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Despite social differences, in many ways we are the same.
For Dino Foxx, it’s the differences that make him special.
“What we do is inform the public about how we are all connected,” he said. “Rich or poor, there are a lot of things that as humans we deal with.”
And these issues will be addressed in The Push Pens’ “Last Call for Truth.”
Foxx, along with Manuel “Cros” Esquivel and Billy Muñoz, formed the hip-hop group The Push Pens in San Antonio, Texas.
The hip-(h)opera features the sounds and true stories of two young Chicano men from the west side of San Antonio.
Foxx said he and Esquivel bond onstage with banging beats and tales of growing beyond their challenging childhoods, bringing the Texas Latino experience to the forefront of hip-hop theater.
“It really is about being human,” he said. “There’s a connection among all of us.”
But the group isn’t only about singing. The trio employs their poetry slam skills as well as their acting backgrounds.
“We’re telling a story of acceptance,” he said. “Our characters are real. One is gay identified, one is straight identified and Billy acts like our therapist/bartender.”
The Push Pens will perform their hip-(h)opera on Saturday, Dec. 4, at the National Hispanic Cultural Center. They also will have a Santa Fe performance tonight at Warehouse 21.
Foxx said each member’s experiences growing up are similar to each other.
“We don’t really realize that each one of us had to fight for survival,” he said. “We’re all from different backgrounds, yet we have similar experiences. We hope to teach audiences about it.”
Foxx said the group originally started with himself and Esquivel. Over the past couple of months, they added Muñoz as a key character.
“The part has become an important piece,” he said. “We realized that Billy is a company member and realized his story was similar, and we also realized that he studied percussion when he was in school and he’s a trained drummer, so that adds to it.”
Foxx said the New Mexico audiences will be able to see the play in its entirety for the first time.
“We’ve been working on it for a while now and are ready to bring it to life,” he said. “It will be modified a little but it will make a great event.”
Foxx said the main goal is to make audiences aware of violence.
“We all see or live with violence is some way,” he said. “It’s not right, but getting people to talk about it helps.”
The trio are teachers at Jump-Start Performance Co. in San Antonio.
“Since we are teachers in daily life, we try to help break these cycles,” he said. “We want to educate and prevent bullying and advocate for acceptance. Just because some people are different doesn’t mean they should be ignored.”
The Push Pens’ “Last Call for Truth”
WHEN: 7 tonight, Warehouse 21, 1614 Paseo de Peralta, Santa Fe; 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 4, Bank of America Theatre, National Hispanic Cultural Center, 1701 Fourth SW
HOW MUCH: $5-$10 available at www.nhcc.org, 724-4771 or www.warehouse21.org or 505-988-4423
