeleton crew consisting of her seen-it-all mother, Ofelia (Evelyn Perez), and social media influencer sister, Blanca (Marcela Paguaga), the campaign needs help. Blanca’s boyfriend, the obnoxiously charming bitcoin bro Benji Carbonell (Kristian Bikic), is eager to wed Blanca. But Blanca [End Page 87] has informed Benji that her mother won’t consent to the marriage until Carolina is elected mayor. Benji calls in a favor from a Miami native, Alex Mesa (Andhy Mendez), who has made a name for himself in Washington, DC as a slick political consultant. Benji pays Alex’s salary to ensure Carolina wins her campaign and Benji can marry Blanca. After Alex convinces another formidable candidate not to enter the race, he realizes how unlikable Carolina is. To offer voters a clear contrast between Carolina’s governing prowess and the clueless schmucks who usually dominate Miami’s political scene, he recruits a drunk viejo sitting at a bar, the scene-stealing Gilberto Ruiz (Jonathan Nichols-Navarro), to run for office. Gilberto—a character clearly inspired by the Christopher Sly lark at the beginning of Taming of the Shrew—believes he has what it takes to be mayor. The play soon amps up the didacticism as it serves up a cautionary tale with which we are all too familiar: experience, merit, and know-how are often overshadowed by superficial showmanship. Especially in a city as flashy as Miami.

Andhy Mendez (Alex Mesa), Carmen Pelaez (Carolina Clarens), and Kristian Bikic (Benji Carbonell) in The Cuban Vote. Photo: Stian Roenning.

Pelaez’s keen appreciation for the local vernacular of Miami’s Cuban American community not only makes for great jokes, it also underscores regional theatre’s ability to offer representation to communities that are often excluded from Broadway and from canonical theatre that is deemed to be representative of the American experience. As The Cuban Vote makes clear, political machinations, ambitious individuals, and falling in love, may be universal, but the way in which these themes are expressed have more power when the audience feels a visceral connection to them. For example, a popular meme riffs on how Hispanic communities will take someone’s insecurity (big nose, skinny, red-headed) and make it a loving nickname (narizón, flaco, peliroja, respectively). The double-edged sword of such nicknames is on display in The Cuban Vote when Gilberto continually disparages Carolina by calling her “la gorda” (the fat woman) during interviews. In response to a debate question about climate change and rising sea levels, Gilberto’s anti-intellectualism is subsumed by his callousness: “Let the seas rise. I float! [To Carolina] Especially...

审核人：

• 卡门·佩莱兹 (Carmen Pelaez) 的古巴投票
• 奥拉西奥谢拉

卡门·佩莱兹 (Carmen Pelaez) 的古巴投票证明了地区戏剧的重要性，以及它能够很好地反映当地社区的现实和他们所维持的社会政治话语。同样受到国际关注的启发，迈阿密的古巴裔美国人社区在每个选举周期都获得了威廉·莎士比亚的《驯悍记》和亚伦·索金的《白宫风云》的活泼写作, Pelaez 的戏剧充满了紧迫的能量，让观众因讽刺迈阿密政治舞台的三环马戏团的笑话而爆笑。但正如该剧的主角卡罗琳娜·克拉伦斯 (Carmen Pelaez) 在接受右翼西班牙语电台主持人采访时面无表情地反驳“菲德尔·卡斯特罗死了”一样，让观众不寒而栗，古巴投票让每个人都为过去二十年的政治混乱负责。自由主义者、保守派、候选人、政治顾问、主流媒体、社交媒体、怀念前卡斯特罗社区的天真古巴裔美国人、“对整个卡斯特罗事件”愤世嫉俗的古巴裔美国人，以及介于两者之间的每一个脱离接触的迈阿密人都被追究责任。

卡罗琳娜是迈阿密戴德县市长的聪明而古怪的候选人。尽管管理着一位前市长的办公室，这位前市长恰好也是她的父亲，但卡罗莱纳州在民意调查中步履蹒跚。由于她的老母亲奥菲莉亚（伊芙琳·佩雷斯 Evelyn Perez 饰）和在社交媒体上有影响力的姐姐布兰卡（玛塞拉·帕瓜加 Marcela Paguaga 饰）组成了一个骨干团队，该活动需要帮助。Blanca 的男朋友，令人讨厌的迷人比特币兄弟 Benji Carbonell（Kristian Bikic）渴望与 Blanca 结婚。但是布兰卡[第 87 页结束]已经通知本吉，在卡罗琳娜当选市长之前，她的母亲不会同意这桩婚事。Benji 向迈阿密本地人 Alex Mesa（Andhy Mendez 饰）求情，他在华盛顿特区以精明的政治顾问而闻名。Benji 支付 Alex 的薪水以确保 Carolina 赢得竞选，而 Benji 可以与 Blanca 结婚。在亚历克斯说服另一位强大的候选人不要参加比赛后，他意识到卡罗莱纳是多么不讨人喜欢。为了让选民清楚对比卡罗莱纳州的执政能力和通常主宰迈阿密政坛的笨蛋，他招募了一个坐在酒吧里醉酒的viejo，抢镜的 Gilberto Ruiz（Jonathan Nichols-Navarro 饰）竞选公职。吉尔伯托（Gilberto）——一个明显受到克里斯托弗·斯莱百灵鸟启发的角色驯悍记— 相信他具备成为市长的条件。该剧很快加强了说教主义，因为它提供了一个我们都非常熟悉的警示故事：经验、优点和诀窍往往被肤浅的表演所掩盖。尤其是在像迈阿密这样浮华的城市。

古巴投票中的安迪·门德斯 (Alex Mesa)、卡门·佩莱兹 (Carolina Clarens) 和克里斯蒂安·比基奇 (Benji Carbonell) 。照片：斯蒂安·罗宁。

Pelaez 对迈阿密古巴裔美国人社区的当地方言的敏锐欣赏不仅带来了很好的笑话，而且还强调了地区剧院有能力为经常被排除在百老汇和被认为代表美国经验的规范剧院之外的社区提供代表. 正如古巴投票所表明的那样，政治阴谋、雄心勃勃的个人和坠入爱河可能是普遍存在的，但当观众感受到与他们的本能联系时，表达这些主题的方式就会更有力量。例如，一个流行的 meme 反复讲述西班牙裔社区如何接受某人的不安全感（大鼻子、瘦削、红发）并将其变成一个可爱的昵称（narizón、flaco、peliroja）， 分别）。当吉尔伯托在采访中称卡罗琳娜为“ la gorda ”（胖女人）时，吉尔伯托不断贬低卡罗琳娜，这种绰号的双刃剑在古巴投票中得到了展示。在回答关于气候变化和海平面上升的辩论问题时，吉尔伯托的反智主义被他的冷酷无情所掩盖：“让海平面上升。我漂浮！[对卡罗莱纳] 特别是...