There and Back

by raul garza

Traveling from her native Mexico, Gloria joins her husband,
Victor, on a migrant farm workers’ camp. Her arrival on the day of
President John F. Kennedy’s inauguration reveals stark contrasts
between the American dream and her reality.

A series of visits by a liberated, contemporary Virgen de Guadalupe offers Gloria a
glimpse of her life and legacy in the context of other
presidential eras (Reagan and Trump)...

Traveling from her native Mexico, Gloria joins her husband,
Victor, on a migrant farm workers’ camp. Her arrival on the day of
President John F. Kennedy’s inauguration reveals stark contrasts
between the American dream and her reality.

A series of visits by a liberated, contemporary Virgen de Guadalupe offers Gloria a
glimpse of her life and legacy in the context of other
presidential eras (Reagan and Trump), and presents a life-altering
choice: stay in the United States, and accept her status as a
member of the under-class, or abandon the agreed-upon plan and her
future family to claim dignity and fulfillment.

read more
  • Inquire About Rights
  • Recommend
  • Download
  • Save to Reading List

There and Back

Recommended by

  • Bernardo Cubría: There and Back by raul garza
    “

    A beautiful play that follows the life of a migrant worker over three generations. Powerful and heartfelt. Love the evolutions of the lead character and the honesty about what we give up when we leave our countries.

    A beautiful play that follows the life of a migrant worker over three generations. Powerful and heartfelt. Love the evolutions of the lead character and the honesty about what we give up when we leave our countries.

    ”
  • Franky D. Gonzalez: There and Back by raul garza
    “

    I wept. This play hurt so deeply at a wound I never realized I had. I hurt from how brilliant the dialogue was and how beautifully Raul Garza captured the movement of time in this play. It's a play that brings into startlingly clarity the immigrant experience. It shows the sacrifices we make for love and the betrayals of men to their wives. Raul demystifies that era of Camelot in America and presents a view from the second-class. It gives us an insight that if we all had, we'd be a better society than we are now. A beautiful play.

    I wept. This play hurt so deeply at a wound I never realized I had. I hurt from how brilliant the dialogue was and how beautifully Raul Garza captured the movement of time in this play. It's a play that brings into startlingly clarity the immigrant experience. It shows the sacrifices we make for love and the betrayals of men to their wives. Raul demystifies that era of Camelot in America and presents a view from the second-class. It gives us an insight that if we all had, we'd be a better society than we are now. A beautiful play.

    ”

Development History

  • Commission, Ground Floor Theatre, 2018
  • Workshop, ScriptWorks, 2017

Production History

  • Professional, Ground Floor Theatre, 2018