Professor's Play "Luchadora" Addresses Latino Heritage, Culture and Family

Alvaro Saar Rios, a professional writer, performer and assistant professor at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, has written a new play that characterizes Latino heritage, culture and family.

The new play, called "Luchadora," premiered at the Milwaukee's Todd Wehr Theater in the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts earlier this month.

Focusing on characterizing the Latino heritage, culture and family, the play accepts the challenge of telling important, closely held Latino stories.

Vanessa, a curious young girl, finds a pink wrestling mask in her Nana Lupita's briefcase. She's thus propelled toward a journey of heritage and discovery. The story starts in a quaint Texas town, in the 1960s, and proceeds to present-day Milwaukee, where the significance of cultural identity and family traditions are unmasked.

Milwaukee and San Antonio's Latino community contributed to the development of the play, for which they staged readings and workshopped productions. Involving the local Latino community allowed for Rios to better understand what worked and what didn't work in the play, and it got the communities invested in production and theater.

Bruce Guadalupe Middle School, located in Milwaukee, contributed nearly 500 handcrafted pieces of decorative Mexican folk art, known as papel picado. Also, the play's scenic designer Sarah Hunt-Frank and director Jeff Frank contributed their own artwork, which focused on identity, family and honor. They artwork is presented in the theater's lobby throughout the length of the performances.

Alvaro Saar Rios holds an MFA in Writing for the Stage & Screen from Northwestern University, is the author of numerous plays, including "The Crazy Mexican Show," "One Hot Texican Summer" and "The Mole Hill Stories." He also co-wrote a pilot, "Prison Boat," and he has commissions from First Stage and Houston Grand Opera.

"Luchadora" continues through April 26. Michelle Lopez-Rios, co-founder of the national touring performance troupe Royal Mexican Players, portrays the Mask Maker in the play.

Tickets for "Luchadora" start at $14.50, and they're available at firststage.org, or through the Marcus Center Box Office (929 N. Water St., Milwaukee).