Electricidad: A Chicano Take on the Tragedy of Electra
by Luis Alfaro

_The father is dead. The daughter mourns. Her sister prays. Her brother returns. The mother plots. A friend prepares. The Vecinas gossip. And abuela smokes a joint because this is all getting too pesado. Set in a barrio in urban eastside Los Angeles, Sophocles’ 2,500-year-old tale is transformed into a vibrant, vital and thoroughly unforgettable myth for the Modern Age. Electricidad is a contemporary look at the power and consequences of revenge, and the damage it causes to a family and a community. The story is dominated by a daughter, who is mourning the loss of her murdered father, the former leader of the East Side Locos. Driven by all-consuming passions of love and loyalty, hate and vengeance, Electricidad and her exiled brother, Orestes, believe that their father’s death must be avenged. Ancient Greek and Aztec myths converge as Electricidad attempts to write her own history. 

Electricidad was produced by Teatro Nuevo México at The National Hispanic Cultural Center as part of the Revolutions International Theatre Festival.

Photos by Tara Brinduse.