Originally developed and staged as part of La Lengua Theater’s 2024 Historias de Descolonización (Decolonization Stories) ‘El silencio árido del agua’ (The Arid Silence of Water) marked its world premiere by Puerto Rican playwright Viviana Calderon from Aug. 5-16 at the Brava Theater in the Mission.
The play, directed by Virginia Blanco, paves the way for the 3rd edition of the Historias de Descolonización festival that focuses on climate change to be presented on October 24–25, 2026, at Brava Theater.
The residency and festival, according to a news release, serves as a platform to promote work about the ongoing colonization in the Americas. The project works to combat misinformation and shed light on the real impact and consequences of colonization that persist today.
Playwriter Vivian Calderon emphasized that while she focused on the current situation in PR, the play represents the struggles around the world against colonization and the role of water since human beings are made up mostly of water.
According to Calderon it was important to go beyond the typical tourist view of the island that focuses on beaches and music. She wanted to bring out the irony of being surrounded by water and yet not having drinking water. The contrast between the two families characterized in the play showed how one family struggled with the drought, while the other is oblivious to the situation. Things are complicated and absurd, which makes for an interesting play.
This new play takes us into the home of a family in rural Puerto Rico facing a devastating drought intensified by a relentless heat wave. Even in cool San Francisco, we could almost feel the heat that the three people were enduring.
The bickering between the parents, Gladys (Puerto Rican actor Kelia Michelle) and Miguel (our own Carlos Baron), was realistic and made much of the audience giggle. However, their disabled wheelchair-bound daughter, Natalia (played by Antonella Scogna) highlighted the pain climate-change and drought can create especially for the most vulnerable.
Nearby, the new neighbors that Gladys has been spying on, seem to be using extra water. The grouchy but empowered Gladys begins to investigate.
The play intertwines colonialism and the island’s water crisis with poetic imagery, to balance tragedy and comedy in ways you will enjoy. It also merges dialogue, film and movement to present an entertaining and thought-provoking piece.
Another humorous aspect of “The Arid Silence of Water” is how Miguel is enamored with “chat,” with which he seems to have a romantic connection (we all know that data centers are prolific water wasters). The contradiction is not lost on us, and, again, the humor is well demonstrated by Baron’s Miguel character. We question how “chats” can replace real friends and what that is doing to maintain the oppression of colonized people and threating communities’ empowerment. Gladys typically blames her husband for his loneliness, epitomizing how we blame each other, instead of the system that oppresses us.
Injustice is contrasted by the two households that are presented side by side. It is an incongruous but realistic portrayal.
On one side, the need for empowerment if only in access to water and on the other side are those who gentrify our neighborhoods and have all the access they need to resources and wealth. However, the oblivious and wealthy husband is married to a Puerto Rican woman, who raises important issues adding depth and nuance to the play.
The small and comfortable theater in BRAVA Studio 2 is a good fit for this play because the audience gets to sit in with these two families’ lives. The lighting and use of a screen between the two homes allows for more detail as well as a visual interpretation of feelings, the environment and events in Puerto Rico. It is also like a window into the outside world and allowed the playwright to represent movement.
Credit must be given to “La Lengua Theater” for taking on the critical issue of access to water. Puerto Rico is the perfect example since it is currently facing a severe water crisis driven by historic drought conditions and failing, decades-old infrastructure. Governor Jenniffer González has declared an island-wide state of emergency and mandated rotating 48-hour water shutoffs for more than 180,000 residents in San Juan and other major cities.
The performances, direction and set all came together to produce an entertaining and profound look at colonization, which can motivate and inspire our movements against climate change and human rights issues.
‘El silencio árido del agua’ (The Arid Silence of Water) was no doubt a must see.