The rhythms of traditional bomba y plena and urban reggaetón collide in this song-driven rendition of the historic migration of Puerto Ricans to Hawai’i.

Premiered in 2007 and part of Pregones/PRTT’s “historic trilogy”, Aloha Boricua focuses on an early instance of strategic population displacement under U.S. colonial rule: Following the devastation of Category 4 hurricane San Ciriáco, just one year after military invasion, and lured by the promise of paid employment and new beginnings, young Puerto Rican sugarcane workers and their families embark on a one-way transoceanic trip to Hawaii.

Multiple voices overlap in the musical narrative, including those of Hawaiian Queen Lili’uokalani; Pele, Hawaiian Goddess of Fire and Volcanoes; and a younger generation of streetwise poets and musicians eager to make sense of it all.

Conceived and directed by 2022 CCNY Simón Bolívar Award winner Jorge B. Merced, the play is adapted from the short story “Vivir del cuento” and other writings by influential queer author Manuel Ramos Otero. Admired for tackling gay and feminist themes frontally, Ramos Otero’s work is famously dense with poetry and wit.

Performed in English and Spanish with titles. Duration: 115 minutes. One Intermission.

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