{"id":193041,"date":"2026-02-25T13:12:20","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T13:12:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/193041\/"},"modified":"2026-02-25T13:12:20","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T13:12:20","slug":"yosimar-reyes-explores-lives-of-the-undocumented-in-teatro-vision-show-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/193041\/","title":{"rendered":"Yosimar Reyes explores lives of the undocumented in Teatro Vision show"},"content":{"rendered":"

The corner of Story and Capitol in San Jose<\/a> can claim Yosimar Reyes<\/a> as one of its most prestigious residents.<\/p>\n

As Santa Clara County\u2019s first undocumented poet laureate<\/a>, claiming that honor in 2024-2025, Reyes built the foundations of his artistry in the enclave as a young undocumented child, learning valuable lessons about the power of community despite living amongst fellow targets in the early 1990s. The state\u2019s anti-immigrant sentiment peaked in 1994 with Proposition 187, an initiative aimed at denying essential services such as healthcare and education to the state\u2019s undocumented immigrants.<\/p>\n

Reyes recalls those days as a 6-year-old with vivid clarity. While the fears and anxiety among immigrants in the early \u201890s were palpable, there is also a fondness for the memories of how his community, led by the heart and soul of his beloved grandmother Mardonia Galeana, came together to fight the power at the only apartment complex they could find that didn\u2019t ask for a Social Security number on the application.<\/p>\n

These recollections, informed by today\u2019s toxic climate of ICE agents decimating communities and instilling fear among citizens and non-citizens alike, has inspired Reyes\u2019 pointed response through the power of theater. His play, \u201cNo Llegamos Aqu\u00ed Solos,\u201d which translates to \u201cwe did not arrive here alone,\u201d is getting its world premiere at Teatro Vision. He created the work from the past two years in East San Jose and the Mayfair community collecting stories. The show runs through Feb. 22 at the Mexican Heritage Plaza.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe knew who sold sodas, candies or tamales, and even though we were all strangers, we became familiar with each other because we were trying to survive in this country,\u201d said Reyes, who has been outspoken about his own DACA status over the years. \u201cWe knew through word of mouth who would hire you, or who could give you rides, and you really learned how undocumented people created networks of familiarity out of being strangers.\u201d<\/p>\n

While poetry has made Reyes a popular figure in the region, he\u2019s also engaged in writing solo theater pieces, but this play hits differently. The timely work dramatizes his grandmother, who passed in 2024 at 89, but named Mama Do\u00f1a in his play. She is celebrating her 85th birthday, but her grandson Ignacio chooses this day to organize protests in the face of an upcoming ICE raid. The conflicts of his organizational methods clash with his apartment complex community, with lessons learned about how neighbors love and look out for each other.<\/p>\n

Teatro Vision\u2019s artistic director Rodrigo Garc\u00eda, who is directing the play, is one of many who can relate to Reyes\u2019 work on a more personal level, having been undocumented for more than a decade before gaining his citizenship.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of what\u2019s happening today is not new, and we\u2019ve seen this in different iterations,\u201d Garc\u00eda said. \u201cWhat\u2019s different now is that I have privilege and legal status, and that sets me apart from those who don\u2019t. I can communicate in English, which is another privilege I have, and now I\u2019m in a position to do something about what\u2019s happening.\u201d<\/p>\n

Garc\u00eda understands that most audiences will not come into the theater blind, likely having seen images of ICE horrors and the resistance they have felt from all corners. But as in any play that carries heavy themes, finding the levity in a story takes precedence.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t want to engage in the cliche of the poor, powerless individual whose destiny is defined by the system,\u201d Garc\u00eda said. \u201cThose are realities, but it\u2019s one of multiple realities. There are all these moments of joy, and we get to live and laugh at those things. They serve as reminders of how human we are as we share the power of laughter in moments of darkness such as these.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Reyes, who is shaped by the community he came to from Mexico, the play serves as a love letter to every person who took care of him and allowed him to rise above.<\/p>\n

Reyes is grateful.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think my goal has always been to be the poet or the artist that talks to other undocumented people, that\u2019s the audience I\u2019m trying to reach, and I think that\u2019s very important and significant to me,\u201d Reyes said.\u00a0 \u201cOver the last few years, we have seen plays with undocumented characters, but I think for me, the difference is that I am an undocumented person writing about the community that raised me. I think that adds a different texture and context and a different sensitivity to the ways in which I am really, really uplifting the people that inspired me.\u201d<\/p>\n

David John Ch\u00e1vez is a former chair of the American Theatre Critics\/Journalists Association and a two-time juror for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama (\u201822-\u201823); @davidjchavez.bsky.social.<\/p>\n

\u2018NO LLEGAMOS AQU\u00cd SOLOS\u2019<\/p>\n

By Yosimar Reyes, presented by Teatro Visi\u00f3n<\/p>\n

Through: Feb. 22<\/p>\n

Where: Mexican Heritage Plaza Theater, 1700 Alum Rock Ave., San Jose<\/p>\n

Tickets: $10-$40; teatrovision.org<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The corner of Story and Capitol in San Jose can claim Yosimar Reyes as one of its most…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":185090,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[7,967,88,90,89,1058,420],"class_list":{"0":"post-193041","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-jose","8":"tag-california","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-san-jose","11":"tag-san-jose-headlines","12":"tag-san-jose-news","13":"tag-theater","14":"tag-things-to-do"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/193041","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=193041"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/193041\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/185090"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=193041"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=193041"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=193041"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}