Artistic Statement
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Mark-Eugene Garcia
Artistic Statement
Passing. Straight-passing. White-passing. Once, I and my writing bore those labels. In The Holy Cows of Credence, South Dakota, five white women and one white man, all hetero, spar over Atheism and Christianity while catching a church baseball game in South Dakota. In Standby, five hostages wake in an abandoned and locked airport, told to pick two to escape based on their life choices. The lead? A straight white dude. Judging solely by my craft, my Queer and Latinx hues stayed elusive.
I grew up in the California suburbs as part of conservative family. I didn’t have Queer role models. What gay “signs” I had, I did my best to repress.. Español? Family silence. No language, no history taught at home—My past was a lie and I was a collaborator in its storytelling.
When I realized that, my story, and my stories, changed. Personally, I studied Latinx stories. I researched queer causes. I studied Spanish. I researched my own family history and ancestry. I went back to California and educated my family on our family tree. I had already taught them about queer existence. It was time to teach them about being Latinx.
Enter UnMissed Connections, set in one Jackson Heights night, a multicultural crew of gay men battling connection barriers—race, age, and sexuality. Collaborating with Jaime Lozano and Grammy Nominee Raul Midon, we created Hold Tight, a melody echoing the plight of Central American migrant caravans. Las Rosas, my micro-play, unravels marginalized tales within the Latin community.
Finally, I wrote the play Eight Tales of Pedro, Based on the folktales of "Pedro Urdemales" and "Juan Bobo,” in which two sets of storytellers, some now and some in 17th century Mexico, cross a country - risking everything for a new life. As they tell their tales, their lives and plots combine and intertwine into the same conclusion. The play covers immigration, racism and my Latinx experience.
Each project, a step toward uncovering my identidad. My characters tread parallel paths, unraveling themselves and enlightening the unfamiliar. Like them, I'll unearth the untold tales, continuing to give voice to the unheard.
I grew up in the California suburbs as part of conservative family. I didn’t have Queer role models. What gay “signs” I had, I did my best to repress.. Español? Family silence. No language, no history taught at home—My past was a lie and I was a collaborator in its storytelling.
When I realized that, my story, and my stories, changed. Personally, I studied Latinx stories. I researched queer causes. I studied Spanish. I researched my own family history and ancestry. I went back to California and educated my family on our family tree. I had already taught them about queer existence. It was time to teach them about being Latinx.
Enter UnMissed Connections, set in one Jackson Heights night, a multicultural crew of gay men battling connection barriers—race, age, and sexuality. Collaborating with Jaime Lozano and Grammy Nominee Raul Midon, we created Hold Tight, a melody echoing the plight of Central American migrant caravans. Las Rosas, my micro-play, unravels marginalized tales within the Latin community.
Finally, I wrote the play Eight Tales of Pedro, Based on the folktales of "Pedro Urdemales" and "Juan Bobo,” in which two sets of storytellers, some now and some in 17th century Mexico, cross a country - risking everything for a new life. As they tell their tales, their lives and plots combine and intertwine into the same conclusion. The play covers immigration, racism and my Latinx experience.
Each project, a step toward uncovering my identidad. My characters tread parallel paths, unraveling themselves and enlightening the unfamiliar. Like them, I'll unearth the untold tales, continuing to give voice to the unheard.