New York Review: Makuyeika Colectivo Teatral’s “Andares” presented by Under the Radar Festival at The Public
Natalie Rine, Associate New York Critic
The Trump Wall joke doesn’t come until about halfway through Mexican theatre company Makuyeika Colectivo Teatral’s “Andares,” presented by Under the Radar Festival now running at The Public Theater.
“Andares,” meaning “pathways,” excavates a three-person narrative that strikes gold through its fluidity of language, music, humor, and heart to tell the truths of indigenous youth in Mexico. Performed primarily in Spanish with Mayan, Zapotec, Tzotzil, and Wixarika (and supertitles in English), the piece challenges a global audience to explore a Mexico we don’t know, one with a “hidden theatricality” unearthed through personal anecdotes, ancestral myths, as well as traditional music. Moving at first through the cliché-friendly point of entry of discussing fiestas and families, “Andares” spirals quickly through elegiac declarations and deconstructions, expertly layering and painting story after story to turn traditional narratives about Mexico on their heads, and to pull back the curtain on present-day struggles and strife disguised through a culture of costumes, masks, and celebrations.
The play shines light on a range of realities — land usurpation, widespread violence, ancestral duties, community resistance, — that indigenous people face at the crossroads of modern life and tradition. But rather than a heavy tearjerker, “Andares” comes from the heart, declaring proudly through its three-character bildungsroman that even “songs can be about fear.” The eponymous pathways are performed by the phenomenal Josué Maychi, Domingo Mijangos, Lupe de la Cruz, and Raymundo Pavón Lozano, ping-ponging energy and anecdotes back and forth to amalgamate into a powerhouse 75 minutes. Personifying their different walks of life coming together, despite a difference in emotional and physical locations, the trio of actors and one musician find common ground through indigenous ancestral tales, manifesting for all of them through a respect and reverence for all beings made from the same earth which is something to celebrate by the end after hearing heartbreak after heartbreak. Through song, mask work, and direct audience appeals though, “Andares” always has a twinkle in its eye, intermingling languages, and jokes with a fluid mastery. Themes of identity, cultural clashes, parental and government relations, and the ownership of land and bodies float through the effortless grace of the performers’ stories, having the audience think, laugh, and cry in rapid, applause-worthy succession.
Each of the three characters we follow navigate different identity crises thrust upon them by their cultural or familial situations, playing the “fag” or “stag” (depending on the anecdote) by macho-praising cultures and communities that have them questioning their purpose and participation in their worlds. Another duality occurs in the piece with the English supertitle’s juxtaposition of stories of the ancestral Sun alongside what it means to be a son; regardless of what language you experience “Andares” through, auteur Héctor Flores Komatsu paints a world deliciously vibrant, painful, and beautiful all at once.
His Makuyeika Colectivo Teatral is a theatre ensemble dedicated to creating original works about the narratives and theatricalities of Mexico’s indigenous people, highlighting themes of social, cultural, and universal human value. Meaning “wayfarer” in the language of the Wixarika people, Makuyeika was formed after an extensive search across the country’s indigenous communities, a project undertaken by Flores Komatsu as an inaugural recipient of the prestigious Julie Taymor World Theatre Fellowship in 2016. If the result of “Andares” is any indication, this is an artist collective to watch for.
Makuyeika Colectivo Teatral’s “Andares”
Created by Makuyeika Colectivo Teatral ; Conceived, Produced, and Directed by Héctor Flores Komatsu ; Written by Héctor Flores Komatsu in collaboration with the company; Featuring Josué Maychi, Domingo Mijangos, Lupe de la Cruz, and Raymundo Pavón Lozano; Space Design: Conceived by Héctor Flores Komatsu; Painted by Jesus Giles; Lighting Design: Bryan Guerrero; Original lyrics for "Aguanieve": Arantxa Peláez Cházaro; Engagement Coordinator: Pablo Hernandez Basulto; Production Assistant: Kaleb Oseguera León; Assistant Director: Nicté Valdés Cházaro; Clay Masks: Josué Maychi and Juliana Cruz; Previously with: Luciano Maxa Temai, Alexis Orozco, Kaleb Oseguera León, and Kevin Elí Leyva.
“Andares” runs as part of the Under the Radar Festival at The Public Theater’s LuEsther Hall (425 Lafayette Street at Astor Place) until January 19. Performed primarily in Spanish with Mayan, Zapotec, Tzotzil, and Wixarika with supertitles in English. Run Time: 1 hour and 15 minutes. For tickets and more information, please visit: https://publictheater.org/productions/season/1920/utr/andares/
Photo: A scene from “Andares,” running January 9-13, 15, 17-19 at The Public Theater as part of The Public’s 16th Annual Under the Radar Festival. Photo Credit: Abraham Villafaña