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Jose Torres
Tama's one-man "We
Are Patriots with Dark Faces" is an irreverent,
funny and horrifying look at American culture via commercialism
and the repercussions of being "dark" amidst the
white power structure.
Torres Tama
uses many theatrical devices to get his point across. He begins
and ends wearing a half-black, half-white mask. He ritualistically
uses fire as a symbol of power and cleansing. He evokes moods using
rhythm sticks and wine glasses as sound elements. One second, he's
dancing a flamenco and singing in Spanish. The next, he's impersonating
the grating title character from the old "I Dream of Jeannie"
television series and humming the theme song.
Torres Tama
continuously jumps from one side of the culture to the other. He
laments that young men have no fathers or elders to help them pass
into adulthood. Then, switching gears, he focuses on the plight
of performance artists who can only be seen at university theaters
or alternative art houses. This is all against the backdrop of flowering,instantly
recognizable commercial jingles and slogans weaved into his text
and interpreted with large doses of humor.
The political/social/racial
messages bleak. Young men are murdering each other in inner cities,living
failed lives devoid of hope, committing violent acts in an attempt
to find meaning and following the impulsive of primitive rites of
passage that require them to spill blood. There is nothing else
for them to do.
The cultural/commercial/artistic
message is equally stark. It's better to look good than to feel
good. People can stay No. 1 only if there are plenty of No. 2s below
them. We'll soon be faxing our sins directly to God. Alienation
has combined with commercialism to make the human divide more technological,
but better smelling.
Torres Tama
is a diversely talented performer. He can switch accents in the
space of a syllable, emote humor or existential pain in the blink
of an eye, recite Shakespeare and rap in the length of a breath.
His best moments come in this mosaic spewing of extremes, which
seems to be better managed in the beginning of the piece. The end
is a bit slower, less manic, more reserved. But, given the brevity
of the entire piece, even the lags go by quickly.
A middle section
is dedicated to Torres Tama's vision of the future. In a reverberating
techno-voice, he tells us that, in the future, a home shopping network
will combine with televangelists so that viewers can buy material
spirituality over the phone. Bohemian coffeehouses will become the
banks of the future, with coffee beans as the converted currency
and offering services like "expression" checking. In the
future, artists will receive all the funding they need,but will
become suicidal because they have nothing to struggle against.
Torres Tama's
world is darkly pessimistic,but comic. The juxtapositions create
tension and turn a mirror on the human condition. Even though his
impetus springs from his own Hispanic background, his message is
completely American, right down to his final exhortation, a parody
of the late-night television message.
"It's late.
Do you know where your country is?"
If you need
help in answering, Torres Tama has plenty to tell.
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