In 2024 and 2025, over the course of a community story-gathering project, Teatro Visión and Yosimar Reyes created No llegamos aquí solos to share stories rooted in the lives of our East San José neighbors. Blending Yosimar’s deep knowledge of the Mayfair community in which he was raised, his honest and emotive poetic voice, and Teatro Visión’s extensive experience with community-engaged theater practices, the project nurtured community power and inspired civic engagement in East San José.
At the project’s inception, we held 6 poetry workshops with over 60 participants from the following organizations, who represent the heart of East San José. Their stories inspired and shaped the piece you will experience today. Muchísimas gracias to the participants listed below and to all those whose generosity with their stories made this piece possible.
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Vecinos Activos, Somos Mayfair Jóvenes Activos, Somos Mayfair Colectivo ALA Silver Creek High School |
Jobs to Grow, Grail Family Services Day Worker Center of Mountain View Eastside Grown, Veggielution |
About the Play: It's Mamá Doña's 85th birthday celebration, but her grandson Ignacio has decided that today is the day he is called to organize his community in preparation for an ICE raid. When his neighbors in their apartment complex don't quite gel with Ignacio’s methods, he learns an important lesson about how to care for the community he loves.
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““This new work seeks to shed light onto the stories of the people who continue to live and thrive in a community that is threatened to be displaced by gentrification. The high cost of living and the ravenous modernity cast a shadow on our most vulnerable communities and threaten to erase their very existence and legacy.” —Rodrigo García, Teatro Visión Artistic Director |
This project was made possible by the Creative Work Fund, a program of the Walter and Elise Haas Fund in collaboration with the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. The CWF aims to empower collaborations between artists and nonprofit organizations to create new works of art, based on the idea that, “Collaborative efforts among artists, organizations, and their communities can generate a productive exchange and bring the arts to new and intersectional audiences.” No llegamos aquí solos is also supported by the Kenneth Rainin Foundation New and Experimental Works (NEW) Program, a California Arts Council Impact Grant, and the County of Santa Clara.
