Review: 'Bruising for Besos' at Davidson/Valentini Theatre

There’s a line in the film “Parenthood” in which the abused teen played by Keanu Reeves comments, “You need a license to buy a dog, to drive a car -- hell, you even need a license to catch a fish.  But they'll let any ... be a father.”

Even with the profanity elided, that observation remains shatteringly apt.  With the antics of octo-mom dominating the news, what constitutes a fit parent is the subject of much recent, passionate discussion.  But all questions of eugenics and eccentricity aside, active abuse is the clearly defining line between a happy childhood and daily misery.

In her solo show “Bruising for Besos” at the L.A. Gay and Lesbian Center’s Davidson/Valentini Theatre, Adelina Anthony intrepidly spans the divide. Anthony’s protagonist, Yoli Villamontes, seen both in childhood and maturity, is keenly aware of the abyss created by her macho, abusive father, and she deplores the victimization of her poor, immigrant mother, who endures all for the sake of her children.

“Besos” is the first piece in Anthony’s “The Xiqana Xronicles,” a cycle inspired by the recent death of her mother. The action commences beside a desolate Texas highway, where Yoli has been stranded en route to see her ailing mom -- her first visit in 10 years.  As otherworldly as a moonscape, the stark milieu, beautifully realized by set, sound and lighting designers Robert Selander, D’Lo and John Pedone, respectively, is a fittingly desolate setting for Yoli’s painful journey into the past.

Anthony is a striking performer with to-die-for cheekbones that could chop firewood.  Under the taut direction of Rose Marcario, she bristles with seductive, simmering rage.  Yoli’s childhood reminiscences sometimes seem generic, perhaps because the particular pathology between Yoli’s mother and father seems underdeveloped at this juncture.  But Yoli’s path to proud lesbianism is vividly charted, as is Yoli’s steamy, stormy relationship with her lover. Indeed, Anthony concocts such sizzling sexual chemistry with herself you forget there’s only one person on stage.

--F. Kathleen Foley

“Bruising for Besos,” Davidson/Valentini Theatre, 1125 N. McCadden Place, Hollywood.  8 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays, 7 p.m. Sundays.  Ends March 15.  $20.  (323) 860-7300; www.lagaycenter.org/boxoffice   Running time:  1 hour, 30 minutes.

Photo: Adelina Anthony. Credit:  Allison Moon.

Comments

[Julia Rodriguez]

While I appreciate Foley's review on Adelina's "Bruising for Besos," I have to say I wish she had not wasted the first two paragraphs on Reeves or the Octo-mom. As someone who witnessed a truly brilliant and absolutely refreshing solo-play on opening weekend, one that masterfully intertwines so many emotional, political, and cultural layers, and with such poignancy and complexity, I would have appreciated more commentary on the lyricism of the play's language, or the bravery of the subject matter (that goes beyond the macho father and abused mother), or just the wonderfully nuanced acting from such a skilled actor. For those of us who are aware of the work's importance and relevance on many cultural levels--this play marks a pivotal moment in theater history tying together at least three major fonts: Latino/Queer/Feminist. It should not be missed; there is nothing generic about it.

[Lorenzo Herrera y Lozano]

Regarding the LA Weekly review of Adelina Anthony’s Bruising for Besos:

1. The mother of Yoli Villamontes was not an immigrant. What is more, the very dynamic between Yoli’s non-immigrant mother and immigrant father was a strong thread throughout the piece. Anthony’s exploration of this heavily complex, ironic and loving reality points to what a people have had to grapple with for centuries: the ‘otherness’ we, survivors of an ongoing process of occupation, have been taught to find in each other.

2. I find it unsettling to see how quickly misogyny in Latina/o communities is reduced to machismo. While misogyny is certainly alive and well in our communities, we do not hold the patent on it. Just as Black men do not hold the trademark on the ‘downlow,’ we too, do not hold exclusive rights to machismo. This is not to say that the hatred of the feminine that we experience daily in our communities should not be eradicated. It is to say that summarizing the misogyny of chicano/mexicano men with such a cliché term -without proper historical context and reference to the current realities of our communities- borders disrespectful given the lack of evidenced intent of thorough thought.

3. Adelina Anthony is by far one of the most vital voices of our generation. Coming from the lineage of Anzaldúa, Bridgforth, Herrera Rodríguez, Jordan, Lorde and Moraga, Anthony centers all her work within the ancestral, the spiritual, and an evolved analysis of the ‘now,’ based on a meticulous historical understanding of xicana indigeneity. While we count with queer artists who find it useful or necessary to root themselves in Western European ways of knowing, Anthony does not stand among them. Perhaps the fact that Anthony’s work stems from xicana indigenous ways of knowing and being is what makes this work so critical to our generation’s survival.

Further underlying the need for such work is the fact that not enough reviewers have developed the capacity to understand queer xicana indigenous performance as an art form to itself. Anthony’s work carries a story and moves our understandings forward. The development of an evolved loving humanity necessitates such work.

Bruising for Besos is an offering to the very ancestors joining Anthony on stage every night. To have witnessed history in the making as Anthony shifted, dismantled and reshaped paradigms, and focus praise on her cheekbones, is unfortunate.