By: Caitlin Gath
It was 2005 and two friends had just packed everything they own into a RAV4. Lorena Diaz and Wendy Mateo were about to make the 1,300+ mile trek from Miami to Chicago.
The two comedians who have known each other for 11 years and think of one another as sisters had decided to figure out what it would take to move to Chicago within three months. So they wrote up a list, decided it was “doable” and the rest, Diaz said, is history.
Flash forward to today and this dynamic duo, known as “Dominizuelan,” is on fire. For the first time, the ladies will partner with the Chicago Latino Film Festival, the Latino Cultural Center and Mikey O Productions to put a new spin on their acclaimed show, “People in the City,” which is about living in Chicago and walking through the city streets living your life and experiences. Mateo and Diaz will play approximately 20 different characters, with the audience imagining the scenes and neighborhoods.
“We’ve been workshop-ing this show for quite some time, and along the way we’ve met some wonderful people and Chicago Latino Film Festival and Latino Cultural Center are some of those people,” Mateo said. “They wanted to start doing these co-productions and I think it’s a great thing—they’re showcasing Latino artists in the community—so they approached us, along with Mikey O Productions, and it’s been a match made in heaven.”
According to Diaz, they are always looking to reach out to the Hispanic community.
“They are an amazing community. They are our community. They are us and we are them. We’re happy to have this Latino backing and we’ve never had that before.”
Originally directed by Charna Halpern, founder of iO Chicago, “People in the City” is now being directed by Christopher Kauffmann. Both Mateo and Diaz say this has changed the final end product of the show.
“Charna really helped us develop a lot of these characters and was really great about making us think about what we were trying to say,” Diaz said. “We’ve had some time to breathe away from the real comedic aspect of the show and working with Christopher … he’s a lot more sensitive to theater and storytelling. It’s about the whole show as opposed to the whole scenes. Things are a little deeper.”
Audience members can expect Mateo and Diaz to give voice to quite a few issues through the guise of humor and comedy.
“We talk about special services being cut by government for people who have special needs, such as cerebral palsy; there are issues of gun violence,” Mateo said. “They are all everyday issues, like a single mom working and raising two kids.”
Adds Diaz, “We try to bring the truth of the character to the stage and allow the audience to have a voyeuristic experience—these people that are familiar strangers—but always take a comedic approach. We’re often inspired by an Oscar Wilde quote which says, ‘If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh otherwise they’ll kill you.’” Perhaps what this dynamic duo is most excited about, however, is the launch of their media company, Picaro Media.
“We’re doing what we learned in theater and using what we learned from going in and out of the Spanish and non-Spanish speaking audiences and the Hispanic community and are looking to do that in a film, television and online platform as well,” Diaz said. “We want to align brands and corporations with the Latino community. The Latina comedians are rising up, especially in Chicago. And we’re really, really proud of it.”
Bottom line? The audience will see a very poignant theater piece that is still very funny and relatable. “They can definitely expect to laugh or else we’re going have trouble,” Diaz said.
“You’ll hear the laugh out loud funny parts when someone really relates to a character,” Mateo added.
You can find out more about their production company at www.picaromedia.com. “People in the City” premiered September 13 and runs Thursdays through Sundays until October 14 at Luna Central, 3914 Clark St.
