Dicen que me parezco a Santa Anna... ¡y yo ni guitarra tengo!

Antonio López de Santa Anna

Imagine, if you will, that it’s the year 2150 and George W. Bush wants to clear his name about the Iraq war. Or, maybe Nixon appears in 20 years and wants to clear his name about Watergate. It’s a fictitious encounter, but intriguing, no? For Mexicans, Antonio López de Santa Anna is considered by the general population as one of the worst rulers, ever.  And yet, in this play (They say I look like Santa Anna, but I don´t even have a guitar!), he reappears to clear his name. As he says in the end, if you can forgive those behind Tlatelolco, as well as those behind Ayotzinapa, then surely we can forgive him for his mistakes. The irony is that Mexico doesn’t forgive those behind Tlatelolco and Ayotzinapa, and therefore won’t forgive Santa Anna. The underlying theme behind all of this is that Santa Anna left a legacy of corruption that continues in Mexico.

Allow me to explain why Santa Anna is considered with such disdain. First, he occupied the presidency of Mexico 11 different times. Second, he sold Mexican territory to the United States of America twice. The first time, in 1854, is known as the Gadsden Purchase, which was a relatively small territory in southern New Mexico and Arizona. The second time occurred after Mexico lost the Mexican-American War of 1846-1848. In the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo the United States bought what is now the states of California, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, and a part of Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming. Practically a third to a half of the Mexican territory vanished with the stroke of a pen. For Americans, Santa Anna is well known for the Battle of the Alamo in which the Texans who defended this site were all killed: “Remember the Alamo.” And then he lost the war and a large section of Mexico. Because of these two losses in territory he is known as the “vende patrias”, or the nation merchant.

These are only a few reasons why Santa Anna is considered by many Mexicans as a traitor to his country. The play also presents many other events in his life that only add fuel to this blazing fire. However, despite these horrible actions, the personality attributed to him was quite welcoming: a smooth talker, a lady’s man, a man for all seasons, etc. On various occasions Isaac Pérez Calzada, the actor who played Santa Anna, walked right up to ladies in the audience and tried to smooth talk them into agreeing with him, or at least to spend an evening together. Despite all his persuading, the audience didn’t want to forgive him. And I think that’s part of the point of the show: don’t forgive people who abuse power. At the end, the genie who summoned the spirit of Santa Anna (the actor plays both roles) pleads with the audience that Santa Anna’s legacy not continue in Mexico. And part of this dialogue occurs through music,

Juan Ramón Sandoval

This play is set in a cabaret theater, so part of the show features music. Juan Ramón Sandoval played the piano throughout the show, adding a delightful texture to some of the scenes and the dialogue. What’s interesting about his contribution to the show is that some of the pieces he played are compositions from the era of Santa Anna that he found in archives. In a way, he is resurrecting Mexican art through the show. A beautiful concert pianist, he also interacted with Santa Annal. For example, on one occasion, Santa Anna gets on his knees and pleads for forgiveness. Once he ends his dramatic plea, Juan Ramón left his piano and offered him a trophy, as if he were winning an award for dramatic acting. It was funny to see this type of interaction because it was noticeable that Juan Ramón as a concert piano artist didn’t have much acting background. But that was ok for me. It added a certain level of authenticity of person to the acting because I knew he was really “acting” and not trying to “be” any real type of character.

And yet, despite this wonderful development and acting, the ending was a bit problematic. I understand the genre is cabaret, and that songs fit within this genre, but it was the content of the song that took me out of the play, as well as the drastic change in mood. At the end of the play the genie questions whether what the audience just witnessed was just a dream, or if it was the spark towards change. Well, the song that immediately follows this question pleads with the audience that the show not be a dream, but a call for change. This idea was repeated over and over, and over. For me, this was overly didactic because it reinforced an idea about the work, almost from an outside perspective, like a critique of the work after it was over. As I learned in my playwriting class, you shouldn’t underestimate the intelligence of your audience. Your play should be clear enough that they understand the point, but not so clear you are teaching a class. I felt the playwrights (both Isaac Pérez and his partner Paola Izquierdo) somewhat feared the audience wouldn’t take seriously the content of the show, or maybe even understand it’s importance, and so decided to add a final message through music.

Isaac Pérez Calzada as Santa Anna

The idea behind the show is entertaining and instructive. As an outsider to Mexico I learned a tremendous amount of information about Santa Anna. The play also connected his presidency with that of Enrique Peña Nieto, the current Mexican president (the sale of PEMEX to foreign countries, for example). This aspect made the show even more relevant for audiences today, especially since the show was explicitly created for a call to change the direction in which Mexico is being driven by corruption. 

In the end, the play is spectacular and very informative, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone visiting Mexico City. It runs every Tuesday and Wednesday at 8:30 PM in the Foro A Poco No until the 24^th of June.