From Public Theater and WNYC Studios, Romeo y Julieta creates a version of Shakespeare’s play that is more diverse than West Side Story. Told entirely in Spanglish, the romance of Romeo and Juliet mirrors Friday night telenovelas, the words of Lady Capulet resemble gossiping Tias.
Romeo and Juliet are usually viewed as a fairytale, but even the poetic albeit complicated words of the Elizabethan era can still prove relevance today. A dying cactus flower, dreams, and arguing parents: there is more than one way to read Romeo and Juliet.
Instead of referencing my ninth-grade curriculum waxing poetry and analysis of the play, I took inspiration from my ninth-grade self instead. I had loved the ridiculousness and dramatic telling of the story, Mercutio being one of the funniest characters in my opinion, dying a hero as he called Tybalt a rat. In this zine, I wanted to replicate the same feelings of loss, hatred, and love found in the play through photography. To put an image to the purely audio performance. Even if I’ve never personally been caught in a war caused by two star-struck lovers and their families, I can offer small snippets of a lazy summer vacation.
No people were poisoned in the making of this zine.
“Buenas noches! Parting is such sweet sorrow, que diría ‘buenas noches’ till it be morrow.”
Credits:
Photos from Liza Tuyuc
Stickers from Canva
Page 2, Orange Huipil: “From the Loom of a Goddess.” From the Loom of a Goddess | RISD Museum, https://risdmuseum.org/exhibitions-events/exhibitions/loom-goddess.
Quotes and Translations: Romeo y Julieta.
