The Show Must Go On: Patricia Zamora Brings Curanderas & Chocolate to Life During the Global Pandemic

Patricia Zamora takes the virtual stage on Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020 for her one-woman production of Curanderas & Chocolate. Photos by B. Kay Richter

September 30, 2020 - San Antonio

Article By: Valeria Torrealba - Staff Intern - San Antonio Sentinel

Patricia Zamora, the writer behind Curanderas & Chocolate, brings to life the rejuvenating story of faith, spiritual and emotional healing through ten different characters, all played by Zamora herself.

The show is set to premiere on a livestream on September 30, streaming again on October 2, 3, 7, 9 and 10. Tickets can be purchased on Teatro Audaz’s website here.

Zamora, the headlining actress in this intricate production, has poured her heart and energy into maintaining the story line and transforming the production into something relatable, touching the spirit of those who share the childhood bond of growing up in a Latino household.

“When I wrote the show and it first made its world premiere, I didn’t know the impact it would have on people,” Zamora said.  “After each show, I would stand by the theater door and greet each patron. They would tell me stories from their life and tell me which monologue resonated with them — the feedback informs my writing and the changes I may make in the stories. I realized after that run at The Overtime how important these stories were.”

And the stories continue to remain important. Zamora reflects on the current social and political climate, noting how relevant and timely her production is to San Antonio and the tumultuous social justice battles Latin American and Hispanic communities have faced in the United States as of late. 

“When [Curanderas & Chocolate]  ran at The Guadalupe, the political climate wasn’t great, but there weren’t as many peaceful protests, there weren’t riots — I feel that this pandemic has really blown the top off any systemic issues, specifically systemic racism, as it has been allowed to permeate — police departments, governments, universities, any institution,” Zamora said. “Now, with everything that is happening, the unrest, there is one specific monologue and scene in my show that I had addressed racism and segregation. It just blows my mind that we are here now, in this political climate, and it’s relevant.”

Zamora, showcasing the rejuvenating story of faith, emotional and spiritual healing, hopes to bring a common thread to Latin American culture and unite the divided community. In this case, it was the embodiment of a healer — a curandera.

“When I first started sharing with people that I’ve got this one-woman show, they would tell me, ‘My tia was a curandera, my grandmother was a curandera, my cousin was a curandera!’ — this was the avenue to speak about it, and, quite surprisingly to me, it is a common thread, and it really just validated my own experiences, and really strengthened this desire for me to share the stories because of that commonality. I think that sometimes we look so much for the things that separate us, even as Latinos,” said Zamora.

"My tia was a curandera, my grandmother was a curandera, my cousin was a curandera!’ — this was the avenue to speak about it, and, quite surprisingly to me, it is a common thread, and it really just validated my own experiences, and really strengthened this desire for me to share the stories because of that commonality,” Zamora said.

Teatro Audaz San Antonio now finds itself in a predicament amidst the safety guidelines established during the pandemic. With a stage so unique and with a mission to amplify and showcase the voice of Mexican and Latin American communities, the pandemic has taken a toll on one of the biggest things cast members feed off of while on stage: a live audience.

“It’s different for the audience, but it’s also different for the actor on stage,” said Teatro Audaz’s executive artistic director and co-founder, Laura Garza.

“We feed off of the energy from that audience and actor relationship that happens every night in live theater. Now we don’t have that, because we can’t see the people behind the screen. It’s a bigger challenge on the actor, for sure, and it’s a challenge that Patricia is living up to, times ten. She comes up to this — that energy level, every single night in rehearsal, I really think that those audiences will be able to feel her presence.”

Although the pandemic has hindered the efforts to continue carrying a show in the traditional way — that is, in person with a live audience — it has also highlighted the importance of maintaining and highlighting diverse voices in Latin American communities, especially now.

“It’s very much in the limelight right now, diversity and inclusivity,” said Garza. “We wish and want to serve all of those communities that are underserved by the arts, and we feel that for us, obviously, the Latinx community is first and foremost in our minds because that’s our families and the people that we know. That’s where we grew up, that’s how we grew up.” 

Zamora, through her passionate portrayal of each individual character and monologue, showcases the memories that a person brought up by any Hispanic or Latino household can look back on.

“When I met with Patricia, yes, we did have that same passion and drive,” said Garza. “I read [Curanderas & Chocolate]  and said ‘yeah, this is a good show,’ and I really connected with it. It spoke to me, it spoke to my childhood, it brought me back to those moments — and I felt that if it can do that for me, it can do that for any audience member, regardless of the language.”

Now, what matters is bringing everyone together to reminisce on their childhood. 

“When I say inclusivity, I also mean uniting people,” said Garza.  “How do we bring people together? We find those commonalities, we find those things that we relate to within one another. And, if I can bring this to a stage, where people who maybe are not Latinx, or Hispanic, or Mexican or of Chicano descent and they see it, and they relate to those characters — they have an uncle, or a tia, or a chismosa in their family — maybe they don’t speak that language, but we still have those same relationships. And that’s the beauty of theater — we connect people through the healing power of our stories, our cuentos. Rehearsing and working through the pandemic has not stopped Zamora from stirring the emotions of her audience, however.”

Zamora shares the sentiment of maintaining this unity in the storyline of the production.

“[Laura] gets emotional whenever she gives me notes on this one specific monologue, and I tell her that it’s okay. Go ahead, go ahead and feel those feelings — that’s what theatre is. Theatre is life. These monologues and these stories will resonate with different people in different ways, but they will resonate. When they bring up those memories, emotions will surface,” Zamora said.

Curanderas & Chocolate shows to be a promising labor of love — one that encapsulates the journey that curanderas all around Mexican and Hispanic cultures take in order to bring healing to each home. 

Valeria Torrealba is an opinions columnist and public relations assistant at the University Star, a student publication of Texas State University. Email her at reporter@sasentinel.com