ICE – Analog Artist Digital World

Ayni Performing Arts of Orlando Florida presented The Suitcase – La Maleta at the Orlando International Fringe Festival. This solo show starred Peruvian artist Gio Quezada who also wrote the show directed by Jorge Bazalar. The Suitcase was inspired by Quezada’s own journey immigrating to the America from Peru and explored themes of resilience, identity, and the immigrant experience.

With the current administration, immigrants all across America are being terrorized by ICE Agents who violently pull them from their jobs, courtroom and the streets and detain them in concentration camps. Living in constant fear makes the American dream a distant memory for all.

Gio gave a voice to all these people who are struggling to survive today. The character she portrayed was named Lucia, a graceful ballet dancer. The arts in America are also under attack so her idyllic profession makes surviving in America even harder. Before arriving at the festival, The Suitcase production was backed by a United Arts Individual Artist Grant, which makes me particularly happy.

Besides her own story, she related stories of Latin Americans from other countries who had uprooted their lives to come to America. The journeys are often insanely dangerous, but they all hope the American dream might still be alive. This show was so important to see given the temperature of hatred and intolerance being spread in America today.

The stories told were true hero’s journeys. The souls brave enough to make the dangerous journey are also the souls who are brave enough to build a life here. Yet today there are so many stories of children being separated from parents and other atrocities that make it clear that we are living in inhumane times. The inhumanity helps distract from the presidential criminal actions that define the news every day.

After the performance I walked on stage to look at the suitcase which was open. It was filled with so many family photos from a family struggling to make a life here in America.

On the Statue of Liberty…

“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free!”

Does this mean anything anymore when ICE agents are detaining people who are immigrants or citizens?

The “golden door” seems now to be a crude detention cage. I feel that The Suitcase was the most timely, important and brave play I saw at this year’s Fringe. Through personal stories it illuminated the dark heart of America today and the loneliness of trying to survive in a capitalist society. Even as a privileged white American, I identify with her story.

By Thomas Thorspecken

After driving to Alligator Alcatraz for the first time, Stella P. Arbelaéz Tascón wanted to pick up her Colombian National ID at the Colombian Consulate (280 Aragón Avenue, Coral Gables FL.) It was a quick drive across the state. The building with its Mediterranean Revival architecture blends well into the very posh neighborhood.

Walking to the consulate we passed a Pilates class and the Coral Gables Museum. A group of woman still in their tight exercise leotards must have just left the class as they passed me as I setting up my art stool in front of the Museum. It was very early, and the museum was closed, so I was less concerned about a museum guard shooing me away.

Stella left me to watch Boo Boo her adorable tiny pup. I tied his leash to my belt as I sketched. A second group of Pilates warriors stopped to ask his name and give him all the pets. A man about half way up the block from me, seated on the sidewalk looked like he might be homeless, then again, I probably looked about the same having just come from the sweaty Everglades.

The last time Stella was here, she had to wait overnight since the line to get into the consulate had been so long, snaking around the block. This time the line did not extend past the width of the building. Also She did not have to wait in line since she was just picking up her document. The bureaucratic process still gave me enough time to complete this sketch, so she must have been inside over an hour.

With the United States spiraling into a dictatorship, having official documents is more important than ever given, the ICE raids of workplaces and family gatherings. Stella and I watched a video of a realtor talking about how many rich people are leaving the country, selling their million dollar properties. She used to see one such sale every few months but now she is seeing a flood of people getting out of the country.

I was considering purchasing a home in New York State, but now I am reconsidering the idea of buying a property in the United States. My new plan is to travel Europe, sketching each day, for eight months, following the movements of the 75th Infantry, C Company, in the final months of WWII as they defeated Fascism. My father Arthur Harold Thorspecken was a 1st Lieutenant in C Company and I am now plotting their battles, breaking it down by the day. My sketches will be dated based on the events taking place in 1945. I am pouring over several pamphlets my father had been given at the end of the war and a written recounting of the infantry’s movements based on the recollections of another 1st Lieutenant of C Company. My father never talked about the war. My brother warned me about the winter weather, but C Company had to deal with freezing conditions as they moved around Europe. I will just have to deal with whatever weather is thrown my way.