Students from Spanish 4 and AP Spanish went to Repertorio Español in Manhattan to see the play “En el tiempo de las mariposas” on Oct. 16 with Spanish teacher Señor Gary Cotroneo.
“En el tiempo de las mariposas” translates to “In the Time of the Butterflies.” The play is a historical fiction piece about the four Mirabal sisters who grew up in the Dominican Republic during Raphael Trujillo’s dictatorship. The story follows Patria, Mariá Teresa and Minerva through first person accounts, and the fourth sister, Dedé, has her story told in third person through the narrator. The sisters were leaders in the revolution against Trujillo during their lives. They were murdered by the state at the young ages of 36, 34 and 25 for their resistance against the dictatorship. Their deaths fueled the fire of rebellion and ultimately helped lead to the assassination of Trujillo.
Señor Cotroneo introduces the novel and movie to his Spanish 4 classes each year in order to expose them to AP themes.
“The play was very emotional, and the struggle of the Mirabal sisters was unimaginable,” senior Juliet Fitzpatrick said.
After watching the play, the students were able to meet the actors. They introduce themselves and then there was a 10-minute Q and A where students got to pick the actors’ brains.
“So sometimes the kids ask questions, sometimes they don’t,” Señor Cotroneo said. “But they usually don’t have any questions because of the fact that they’re a little intimidated, but [the students] do enjoy [asking questions].”
Since so many students go, they typically can’t get a reservation to a Spanish restaurant, so they stop at the Rockaway Mall food court for dinner on the way home.
Students have the opportunity to go on a second trip later into the school year as well and see a second play named “La Gringa.” This piece is about a woman named Maria whose family originated from Puerto Rico but her parents separated from her family and moved to New York for a better life. She grew up loving the island of Puerto Rico and even majored in Puerto Rican studies in college. She decides to visit the island during a Christmas holiday and is unexpectedly met with a cold-shoulder. The students get to witness the dynamic of a woman finding her own identity through her roots.
“Seeing the play is super fun,” Fitzpatrick said. “But it also gives cultural background to the language we are learning.”
The prospect of learning outside of the classroom is an opportunity to broaden a student’s perspective through real-world experiences.
“They gain an outside-of-class experience,” Señor Cotroneo said. “They get to hear more spoken Spanish than me and their classmates.”
