The Possible Dream: Fighting for DEIJ in the Barrio with Don Quixote

Who would think of Don Quixote, a Spanish classic first published in 1605, as an icon for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice (DEIJ) in today's social media-obsessed society? Since the summer of 2020, DEIJ efforts have entered the public debate with renewed impetus. However, DEIJ work in the cultural arena and in underserved communities is far from new. While institutions are finally investing resources and time in DEIJ training and audits, we must look back to learn from and support longstanding and proven initiatives at the neighborhood level. During at least the last couple of decades, cultural and artivist (artistic+activist) projects developed by community organizations have sought greater access and equity for minoritized populations in terms of both the production and consumption of culture. Among them, stage adaptations of Miguel de Cervantes’ masterpiece Don Quixote (1605) are a remarkable example because of their transnational scope and the reappropriation of classic literature not by elite institutions, but by underserved communities.

Contrary to the romanticized approach of, for example, the Broadway hit Man of La Mancha and its “Impossible Dream,” these initiatives re-contextualize Cervantes’ classic for the contemporary moment. In countries across the Americas, from Brazil to Mexico, Colombia, or the United States, community organizations and neighborhood theater companies tackle DEIJ issues head-on through art, words, and performance. Their message is clear: High culture, or at least what elites typically embrace as their own cultural legacy, also belong to the marginalized. In fact, Don Quixote perhaps finds himself more at ease in the barrio, fighting for justice and equality at the street level, than in the academy.

The Covid-19 pandemic has severely disrupted many of these neighborhood cultural efforts both operationally and financially. The attention of academic institutions, government, private sponsors, and foundations must urgently turn to these bottom-up projects not only for their intrinsic cultural value, but also for their organic, longstanding commitment to DEIJ.

One such example is the Kid Quixotes project out of Brooklyn, New York. Under the guidance of Stephen Haff, a group of children and youth of Mexican and Ecuadorian descent have been creating since 2016 a musical play based on Don Quixote. In their hands, the classic comes alive and proves relevant today as famous episodes are adapted to contemporary challenges. Inspired by the children's own concerns and interests, the windmill adventure becomes in this play a defense of clean energy and master Juan's beating of his servant Andrés turns into an example of gender and ethnic violence. 

Torn apart by Covid-19, the participants, ages 5 to 17, plan to finally reunite this summer for a week of Drama Camp at Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA. Their finished play and public performances will reflect on their triumphs and challenges as Latinxs in urban America. Theirs is an inspiring story of overcoming prejudices and redefining what it means to be American today through music and theater. Playing Don Quixote,12-year-old Sarah challenges gender, class, and ethnic stereotypes through a performance that is as fun as it is bold.

The Kid Quixote play is an ongoing project that puts into practice DEIJ values. For this reason, institutions and individuals with renewed DEIJ commitments should support this and similar community-based models. Expensive consultants and elite-driven strategic plans for DEIJ are important to achieve institutional change, but support for community-based initiatives must increase if we are to make an impact where it most matters.

To read and watch more about the Kid Quixotes Project:

a. Still Waters in a Storm Website:  https://www.stillwatersinastorm.org/ 

b. Stephen Haff's Kid Quixotes: A Group of Students, Their Teacher, and the One-Room School Where Everything Is Possible (HarperOne): https://bookshop.org/books/kid-quixotes-a-group-of-students-their-teacher-and-the-one-room-school-where-everything-is-possible/9781094026572

c. New York Times story on the Quixote Project: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/23/opinion/sunday/the-littlest-don-quixotes-versus-the-world.html

d. “Can We Help” performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZkgyaQMejc 

e. Performance of the Kid Quixote musical play (work-in-progress) at Drexel University on February 19, 2019: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12iZ5ZDMaL0&feature=youtu.be