Santa Fe’s Teatro Paraguas brings a piece of New Mexico history to Albuquerque stages with Esperanza

By Sara Atencio-Gonzales, The Paper. – A pivotal chapter of New Mexico labor history is taking the stage again as Santa Fe’s Teatro Paraguas brings Esperanza to Albuquerque this month.

Santa Fe’s Teatro Paraguas will stage Esperanza, an original play with music by playwright Carlos Morton, at the National Hispanic Cultural Center (NHCC) from Aug. 28 through 30. Directed by Paola Vengoechea and Elsa López, the production revisits the 1951 strike against the Empire Zinc mine near Bayard and the Mexican American families at the center of the labor struggle.

The 15-month strike was led by Local 890 of the International Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers Union. When the mining company invoked the Taft-Hartley Act to prevent the miners from continuing to picket, their wives and mothers took their places on the picket line. The strike would ultimately become the first successful mine strike in U.S. history.

The play is based on the story behind the 1954 film Salt of the Earth, whose production became nearly as contentious as the events it portrayed. The film’s writer, director and producer were blacklisted during the McCarthy era, while star Rosaura Revueltas was deported during filming. Members of the local mining community appeared in the film themselves.

For López, the history was familiar long before she began working on Esperanza. Before becoming involved in theater, she spent two decades as a community organizer in New Mexico’s immigrant rights movement and learned about the strike through her work with the labor movement.

“Storytelling is such a strong form of both highlighting the triumphs of our community [and] the challenges that we’re facing as a Latina immigrant,” says López. “I think it’s especially timely to be putting this play on stage right now because it is a timeless story.”

The production began taking shape after Morton approached Teatro Paraguas about bringing the work to Santa Fe. Originally written as an opera, it was adapted for the smaller theater before the company workshopped the piece with Morton and held a staged reading in June 2025. Vengoechea explains that they continued developing the play, including its music and songs, before mounting the full production in Santa Fe this March.

The resulting production features a 16-member cast and original music and songs by Luis Moreno and Tony Ybarra, with Jonathan Harrell serving as music director.

Its Santa Fe run sold out every weekend, according to López, with audiences responding to the story with everything from anger to laughter and tears.

Santa Fe itself helped shape the production. López points to a cast that includes both first-time performers and people with decades of theatrical experience. “I think that talent that exists in Santa Fe in terms of people who are in theater, it’s amazing,” says López. “We really have an amazing pool of actors and musicians in this production.”

Now the production is moving south to Albuquerque. Vengoechea explains that Teatro Paraguas had previously worked with the NHCC, and the idea of bringing Esperanza there arose during another visit to discuss a collaboration.

For NHCC Performing Arts Manager Anna Lee DeSaulniers, presenting the production is also part of the center’s role in supporting New Mexico theater.

“Chicana theater has been such a pillar of our expression, you know, as Hispanic and Chicano people,” says DeSaulniers. “Theater is so important to the way that we communicate, who we are to our greater community. And these local theater companies are continuing that tradition.”

The women at the center of the historical strike remain particularly important to the production. DeSaulniers emphasizes that their participation represents a piece of history worth remembering, while López sees the play as a testament to New Mexicans’ ability to endure difficult periods through collective action.

“We want to honor the continuous resilience of New Mexican families,” says López. “In fact, joy and community is what has made us or allowed us to really pull through in hard moments like this.”

Esperanza runs Aug. 28 through 30 at the National Hispanic Cultural Center (1701 Fourth St. SW). The Friday performance is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., with Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. Tickets are $29 general admission and $24 for seniors and students and are available through the National Hispanic Cultural Center website.