In addition to the Previous, below please find an interview with Candido Tirado, a playwright who provides me his perspective on Nuyorican Theater.

Follow the link below to listen to the interview:

https://soundcloud.com/juan-suarez-70/candido-3

Below please also find the first 7 minutes of the interview transcribed. 

Interview Conducted by Juan Suarez to Candido Tirado (Nuyorican playwright)

Juan: Good afternoon Candido, lets start it of by talking about how the term Nuyorican came to live.

Candido: Okay, you can look it up to verify but I believe it was a term used by Puerto Ricans who were established in New York and who used to tell one an other you are not Puerto Rican but rather Nuyorican. Soon afterwards came Piedro Petri, Miguel Pinero (Playwright) who decided to own the term and make it a positive. Eventually, they decided to open the Nuyorican Café where they did poetry and plays. That is where the whole movement started.

Juan: Is that the same as the renowned Poets Café?

Candido: Yeah the same

Juan: Great so can you please talk to me more about the Poets Café and what goes in there?

Candido: Well back in those days it was mostly Puerto Ricans, however, we always allowed everyone in. It was a mix of people. “Un asopao” (Meaning a soup of people). But they did plays, a place for this creative artist who did not have outlets to all the theaters. Famous playwrights came out of the Poets Café, Tato La Vieda got picked up by big companies. It was always about poetry and then some became playwrights, some were already playwrights you know it was always a mix. Now the Nuyorican Café you see now is a little bit different.

Juan: Is it more like a touristic attraction?

Candido: Well they made the poetry slamming it got very famous.

Juan: So it is more about entertainment and making money rather than making art?

Candido: Yea back then, I mean they had less money not that I think they have a lot of money now. Back then it was more about the work and a group of guys getting together to represent the poets café since they were not allowed to perform in other theaters.

Juan:  Was it because of the background?

Candido: Yes, most of the guys came from the streets. They were tough guys! And theater usually came from the upper middle class. So people who ran theater in those days had money mostly

Juan: Do you frequent the Poets Café?

Candido: Well I had done plays there. I have not been there in a few years

Juan: How come?

Candido: I got busy. You know you get busy.

Juan: Well what are you currently working on? Anything related to Nuyorican theatre?

Candido: No, although I have done it before, my plays are independently produced since Nuyorican stuff stopped producing. So you can go and produce a show in a Nuyorican theatre house for a few weeks. I mean my job is to write plays and many times seeing plays is kind of tough.

Juan: Hahahahaha!

Candido: I only go when I have a very close friend in a play or there is something in a play that I want to learn from. I get invited to many plays but sometimes I just cannot see them

Juan: How would you say theater in New York differs from Teatro en Puerto Rico?

Candido: To be honest I have not seen a lot of theater from Puerto Rico, I had Puerto Rican friends who wrote plays about Puerto Rico and I have seen their plays. Nuyorican theater here in New York is actually a mix of blacks, Jewish, and Puerto Ricans. Let me explain that, what happens to all cultures in New York is similar. For instance in my company we have Cubans, South Americans, Whites, and Blacks. What happens is, in New York you have Broadway, which brings the most modern techniques of theater. The best plays come from New York as those techniques get filtered. Puerto Rico on the other hand is an Island and a lot of stuff does not go there. So what happens in Puerto Rico is that the government controls theater, so companies can only go there and play for two weeks. So they mostly bring sop opera stars.  To get people interested they have to do some sexual stupid thing there.

Juan: Do you agree with the government controlling theater in Puerto Rico?

Candido: Well they own the big venues, which are controlled by the state. It is horrible because if you have a hit you can only play for two weeks. What is happening in Puerto Rico is there is this right wing movement, which is very sexually liberated. So to attack that, many plays are sexual comedies and that is what people go to see. I mean that’s not good not good. They are plays that talk about the real issues about Puerto Rico but people don’t want to see that. I mean they live in it!

The End.