All You Need Is Amor Cubano

Maceo and I go way back...to nights spent in long collective meetings on the dirty floor of a fledgling queer activist space on the Lower East Side. I never would have thought that eight years later our writer/activists souls we be reunited on the Left Coast...but here we are.

An amazing artist and friend, Maceo invited to be part of the writing group that was instrumental in helping me develop my grad school writing sample. Her honesty and bravery inspire me to stay true to my values as a lover and fighter for freedom everyday. I truly value her existence on the planet and presence in my life.

how do you know the artist formerly known as laura campagna?
I met the artist formerly known as laura campagna at Bluestockings several years ago when it was still a women’s bookstore. We were both volunteers and then I became staff and she was one of my bosses. There was drama, never between Mel and me but inevitable drama that would happen in a women’s collective. Luckily we are still friends.

where are you from and where do you live now?
I was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY but if I had it my way I would have been born in Victoria de la tunas, Cuba like my brothers. I now live in Oakland by Lake Merritt.

what do you do for work ($$)?
I have multiple jobs. I am a playwright/writer/actor who sometimes gets paid for that. I am a full time nanny. I help raise three toddlers. I am also an apartment manager. I am also a good friend which is also a job but I don’t charge for that one.

what do you do for art/love?
My love right now is my play Amor Cubano: In a bottle, a tube and a small packet. I wrote and produced it last year, 2007. I am in the process of working the business aspect of it and writing the Barbarita Show: The Amor Cubano Prequel/Sequel

for those who haven't seen amor cubano, what is the story/idea?
Amor Cubano: In a bottle, a tube and a small packet, is a multimedia theater performance, takes you into the world of Barbarita Perales- creator of Amor Cubano, the only product that puts the essence of all that's Cuban in a bottle, a tube and a small packet and sells it on an infomercial. Amor Cubano is so powerful it can make Berkeley people have bed-breaking sex, stop cops from shutting down the immigrant rights rally and make your Castro-hating Cuban mom wise up. But can it bring Barbarita's son home from Iraq? Is it powerful enough to end the war and stop Homeland Security from deporting Barbarita? Amor Cubano: in a bottle, a tube and a small packet, a hilarious mediation on what it means to be Cuban, and a prayer to end war in our time.

what inspires you?
Creation, music, laughter, light, love, people who take risks, knowing that change is possible.

how do you strike a balance between politics/the terrible reality of the world and hope/faith in your work?
As an artist that comes from a social justice background my work must be political. I couldn’t have it any other way. But I am also a spiritual/religious person and that aspect of myself must also be in my work. I come from a pretty religious family and my mami taught me that the best way to practice my religion was to help and be good to others. Change is possible and it starts with the individual. If we don’t love ourselves, if we don’t take care of ourselves we can’t do the same for others.

I am a very complex person and I honor my complexities. I bring those complexities into my work, that is the only way I can strike balance in my work and my life.

why is radical community important to you?
I need visionaries in my life to push me to see beyond the limits.

what do you think are the biggest issues facing humanity right now?
That we struggle with love, that there are people that still go hungry, that war still seems like an answer and that we struggle with fully honoring that we are spiritual beings.

algo mas?
I’m going to miss you.

AMOR CUBANO: In a bottle, a tube and a small packet.
Written and performed by Maceo Cabrera Estévez
Directed by Eric Avilés

With live and video performances by: Elliot "Toby" Borrero, Christy Beavers, Oscar Trujillo, Randall Babtkis, Carolyn Cooke, Mekael Johnson, Micaela Diaz-Sanchez, Rosa Gonzalez, Brendon DeMay, Cynthia Renta, Leilani Nisperos, Leydisvel Freire Peña, Salam Hassan, Amos Glick, Eric Avilés and Gonzalo Cabrera.

In November, 2007 the full length production of Amor Cubano: In a bottle, a tube and a small packet was part of the Hecho en Califas Festival at La Peña Cultural Center was also performed in the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts in San Francisco, CA. Amor Cubano: In a bottle, a tube and a small packet took the Bay Area by storm by showing that not only Amor Cubano can make your arthritis go away and beat the effects of Viagra it also caused thousands of US soldiers to drop their arms ending the war in Iraq.

Maceo Cabrera Estévez in her writing and performance shows not only the complexities of being Cuban but also the complexities of living in the United States. She intertwines consumerism, capitalism, spirituality love, laughter, tears and Caribbean sense of humor to entertain her audience but all give the message that love always wins. Amor Cubano: In a bottle, a tube and a small packet was Eric Aviles' directorial debut. He pushed Maceo not only to play Barbarita Perales but also Emma Goldberg, an older Jewish communist who knew about Amor Cubano before it was packaged, Lt. Caridad Lourdes Rodriguez, a former US soldier who gives testimony on the crimes in the war and her reasons for dropping her arms and Bob Buchannan a Texan supporter of Barbarita who wants to use her status to build CheMarts in Cuba. Eric Avilés also worked in the development the testimonies and news briefings on the effects of Amor Cubano with actors such as Rosa Gonzalez of HeadRush and people of the artist and activist community who wanted to be part of Amor Cubano.

Commemorating the five years anniversary on the war in Iraq, Amor Cubano: In a bottle, a tube and a small packet had its first weekend run at La Peña Cultural Center, March 27-29, 2008. Amor Cubano: In a bottle, a tube and a small packet plans to tour till November, 2008 across the United States. This play has live and video subtitles in English and Spanish with a little bit of Arabic.

For more info: www.amorcubano.org or www.myspace.com/amorcubano