I had heard of The RUTAS Festival before but had never had the opportunity to attend. This year’s theme was Personal Cartographies. When the invitation was extended, I took it because I want to learn more about this artistic celebration.

In her Factory Theatre Programme note, Aluna Theatre Artistic Director Beatriz Pizano writes about how this festival continues to change Toronto's cultural face by connecting new generations from Latinx diasporas to their roots and inspiring audiences and artists to experience life through a new lens. This sixth edition of RUTAS is in partnership with Toronto’s Factory Theatre and Theatre Passe Muraille.

This part of the above sentence caught my eye: “Inspiring audiences to experience life through a new lens.”

The theatre does that and whose life would I experience through a new lens.? I settled in the chair for the final presentation of ‘Wilma,’ written, directed, and performed by Itzhel Razo.

A compact set designed by Aurelio Palomino with props and pieces appropriate for space and use. A scrim was used to project individuals' faces, and a child’s chair was underneath a hanging light bulb with strands of what appeared to be coloured rope hanging down. There was what I thought looked like a giant water tank containing coral rocks and coral lilies.

Writer, Director, and Performer Itzhel Razo appears from stage left and sits in the child’s chair. She’s sporting long, bright red hair and a colourful dress. She says nothing for a few minutes but eyes the audience. She then places her face in front of a fan, and her beautiful hair is caught up in the wind and blown in various shapes that encircle her perfectly coiffed face.

When she begins speaking, it is in Spanish, and English surtitles are projected on the back wall.

According to the press media kit, ‘Wilma’ is autobiographical and fictional. The story uses the analogy of two Wilmas: Razo’s grandmother, who imposed a classist education on her young granddaughter and wanted her to avoid a culture that appeared inferior to her ‘white’ grandmother, and Hurricane Wilma from 2005, which went through the Mayan area of Mexico.

The message the audience can glean from ‘Wilma’ is that seeds of racism and classism are planted in childhood through an education we receive at home from our first teachers – our parents and grandparents.

Comment:
Today is National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in Canada, so the final Toronto performance of ‘Wilma’ is most appropriate in our country.

Some press materials mention Itzhel Razo as an emerging artist. I’d agree with that. She’s daring, brave, and bold in telling her story with tremendous personal dignity. (Spoiler alert) Even when she appears nude in the last few minutes of the one-hour production, one ignores that reality. Razo continues telling and sharing her story with an everlasting hope that all audiences will continue to think, ponder and reflect on atrocities committed against others who, as Grandma Wilma believed, want to avoid another culture deemed inferior.

Heady message to consider on a beautiful Sunday afternoon outside, but an important one.

I was moved by this final Toronto performance but left without remaining to hear the Artist's talkback.

There’s still so much we must learn, revisit, evaluate, and consider before moving forward. At times, this reality seems insurmountable. Where do we start, how do we start, and who will be there to ensure we are heading in the right direction?

So many questions and possibilities.

Just today, an Indigenous artist responded to me on this National Truth and Reconciliation Day: “Continuing to ask the gentle and thoughtful questions that you ask is a good way forward.”

Pizano is correct in her Programme Note: We need theatre like ‘Wilma’ to inspire us to experience life through a new lens.

I’m all for that, as I want to learn more.

But how do we know we are heading where we should be?

More live theatre? Yes, please.

I’m all for that, too.

The RUTAS Festival continues until October 6 at various venues around Toronto, including Theatre Passe Muraille and Factory. To learn more and to see what’s playing, visit alunatheatre.ca.