Rewriting Greek Tragedies as Immigrant Stories

I don’t know which is the worst part of this story, the cultural appropriation, the political correctness, or the lack of creativity.

This story proves once more the immortal and universal lessons of Greek drama. Sadly, the original plays Mr. Alfaro adapts to the modern dilemmas of life are ignored by most people in the US and Mexico. Schools no longer teach the great variety of literature from Classical sources that inspired many of us to see and judge life from a more humane point of view.

A fascinating profile of Mr. Alfaro, the article also implicitly demonstrates how art is enriched by borrowing, adapting and expanding upon works of art from any and all cultures. The tiresome, brain-dead chant of "cultural appropriation" is shown through the vivid compelling profile of Mr. Alfaro to be the inane, fallacious and empty ideological trope that it is. No one benefits from "Artistic Apartheid" or cultural segregation - we are all the richer for the experiences afforded us by artists who mine, explore and reinterpret cultural treasures from every part of the world - and help us see these works, our world and ourselves anew.

I saw Alfaro’s “Mojada” last week, it was incredibly powerful. And, a little bit like with the Handmaid’s Tale, the current political context gives the show some extra poignancy. Go see it.