SONG OF THE SIMPLE TRUTH 

     Presented by NY Artists Unlimited

 Directed by Melba LaRose

"Song of the Simple Truth-El Canto de Julia de Burgos" is an inventive and inspired interpretation of the poems of Julia De Burgos, conceived for the stage by director Melba LaRose. This Bilingual Musical Dramatization   was presented at the The.Nuyorican Poets Cafe in January 2001, Returns April 3rd 2003. 

Julia De Burgos was a  poet, a feminist, and a political activist. She was born in Carolina, Puerto Rico in 1914, graduated from UPR in 1933, and emigrated to New York City. De Burgos lived and worked in East Harlem and The Bronx, and died at the early age of 39. One can describe her as an urban Boricua, an independentista, and a very progressive individual who espoused personal freedom.  Julia De Burgos  was a poet of the post-modernist age who wrote with passion in the tradition of Ibarbarou.  Her talents were recognized throughout Latin America and she was lauded by the great Pablo Neruda.  She lived in self-exile in Cuba and Santo Domingo for a time, and it is likely that her political proclivities intensified as she witnessed the consequences of entrenched oligarchies in those sister republics. Although she worked as an educator and a journalist, and was recognized for her work, Julia De Burgos was definitely not an establishment person.

The director considers Burgos to be an icon of Latin American Poetry and she succeeds in portraying the poet's talent by presenting the many facets of the poet's persona, personal and political passions, and  feminist fervor  via a very creative tableau consisting of  five actors on a small stage.

Melba LaRose has done a wonderful job of bringing Julia to life.  She has ingeniously  presented Julia's poetry from the collection "Song of The Simple Truth" not simply as a poetry reading but as a dialogue between the characters of Julia's  life and poems, adding music and dance, so that it becomes drama, and yes, entertainment. Then LaRose goes one step further by making "Song of the Simple Truth" into  a bilingual work. The translations serve as  points of transition and are woven in naturally so that the English does not obstruct the actors or the flow. The ensemble of actors work well together, and since they are all on the stage at the same time, the timing, cadences, and intonations are especially crucial.  Cacophony and dissonance could have ruined this presentation. However, the actors' talent served to impart with control as well as fervor, the element of pain and suffering that is present in the poems of Julia De Burgos.   

Julia De Burgos was a complicated woman. She celebrated her racial roots, embracing a grandfather's blackness and making it a motif of her work and inspiration.  But she was a free woman of mixed heritage, with German and Spanish roots which also nourished her.   She was a woman who loved deeply, who lost at love, although she was loved by many. She was anti-war, an advocate of  international human rights, and was horrified by the havoc wreaked by war and fascism.  All of this is imparted to the audience in this production.

Gladys Perez, a shining star, luminous in this role as the reincarnation of Julia's Eros,  is vibrant, sensual, and beautiful as she loosens her hair and sings verses of love to Ricardo Cuevas and German Baruffi.  Julia's Noche De Amor en Tres Cantos is full of tenderness and sensuality. The eroticism of Julia's  verses is well interpreted by Ms. Perez.  Te quiero, grito de noche blanca, en el imsonio reflexivo, de donde vuela en pajaros mi espiritú. Ricardo Cuevas,as her blonde Apollo, accompanies with guitar and voice. He is also the Musical Director for this piece. Most surprising and inventive is the role of Julia's black self as the vehicle which presents some of Burgos' most radical ideas regarding the female's  role in society. This is most evident in the poem: Ay, Ay, Ay of the Kinky-Haired Negress. This character, played by Charo Rosemond, is the most free, the most seductive, and she tells us: "You belong to your husband, to your master, not I, I belong to no one, or to everyone, because to all, everyone, in wholesome feeling and thought, I give myself." Yo quise ser como los hombres quisieron que yo fuese un intento de vida, Un juego al escondite con mi ser.

Truly azul.  Lighting design by Lillian Rivera, Choreography by Francis J. Roach, Costumes  by Francis Eldred, English Translations by Jack Agueros.                                                              January 2001

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