Illegal immigration was never an issue that I felt truly deserved so much attention. I do not provide a home for any illegal aliens, sell fake green cards or extended visas, or know any family or friends that are trying to become American citizens; so illegal immigrants never had a large effect in my life. In fact, I was probably one to vote against illegal immigration. New York City is already so crowded and diverse, I thought, why make the city even more congested with those who don’t deserve to be here. Surprisingly, Carlo Alban was able to drastically alter my view on the subject through his one-man performance Intríngulis.
Throughout my life, I have seen films about the hardships of foreigners fighting their way onto American soil to escape the poverty, oppression, or war that made their homeland unbearable, but I never felt a change of heart towards the issue illegal immigration. Yet, Carlo’s performance was different. I never felt so connected to someone who actually went through the events I had only seen in movies or documentaries. Instead of sitting down to watch a man make a fool of himself, I saw a human being revealing the story of his life to those who were willing to listen. Instead of trying to persuade an audience to change their views by pushing the idea that illegal immigrants deserve to be in America, he just told a true story that was down to earth and very relatable.
The approach Carlo chose to present his story creates a connection between him and his audience that can’t be found in any movie. The decision to make a one-man show, hold it in such a small theater, and to present a real story about a boy growing up in America as an illegal immigrant allows the audience to feel sympathy for Carlo. Carlo doesn’t try to put himself on a pedestal to appear to be an individual who is better than everyone else, instead he puts himself on our level, the one that all of us normal humans live on with real lives. Although he played multiple roles, each of his characters were people with regular jobs, listened to similar music (I loved the reference to Nirvana), and had issues that I have even gone through. Building a connection with Carlo was so easy because it felt like I was listening to one of my friends going on one of their extended rants with some intermittent guitar playing, which I have to say was phenomenal.
Carlo Alban is not illegal immigrant. He is an American citizen who deserves to be here just as much as you or me, if not more. I realized that foreigners that come to America are not people who come to leech off the benefits that the rest of us citizens work so hard to achieve, instead they work harder than any American who was born with these rights. They even pay taxes! Strangely, it took Carlo Alban’s story for me to realize that. Hopefully, everyone who is still skeptical about the idea of illegal immigrants will have the chance to listen to Carlo’s story to figure out that those who come here for the American dream deserve to stay as long as they work for it. If Carlo continues to perform, he will slowly change the views on illegal immigration one person at a time.
