In 2016, I mentioned that I had the pleasure of seeing John Leguizamo’s Latin History for Morons at Berkeley Rep.
You can now have the pleasure of watching it too–it’s on Netflix.
Leguizamo’s shows are amazing–he’s funny and high energy and always dances for us (he’s a great dancer), but more importantly, they are poignant.
This is my favorite of them all.
Leguizamo’s son is getting bullied and is stymied by his history project, which asks about heros–who are the heroes from his culture? They certainly aren’t in his history books.
Leguizamo realizes that he knows nothing about his culture’s heroes either. But he did a lot of research. Here, weaved into his family’s story, we get the highlights. You’ll learn, you’ll laugh, you’ll cringe. This is a master writer, actor, and comedian at work.
Watch this with your friends and family. And then make sure you watch it again next year for Thanksgiving, as we balance our thankfulness for family with our mourning for our colonial past and our admiration for the Latinx heroes in this nation, like John Leguizamo.
