美国国家公共电台 NPR Puerto Rican Comedy Troupe Aims To Lift Up Spirits Of Those Living On, Off The Island

 

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

In Puerto Rico, there's a joke that after Hurricane Maria, it was Puerto Ricans off the island who were the ones who really suffered. After all, they could turn on the TV and see how bad things really were. Well, one of Puerto Rico's most-popular comedy troupes² decided³ to build a show around that idea. And for the last couple of weeks, they've been touring the mainland trying to make Puerto Ricans living here feel better. NPR's Adrian Florido reports from Orlando.

ADRIAN FLORIDO, BYLINE⁴: Mikephillippe Oliveros is one of the founders⁵ of Teatro Breve. He says that after Hurricane Maria, so many Puerto Ricans in the U.S. posted on Facebook that they were worried sick. It was sad, yes, but the troupe¹ also saw the makings of some good comedy in that. They put a show together - The Diaspora Redemption Tour, they called it.

MIKEPHILLIPPE OLIVEROS: Here we go to make you laugh. Don't worry about it. You know, we're all right. And this - lifting up the whole spirit of Puerto Ricans in the island and outside the island.

FLORIDO: Last night, they were in Orlando. Hundreds of people filled a hotel ballroom⁶. The main sketch⁷ - a support group for homesick Puerto Ricans coping with nostalgia⁸ and depression over having left their island behind. There's one character, Oscar, who only left because his wife found a job in the U.S.. She misses her suntan. Then, there's Petra.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: (As Petra, speaking Spanish).

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: (As character, speaking Spanish).

FLORIDO: Petra left the island seven years ago, but she's convinced that Hurricane Maria wouldn't have happened if she'd only stayed.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: (As Petra, speaking Spanish).

(LAUGHTER)

FLORIDO: She says that after Hurricane Maria...

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: (As Petra, speaking Spanish).

FLORIDO: ...Every time there's a blackout on the island, she turns off the breaker in her apartment here. Later in the group therapy session, the characters put on a Puerto Rican ballad⁹. The goal - try to get through it without crying.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: (As character, singing in Spanish).

FLORIDO: They don't get very far. Troupe member Lucienne Hernandez says the show speaks to the deeper sadness you find in so many of the hundreds of thousands of Puerto Ricans who've left the island over the last decade.

LUCIENNE HERNANDEZ: Even though you're going to work or to study or to get a better opportunity, there's always that other side of leaving the island that is like nostalgic.

FLORIDO: After the show, Vivian Rivera said she loved it. First, she laughed, then she cried.

VIVIAN RIVERA: (Laughter, speaking Spanish).

FLORIDO: "I'm going to start crying again," she says. Rivera left Puerto Rico two and a half years ago to get better medical treatment for her daughter. She'd like to go back, she says, but she can't yet. The show closes tonight with its final performance in Miami. Adrian Florido, NPR News, Orlando, Fla.

1 troupe   

n.剧团，戏班；杂技团；马戏团

参考例句：

• The art troupe is always on the move in frontier guards.文工团常年在边防部队流动。
• The troupe produced a new play last night.剧团昨晚上演了一部新剧。

2 troupes   

n. （演出的）一团, 一班 vi. 巡回演出

参考例句：

• There are six Kunqu opera troupes left in the country. 整个国家现在只剩下六个昆剧剧团。
• Note: Art performance troupes include within and outside of the system. 注：艺术表演团体统计口径调整为含系统内、系统外两部分。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 founders   

n.创始人( founder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was one of the founders of the university's medical faculty. 他是该大学医学院的创建人之一。 来自辞典例句
• The founders of our religion made this a cornerstone of morality. 我们宗教的创始人把这看作是道德的基石。 来自辞典例句

6 ballroom   

n.舞厅

参考例句：

• The boss of the ballroom excused them the fee.舞厅老板给他们免费。
• I go ballroom dancing twice a week.我一个星期跳两次交际舞。

7 sketch   

n.草图；梗概；素描；v.素描；概述

参考例句：

• My sister often goes into the country to sketch. 我姐姐常到乡间去写生。
• I will send you a slight sketch of the house.我将给你寄去房屋的草图。

8 nostalgia   

n.怀乡病，留恋过去，怀旧

参考例句：

• He might be influenced by nostalgia for his happy youth.也许是对年轻时幸福时光的怀恋影响了他。
• I was filled with nostalgia by hearing my favourite old song.我听到这首喜爱的旧歌，心中充满了怀旧之情。

9 ballad   

n.歌谣，民谣，流行爱情歌曲

参考例句：

• This poem has the distinctive flavour of a ballad.这首诗有民歌风味。
• This is a romantic ballad that is pure corn.这是一首极为伤感的浪漫小曲。