Location: The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center
Oscar Cásares, an acclaimed novelist from the Rio Grande Valley, wanted to share his experience of growing up on the border with his 10-year-old daughter, Elena. To tell this story, Cásares and photographer Joel Salcido traveled the length of the Rio Grande, from El Paso and Juarez to Brownsville and Matamoros to reveal his roots and the subtle and profound details of those who live there.
Originally appearing in Texas Monthly, those words and images are now brought to life in a new stage production with music by celebrated singer-songwriter Carrie Rodriguez and her five-piece band, narrated by Cásares alongside Salcido’s stirring images. This is a story steeped in the rich and inspiring history of America. Here, in this corner of the country, kids are raised to cross fluidly into both cultures and languages, to listen to pop music as easily as they do polkas and rancheras, to speak to their teachers in English and their grandparents in Spanish, and to everyone else in both languages, often simultaneously. Together, these artists will illuminate the often-overlooked stories of generations of families at the edge of our country. This is the story of the border you’ve never heard.
Presented by Clarice Presents.