Musical Performance: Rodriguez and Aunt Eva’s Ballads

Bolero’s transcend generation gap, thrives in Austin’s cafes

By Sarah Vasquez
Staff Writer

Published: Friday, October 2nd, 2009

Photo by Jose Padilla

Boleros are a tradition among the Latino culture. Using the universal theme of love, whether it be eternal love, unrequited love or lost love, the tempo of the bolero compliments the sincere emotion.

Austin’s Leticia Rodriguez brought this culture to the restaurant patrons of El Sol y La Luna on Saturday, Sept. 26.

Performing a three hour set, Rodriguez entertained the crowd with Spanish and English renditions of classic boleros from the 1920s to the 1950s.

She shared anecdotes in between songs about her personal recollections of how the boleros influenced her Latino heritage.

She chose to perform boleros to share the culture with the Austin community. Her aunt, Eva Garza, was an international singer from the 1930s to the 1960s, which Rodriguez affectionately refers to as “La Novia de Los Boleros.”

I was introduced to boleros though my aunt’s music that my mother used to play on records,” reminisced Rodriguez. “So it was a logical choice for me to begin sharing that particular style because it connected to my family and my heritage.”

With a background in music, dance and theatre, Rodriguez was a natural on stage, singing with a smile on her face and charming the crowd with her incredible vocal range. She encouraged the crowd to dance along with her during the more upbeat songs.

People will get the chance to partake in this cultural experience as Rodriguez will perform more shows in the future. More information can be found on her Web site at www.performanceencounters.org.

Dancer and songwriter Leticia Rodriguez performs at El Sol y La Luna on Saturday September 26th in a night of boleros and dancing. Leticia has been performing since she was 13 years old. Her singing career began as a backup singer and she continues a family tradition of singing boleros.

See the article here.

PE Presents: More on Home Entertainment (2009)

Coming Soon to the Blackland Community and Austin…

Director’s Notes

“Home Entertainment/Espectaculo Casero” was first presented in June of 2005. We built three shows in the backyards of adventurous souls in three distinctly different neighborhoods; Clarksville, Barton Hills and Southside 45. With popcorn servings and beverages, both audience and actors exchanged stories on how they were entertained at home growing up, while watching the sun set and the moon rise. The show was about immediacy, as well as connecting with the individual, family and community with a discussion on home entertainment.

Three years later, “Home Entertainment 2009” explores the Blackland neighborhood in East Austin to see how entertainment is differently expressed; or similar. With the flavor of Blackland’s rich musical history and strong sense of self, the show has become a musical, both fun and still tuned to the immediate.

“Home Entertainment 2009 is about the history of the community and continues to connect the individual, family and community while taking a look at entertainment (and, oh yes, while being entertained).

The show will be presented as a musical dinner theatre performance at Joe Cooks! Catering.

Watch videos of Home Entertainment (2009) here and here.

PE Presents: Home Entertainment (2009) Reviews

The Austin Chronicle, June 4th, 2009

Home Entertainment 2009

A lovely, loving tribute to the Eastside’s Blackland neighborhood and playtime past

By Robert Faires, Arts Editor

A late-spring sky, the brilliant blue softened by the approach of twilight. Soft air stirred by a languid breeze. A dozen small patio tables spread across an emerald carpet of grass.

On the tables, fresh flowers in water. Plates heaped with garden greens, fresh fruit, pasta with sliced peppers, salmon, pecan-crusted chicken with watermelon relish. Tall glasses of lemonade and iced tea. Grooving sounds by Stevie Wonder and Sly & the Family Stone underscored by the hum of neighborhood traffic. Grackles screeching. And, curiously in this back yard, a front porch that faces the audience members at their assorted tables.

Not the usual setup for a play, but then Home Entertainment 2009 isn’t your usual play. It is more fittingly described by the name of the company that has produced it: Performance Encounters. Through this show, we’re given a chance to encounter something, to make contact with a thing or things we may not know or that perhaps we knew once but lost: an ambience, a mood, a way of living, lives, stories, histories, a community. The connection isn’t made with a single storyline advanced by developments in the plot but by characters who share reminiscences and anecdotes and songs, by the breaking of bread, by being in a very specific place and absorbing its sights and sounds and atmosphere.

The term “play” best applies to Home Entertainment as its subject. Most of the material centers on what folks do and have done to entertain themselves over the last 70 years. Our guide in this is Aunt Zadie, a senior citizen born and reared in the Eastside’s Blackland neighborhood and a living repository of its history. As played by the ever-engaging Gina Houston, Zadie is a gushing fount of memory, enthusiastically describing how kids back in the day made kites from newspapers and sticks and playing balls from rubber bands and rags, eagerly recalling how she got a whuppin’ for lying about swimming in a cattle tank, and proudly belting out the “black national anthem,” “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” “We invented our world,” Zadie says, and though she tries not to be judgmental about the technology-driven diversions of the younger characters, Amanda and Gabriel, the sparkle in Houston’s eye as she conjures that world of imagination and creation signals how much she favors those olden, golden days. And it’s hard not to agree with her, especially the way her bias is buttressed by MacArthur Moore’s Collin, a friend old enough to recall homemade slingshots and customized bicycles with steering wheels in place of handlebars. Moore feeds Collin’s tales with a jaunty, cackling pleasure and turns in a juicy version of Corey Harris’ “Fish Ain’t Bitin’,” backed by Dan Ruppa’s bluesy guitar.

The younger characters do address more contemporary play – Maryann Menzies’ appealing Amanda leads the audience in an origami lesson, and Joshua Swan’s spirited Gabriel challenges Zadie to a kids’ counting game – but with the moon tower at Chicon and MLK rising up behind the faux front porch cleverly constructed by designer Ia Ensterä, we always have a sense of history being present. And the way in which producer/director Leticia Rodriguez has invited us into that history and this community is welcoming and warming. By making us feel so at home here, she opens us up to see this neighborhood as the home of others. With the cookies and gelato, with the singing, with the feel of the open air, with the setting of the sun, we are brought into this community and made to belong. It’s a lovely, loving way to honor a past and a place well worth the encounter.

“Fantastic Show”

Review posted by: Daryl from Austin, TX USA, June 1st, 2009

I had the pleasant experience of attending Home Entertainment this past Saturday. The show was wonderful, the stories were warm and the actors portrayed them with the humility and sincerity. The venue was intimate and the food was quite delicious. I brought my girlfriend along and she loved it too! If your looking for a fun activity to do from June 4-6 I would highly recommend this event.

“Great Evening for THE FAMILY”

Review posted by: J.Marchi from Austin Tx, May 31st, 2009

Letica Rodriquez Director/Producer once again brings us back to the basics to remind us in her most special way whats REALLY important. Wonderful integration of theater and fare nourishing the body and the soul

“Home Entertainment Plus”

Review posted by: Eileen D. from Austin, Tx, May 31st, 2009

Thoroughly delightful. What a romp down memory lane – my own remembrance of childhood activities and those of the Blacklands… all accompanied by GREAT food and atmosphere. Thank you all!

“Best Bet!”

Review posted by: Q. Verde from Austin, TX, May 31st, 2009

Fabulous talent, production, setting and food! You will be smiling, singing along and remembering when. So, when was the last time you had a great evening out for $40 or less?

“Great FUSION of Theater and Cuisine”

Review posted by: Jema from Austin Tx, May 31st, 2009

What a thoughtful intention Performance Encounter realizes in nourishing the body and the soul. A must SEE.

“Good portraiture of the Blackland Community”

Comment posted by: Bo McCarver from Blackland Neighborhood, Austin, Texas, May 30st, 2009

Having lived in Blackland for the past 31 years, its easy to take for granted the day-to-day encounters with a menagerie of neighbors who celebrate weddings, Juneteenth and new babies; mourn…

“A Feel Good Again Production”

Comment posted by: Julie from Austin, Tx, May 30st, 2009

Wonderful, personable show that makes you feel as if you ARE sitting on someones front porch talking about the ‘good ole days’…. and the new ones too! And how many shows offer you ice cream as a part of it?! If you need a personal boost to pull you out of a funk like I did, the show and meal definitely offer that for you.

“Gourmet dining, gorgeous venue and gratifying production!”

Review posted by: Lisa G. from Austin, TX, May 30st, 2009

I went opening night with colleagues from work….wondering what I had brought them to ? All 4 of us could not stop telling everyone the next day about our wonderful evening of food and fun. Don’t miss this delightful experience!

“What a way to celebrate Austin diversity”

Comment posted by: Leticia Rodriguez from Austin, Tx, May 30st, 2009

PRESENTING stories from East Austin, CREATING a venue WITHIN the community to showcase these stories, adding OUTSTANDING THEATRICALITY and relaxing with a HELL(O) of a MEAL… This is one of those… not to be missed events!

“Hits the Spot!!”

Review posted by: sa from Austin, Texas, May 29th, 2009

I just returned from watching a fantastic dinner theater show and I have to share with your readers.—Do not miss Home Entertainment, Performance Encounters’ latest production at Joe Cooks! on E. MLK Blvd!! It will be one of the most pleasant, heart-warming, thought-provoking theater experiences you will have this year! Out under the stars we feasted on a scrumptious dinner provided by Joe Cooks! including, salmon, pecan- crusted chicken, a salad of field greens, roasted veggies and freshly made potato salad. (It’s also BYOB.) The audience was treated to cookies, sorbet and origami folding along with the great music, fine singing and great performances by the wonderful cast. We learned about the Blackland community of east Austin while in the Blackland community. I had never heard of it before. Leticia Rodriguez has truly put together a very unique, informative and thoroughly enjoyable show. I hope many Austinites get to enjoy it.

Watch videos of Home Entertainment (2009) here and here.

PE Presents: A Place to Land (2006)

“Combining theatre with social activism, these three multi-dimensional artists weave text, dance, live music, video and art exhibits to focus on the qualities of home life which exist for both the home owner and the homeless.”

- Richard Queen, Owana Owl, June 2006

“Home. Few other words in the English language can speak to each of us so clearly; stir each of us so uniquely and individually.”

“In a sense, it’s a tour, a tour about the history of the house,” says Rodriguez. “Some of it is scripted, but it’s not meant to be a play, it’s meant to be an experience. In each room, there’s something that unfolds, a quality of what makes a house a home. Also, because homelessness and the idea that people can’t afford a home or rent are such big topics right now, I thought it would be great to invite people in the community who deal with these issues to participate. So it isn’t just about my perspective; it also represents the perspective of people who live in a homeless situation, which allows us to talk about homes in an even larger sense.”

- Barry Pineo, Austin Chronicle, June 2006

Watch videos of A Place to Land here and here.

PE Presents: Home Entertainment (2005): Espectáculo Casero

“When I pulled onto West Ninth in the old Clarksville neighborhood, where the houses are packed together and parking is somewhat constrained, the location of the event I’d come for was obvious without having to look at the house numbers. Smiling people were walking up to a lady at a table in one of the yards. I went into the back yard, where popcorn was popping and people were mingling, and was greeted almost immediately be Leticia Rodriguez, who, along with Tim Mateer, is the guiding force behind this – hmmm, what to call it? – home entertainment. Yes, that’s exactly right.”

“It’s about inclusion,” says Rodriguez, a longtime Austin dancer and choreographer. “It’s about knowing who your neighbors are and how we can promote that.”

- Barry Pineo, Austin Chronicle, September 23rd, 2005

“Top 10 Most Memorable Theatrical Offerings That I Chanced to See in 2005″ (A Hierarchical List)

No. 10 Home Entertainment/Espectáculo Casero (Leticia Rodriguez/Tim Mateer)

Very warm and friendly gatherings for the most original idea for entertainment all year.

Directed by Leticia Rodriguez and Tim Mateer.

- Barry Pineo, Austin Chronicle, January 6th, 2006

PE Presents: Chicken & Beans (2002)

“…moments in Chicken n Beans feel like authentic invitations into the cultural environments which have helped mold these two women into the talented performers they are.”

“The evening consists of dance pieces which run the gamut from the quiet and meditative to the humorous and celebratory, interspersed with skits, music and recorded voices of the performers’ older Hispanic and Jewish relatives. The relatives talk about everything from pinochle games in the “old neighborhood” to the nonexistence of “pure” races; as one Hispanic relative says, “Nobody really knows what runs through people’s blood.” In tandem with the recorded interviews, the dance pieces seem to do the best job of transmitting the performers’ cultural experiences.”

“…there were wonderful surprises, as when Leticia Rodriguez descended the stage after one dance piece, donned an embroidered Mexican shawl, and broke into the ballad “Aquellos Ojos Verdes” in gorgeous, husky also. Wow.”

- M.B. Rice, Austin Chronicle, May 2002

“Featuring the best of dance, music and cultural union of two distinct heritages, Heloise Gold and Leticia Rodriguez serve a delicious performance known as “Chicken and Beans,” which played at the Santa Cruz Center for Culture on 1805 East Seventh in East Austin. These two dancers bring alive the joy and energy that they bring from both Mexican and Jewish cultures; what seem incompatible to other people are merged and Gold and Rodriguez open the show in a morning’s light.”

“Between sequences, the relatives speak, comparing their heritages and describing the barriers they had to live with and refused to accept. Leticia sings a Mexican standard, “Aquellos Ojos Verdes,” with Wolfe on Keyboards. Both stars command the stage with a presence that leaves you infatuated.”

“The banter between Heloise and Leticia is genuine, with good nature humor about rubber chickens and stolen tongues.”

- Leonard R. Herrara, La Prensa, May 29th, 2002

“In one sequence, they strung together Yiddish and Spanish phrases, ending with a corny, but effective, “Oy, Chihuahua!”

- Michael Barnes, American Statesman, May 30th, 2002

Watch a video of Chicken n Beans (2002) here.

PE Presents: Collectivos: Seed of Our Ancestors (1999)

“A treasure trove of Latino dance — a chance to taste the myriad of Latino rhythms, images, ideas, emotions — “Collectivos: Seeds of Our Ancestors“ is the first-ever showcase of Austin Latino dance groups and artists.” From folkloric to jazz, from contemporary ballet to break dance, from performance art to modern dance, the two-hour program provides a singular opportunity to experience the unusually rich cornucopia of Latino dance talent in Austin.”

- Jeanne Claire Van Ryzin, American Statesman, October 20th, 1999