Chicas 2000
Carmelita Tropicana. Chicas 2000, 1997.
Description:
"Chicas 2000"
Written by Carmelita Tropicana and directed by Uzi Parnes. Play. Premiered at Dixon Place, NYC in 1997. Photo credit: Dona Ann McAdams.
Cast: Carmelita Tropicana, Uzi Parnes, Rebecca Sumner Burgos, Ana Margaret Sanchez.
A sci-fi cloning satire tackling themes of assimilation and censorship. It introduces to an American audience the word "chusma" and a disease called "chusmeria."
A newscaster’s monologue introduces the plays setting:
“On December 31, 1999, TV shows like these were taken off the air. They were symbolic of the social ills gripping the nation. It was in response to these shows that the FBI, DNA, RA BMU was created, the DNA Remodeling Agency and Behaviour Modification Unit. It’s mission: better the human race through designer genes. Genes responsible for antisocial behavior were coded and classified. Among the deviant genes heading the list: the chusma gene, that which gives rise to a disease known as 'chusmeria'—shameless, loud, gross, tacky behavior, in short, tasteless with attitude.”
Medium:
Performance
Tags:
Uzi Parnes, persona, censorship, assimilation, satire, sci-fi, Cuba, chusmeria, Latina, cloning, identity, chusma
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