On Thursday evening, I went to see Platanos y
Collard Greens, a play put on by numerous clubs and organizations at
Lehigh University. Going into the play, I was not sure what to expect out of it. After a quick
google search on the play, I thought it would be similar to West Side
Story, which I saw on Broadway a few years ago. However, the play turned
out to be more of a comedy than it was a dramatic romance. All jokes aside,
this production brought to light many weighty issues about race that still presently
exist in our society.
In short, the play Platanos y Collard Greens was about a forbidden
relationship between two college students, a Latina named Angelita and an African
American named Freeman. Angelita’s mother supposedly wants the best for her
daughter, which means she cannot be with a black man, including Freeman. Moreover, her
mother would go to great lengths to break up Angelita and Freeman. She even fakes a heart
attack in order to make her daughter feel worse about going against her wishes.
Platanos
y Collard Greens presented a powerful message about the stereotypes and racism
that are still present in the Latino and African American community. It is
ironic that these two races, even with cultures that both originated from
African roots and have both suffered from great injustices of society in the
past, have persistent hostile attitudes against one another. For instance, even
though the Dominican Republic and Haiti share the same island, their societies
are far from being on friendly terms.
An
interesting point that the play brought up was the fact that colorism greatly
affects Latino and Black communities today. Colorism is discrimination based on
an individual’s skin color. It was said in the play that saying to someone “hey
light skin” was a compliment and “hey dark skin” was a nasty insult. It is
mind-boggling to me that people of the same race would classify each other
based on the slight differences in skin tone. The play also mentioned a U.S.
president who had many slaves and was known to have raped and impregnate
several of his female slaves. When his slaves gave birth to his children, he
separated them based on the hue of their skin and designated them to different
“jobs” based on which group they were in.
Platanos
y Collard Greens highlighted several serious issues about the presence of
racism and stereotypes in the Black and Latino population. However, in light of
all these problematic attitudes in society, the play was able to discuss these
issues in a comedic and light-hearted tone. You could tell that the audience
was very amused and greatly affected by the emotions that the play brought
about. The actors also did a wonderful job in their performances. The characters in
Platanos y Collard Greens really took on the role of expressing the challenges
and obstacles that persist in Latino and African American culture by illustrating
how they greatly influence relationships between family, friends, and lovers.
