By John Lyle Belden
Food – like language and music – is an essential part of culture, and peoples all over the world have their signature dishes. In Latin America, that includes sancocho (from the Spanish verb for parboil), a rich stew made with various meats, vegetables and tubers. For Puerto Ricans, both on the island and in New York City, every family has a recipe passed down through generations. According to the Edible Manhattan website, sancocho “is a staple of family gatherings and celebrations, a meal designed as much for sharing as for sustenance.”
In “Sancocho: A Culinary & Culturally Immersive Play” by Christian Eve Cato, presented by Cultura Live Indy at The District Theatre, two sisters prepare the stew, but the truly spicy “dish” is their conversation.
Caridad (Alicia Sims), the older sister, prepares the dish as she was taught by their mother. Renata (Yolanda Valdivia), who is 25 years younger, was encouraged instead to study and is now an attorney, lamenting her lack of kitchen skills. There are other visible differences between them. Caridad has darker skin and her children are grown, while fair-skinned Renata is very pregnant with her first child (a daughter). Their mother has passed and their father – who each remembers differently – is dying.
Renata wants to discuss the details of their father’s will; Caridad wants her to cut up the yams.
While the stew simmers, the conversation often comes to a boil as past resentments surface, as well as experiences remembered differently, and finally some serious family secrets. As it often is with siblings, nothing boils over as humor and attempts at understanding are sprinkled in. The secret ingredient of sancocho, after all, is love.
And I don’t just mean “simmers” metaphorically or stage-pretending. A Dutch oven style vessel sets on a heated surface onstage in the intimate District cabaret. Stage crew start the broth prior to the show, and ingredients are added throughout the play, bringing aroma and authenticity to the scene. Afterward, as well as an opportunity to meet the playwright, there will be samples of sancocho served by Cultura Live Indy in the lobby.
Directed by Andres Lopez, we get wonderfully raw performances of a relationship that’s been more tested than either care to admit. Their different perspectives are painfully obvious at the beginning and must be reconciled before they can share the meal. Valdivia presents Renata as a Millennial feeling detached from her roots, consumed by the business of the present. Sims (“The UnCuT Diamond”) as Caridad feels the weight of the past, especially now. The process of cooking for her is not just a chore, it is a necessary catalyst for what is happening now, and about to happen.
Lopez said he had reached out to Cato before taking on this project, ensuring he would be the right person to “shepherd” (his word) the play – his roots being in Mexico rather than Puerto Rico. Dramaturg Taylor Harmon, an IU graduate living in Boston, applied her studies in Latinx culture to help with the show’s recipe. Other important ingredients include stage manager Rick Northam, production manager Kelly Kel, and tech director Jess Knutson.
A delicious and satisfying experience all around, gather for “Sancocho” Friday through Sunday, Nov. 13-15, at 627 Massachusetts Ave., downtown Indianapolis. Get tickets at indydistricttheatre.org.
