Four women openly challenge Latinx stereotypes
Four women openly challenge Latinx stereotypes
London has great diversity through centuries of migration to its different areas as certain communities grow and settle. Certain boroughs become synonymous with a particular community as the ties deepen and the years go by. Spanish and Portuguese are currently the most prominent languages spoken, after English, in Southwark and Lambeth, and even so, the growth and presence of a South London Latinx community seem to have gone unnoticed by many. From a couple of those South London Latinx voices, My Uncle Is Not Pablo Escobar returns to Brixton House with a new cast, writes Christopher Peacock.
Lucy Le Brocq of Kaleidoshoots
The play is essentially a heist based loosely on the HSBC 2012 scandal but entwined with the lived experiences of the play’s writers, namely Valentina Andrade and Elizabeth Alvarado. Alejandra, a student trying to get into Cambridge University, is visited by her sister from Colombia, Catalina, who asks her sister to get a ‘friend’ of hers, whom she has met on the plane, a job with her cleaning at a bank’s office. The ‘friend’, Lucia, begins work with Alejandra under the supervision of Honey, the senior cleaner who is also working a host of other jobs to make ends meet. Lucia, however, is not just a cleaner but has been engaged by Catalina to help with some investigative journalism at the bank to uncover ties to South American cartels. The four of them come together to commit the heist to retrieve the final piece of evidence that could lead to justice for many Latin American people.
The key to the show is these four Latinx women, who all have their own stories and routes that have led them to being in South London, coming from a range of backgrounds. They all openly challenge Latinx stereotypes. The clearest moments of this are during the breaks in the narrative where they directly address the audience. They also explore the range of feelings of identity towards their Latin American heritage and their journey in becoming British citizens. The game of “Arepa or Morleys” dividing the foursomes’ opinions neatly sums up those feelings.
Having premiered in 2023, the production met great acclaim at the 2024 Offies, winning a OneOff Special Award for representation and being shortlisted for best production. The creatives and original cast are now focused on their roles, producing and directing this production. The authenticity of having them involved in the production is felt in the room, and the show has had updates to the characters and some of the dialogue to fit the new cast. It does not feel like a baton passing on to the next round of actors but more like broadening the production out to the wider Latinx community. The need to feel seen runs deep for all minority cultures, and with My Uncle Is Not Pablo Escobar, writers Andrade and Alvarado play with this need but also celebrate their uniqueness as Latinx South Londoners.
Brixton House, SW9 8GL until 3rd May.
Booking and full details: https://brixtonhouse.co.uk/shows/my-uncle-is-not-pablo-escobar-2026/
