Esperanza para un mejor país

I took no photos today.  But I had a fine breakfast in the hotel, and, as I think about it, I ate all three meals at the Hotel Intercontinental.  Tomorrow I'm going to get there a little earlier so I don't rush through the amazing array of fresh fruits and fruit juices on hand, watermelon, papaya, orange, melons, pineapple...

Today was our first rehearsal with Lucem Aspicia ("I seek the light" in Latin) the motto of the UNAH, and the name of the theatre group. Thirteen students, plus our playwright Blanca Estrada and her husband Armando spent the morning together, getting to know each other, doing some physical, vocal, centering work.  We talked about why we do theatre and it was encouraging to hear that in addition to challenge, personal growth and camaraderie, theater is important to this group because of its ability to convey important ideas.

Blanca's play, Esperanza para un mejor país (Hope for a Better Country) is about the near-death of Sueño (Dream), who envisions national peace.  His partner, Esperanza (Hope), asks him to hold on, she's sure they'll find a catracho (Hondureñan) who can keep his dream alive. They encounter three students, two of whom are blind (Toño and Daniela). The third, their friend Sofía, wants them to vote for the candidate with the attractive beauty mark who promises a million new homes to solve the housing problems and a fleet of helicopter taxis to alleviate the traffic.  Not only do Toño and Daniela not trust this candidate, they also know that support for people with disabilities is not on his list.  When Toño brings it to his attention, he amends his promises.  He now vows that if he is elected, the blind will see, the deaf will hear, and those who can't walk will walk!

Tomorrow we begin the casting process, and because we have 13 actors but only 7 roles, we've begun talking  about how to bring other characters into the work.  Perhaps there are other "values" that need to have a voice, such as Codicia (Greed), or Cinismo (Cynicism).   Luckily Blanca will be at all rehearsals and she's open to seeing how her work will grow.

After lunch, I was taken to the US Embassy again, where I checked my cellphone, camera and laptop at the security desk, and my passport at the main door.  I met Carmen Urcuyo, who worked with José Gonzalez (who referred me for the gig) back in 1995.  She and Beverly Thacker introduced me to Stephen Posivak, the Embassy's Press and Culture Secretary.  We talked about the script and he suggested 'Fear' might make a good new character for the play. I appreciated it when he told me that the Embassy (the US, in essence) is not interested in advocating for any candidate or political party, but rather for civic engagement as a whole.

I am struck by how real this work of the Embassy is, and how influential and dangerous it can become.

Back to the hotel, I stopped in at the gym where I ran 5k, 'cause 'round here we roll in kilometers, centigrade and lempiras (the Honduran currency).  Great timing, I caught the end of the re-broadcast of the Paris-St. Germain vs. Barcelona (Barca) futbol game!  Barca is the best team in the world, with the best player in the world, Lionel Messi.  But PSG has David Beckham, who just before the match gave a rousing speech about how PSG shouldn't give up even if the odds are against them.

I had watched about a half hour of the game at lunch, as PSG tied the score 1-1, and then Barca came back to make it 1-2.  It looked hopeless when I left but, lo and behold, in the 4 minutes overtime, PSG scored, for a 2-2 draw!

The stuff of Hope...