BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THREE men were on a journey. One led the others to a woman, an enchantress, and while two of them managed to resist her charm, the other one was not strong enough to steer clear of her grasp.
This was the scene set at the Sir Cecil Jacobs Auditorium, Eastern Caribbean Central Bank last evening (Oct. 21) for a theatrical production by Youth SPARC called ‘The Enchantment - Mixed Shack’.
The production, which also took place in Nevis the previous evening, formed part of the Sixth Annual Latin Festival that officially began on Monday (Oct. 19) and will culminate on Sunday (Oct. 25) with a Latin Fiesta to be held at Port Zante.
Throughout the production, the nuances and undertones of the male/female dynamic were somewhat subtle but evident enough for the audience to capture the essence of the performance.
On one end of the stage was a shack or bar with a guitarist, a violinist, a drummer, and an ample female, apparently the owner of the bar, who performed two songs at the beginning and half way through the production; both – one St. Lucian and the other Mexican – urged individuals to be careful of the kinds of people they would meet and entertain.
On the other end of the stage, the three friends appeared to be in the dark and bewildered when they heard the soothing voice of a woman. Of course, they looked but were unable to see her, until she cast her light on them.
Dressed in a long golden gown and with her long black hair, the woman, with the use of subtleties, tried to seduce one of the three friends. And even after his friends tried to dissuade him, fell for her.
She offered him gold, silver, water and wine, and after choosing wine the couple was out of sight.
The two men departed and about one year later returned to the spot where their friend fell into the enchantment of the woman, and surprisingly it was there that they found their friend and the enchantress.
Again, the two men encouraged their enchanted friend to break free from the emotional grasp of the woman and return to his mother’s home, but he refused. He said the woman gave him the eyes to see and experience pleasures, but she did not give him words to express those experiences.
The two friends vowed to return to the same spot at the same time each year with the hope that their friend would one day be free.
Director of the production and founder of YOUTH SPAC (Youth Studying Performing Arts and Culture) Kentillia Louis told SKNVibes that ‘The Enchantment’ was her take on Mexican play El Encanto al Tendajon Mixto by Elena Garro.
She said it was first performed in St. Lucia in commemoration of the Mexican Embassy’s 10th anniversary on that island.
“…I wanted to do a play by a female. So we got the play by Elena Garro, and when I read it the first time I thought it has those kinds of undertones about the enchantress, etc. We have our own version of that here. So we used that and I decided to add our own music to it because music is very common. The guitar has a very Mexican feel, the violin is very St. Lucian and the drums are Caribbean.
“It explored the whole male/female dynamic. Whether you are Mexican, Latin, Caribbean, you know it is a universal theme, so I thought that would have gone down well with the audience and I realised it doesn’t really matter what language you speak, it is the same thing…”
She said the audience in Nevis was very receptive of the play and when it concluded last evening and the cast took its final bow, it did so to a standing ovation.
Maite Narveaz, official of the Mexican Embassy in St. Lucia for the OECS, told this publication that she had organised for YOUTH SPAC to be part of the Sixth Annual Latin Festival, having become familiarised with their work in St. Lucia.
“The youth component was an interesting part. I have known Kentillia for couple of months prior and heard many things about her and got to know the group. And after seeing what they have done, I thought this is it. The capability of Kentillia to mix several elements is amazing.”
