In celebration of Mexico’s Independence day, UNIQUE programs and Teatro Espejo, a Chicano theater company, are working together to correct the mistake many make when confusing Cinco De Mayo for the day Mexico was liberated from Spain.

Mexican-American director and retired Sacramento State professor Manuel Pickett strives to bring the story of the 200th anniversary of Mexico’s independence in the audience-interactive play, “El Grito de Dolores,” at noon Thursday in the University Union Ballroom.

In this play, Pickett said his main goal is to educate others.

“Lots of people point to Cinco De Mayo as the historical day of independence, but it’s not. It”s Sept.16,” Berman Obaldia, as Sac State alumnus who plays the main character of Miguel Hidalgo said. “(Cinco De Mayo) is a fabrication of the market place and is really for partying.”

For the 200th anniversary of Mexico’s independence, Pickett said he wanted to put on a production that was not only relevant to the community, but to educate younger people about Mexican history.

“We felt the urgency to show what happened during that period and to celebrate it,” Pickett said.

Pickett said he incorporates the audience into the play by having actors communicating to the audience either by getting them to dance on the stage with them or to stand up and raise their fists in the air as everyone yelled “Viva la Mexico” in unison at the end of the play.

“We wanted to feel like the people were a part of the history – part of the event instead of a passive audience,” Pickett said.

In bringing the audience into the set of the time, Obaldia said Pickett uses his way of “breaking the traditional pristine mode of theater” by having the actors involved with the audience.

“With this type of theater, it engages (the audience) and brings them into this third dimension,” Obaldia said. “The audience becomes somewhat like extras.”

A large amount of the dialogue is a mixture of English and Spanish – Spanglish.

Obaldia said because the play is in both Spanish and English it will be interesting for audience members who speak only English to watch.

“It’s a way to draw audiences in to be “simpatico,'” Obaldia said.

Obaldia said the word “simpatico,” means that it is drawing people closer to recognize the characters.

“This is a play where little kids 6 years old and older can be interested,” he said.

Loosely translated, Pickett said, “El Grito de Dolores,” means the cry of pain for the Mexican village of Dolores.

The play opens up with the history of how Miguel Hidalgo, a Catholic priest has brought Mexico into a revolution.

Pickett says that Hidalgo himself was born from Spanish parents who lived in Mexico and he was considered a “Creole.”

“In that time in Mexico, there was a distinction between Spaniards born in Spain and those born in Mexico,” Pickett said. “They (Spaniards born in Mexico) were called Creoles.”

For 300 years, Pickett said the Spanish Mexicans and the indigenous people for Mexico were exploited as slaves.

“The Spaniards tried to convert them (natives) into Christianity and used them as a cheap labor force – not even allowing them to own a horse or have any rights,” Pickett said. “They controlled food rations and didn’t let them start their own businesses.”

In Hidalgo’s childhood, Pickett said Hidalgo and a real connection with the poor people in the village.

“He grew up in the same area as the poor people in upper-middle class, but his father raised him to be free of any racial distinctions,” Picket said. “He played with the natives and learned the regional languages; Nahuatl, Otomi and Tarascan proficiently.”

Pickett said the Creoles were treated like second-class citizens and the natives were treated worse.

“They wanted to be liberated from Spain – they felt that they could win in masses of people fighting with what they had: clubs and rocks,” Pickett said. “Hidalgo was the chosen leader because the masses followed him and the Creoles needed him.”

Obaldia relates to the oppression of the people in Mexico with his own cultural background.

“The ironic part is that I’m Puerto Rican, but it’s very similar because we (Puerto Ricans) declared our independence from Spain around the same time,” Obaldia said. “Given what was happening to Spain and it losing a lot of its power to the French and British – others saw that as a way to break away and declare their independence.”

Pickett said Hidalgo fought to lead the people of Mexico because he believed deeply in their struggles.

“He (Hidalgo) helped pave the way, he had a dream he sought out to liberate his country from the grip of Spain,” Obaldia said. “This was a time when Spain saw Mexico as an ATM – just for gold.”

Pickett’s daughter Marisol Ramirez, a senior at Sac State, said a lot of people do not know what the real history of Mexico’s independence is.

“I really liked this play because I admire the fact that he wanted to share the history with not only the audience, but the younger generations,” Marisol said.

Obaldia said he hopes college students will recognize that there is a correlation between Mexico’s independence and the United States’ independence.

“Both (countries) were under tyranny,” Obaldia said. “This (play) is an understanding of historical aspects and to differentiate between Cinco de Mayo and Sept. 16th.”

Jennifer Siopongco can be reached at [email protected]