REVIEW: “Fernandomania” bridges baseball, culture, and community on Boyle Heights stage

Eugene Antonio Negrete and Evelyn Menchaca (Photo by Rudy Torres).

In their 25th season, CASA 0101 Theatre is presenting “Fernandomania,” a festival of 12 world premiere 10-minute plays celebrating the legacy of Fernando Valenzuela, the 20-year-old rookie pitcher from Sonora, Mexico who revitalized the Los Angeles Dodgers and his impact on the Mexican American community.

It is performed in English and Spanish with subtitles, and runs through Sept. 21.

CASA 0101 Theatre in Boyle Heights is one of our most significant Los Angeles theatres. A cast of 16 actors create 57 characters in 12 plays directed by Emmanuel Deleage, Carmelita Maldonado, Karla Ojeda and Vance Valencia.

Earning the moniker “El Toro” (The Bull), Valenzuela made his debut in 1980 and became a World Series champion in 1981. He pitched left-handed with a wild windup, leading into his screwball pitch. He became an icon with Los Angeles’s Mexican American community, with Angelenos, and a media sensation. He later became the Spanish language broadcaster for Dodger games on the radio.

Boyle Heights’s native, Robert Vargas, is a master visual artist and muralist, with deep roots in the community. His work is known worldwide. Vargas created a larger than life interactive mural in Little Tokyo of the Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani at the beginning of the 2024 season. He paints freehand, without projections or stencils.

Vargas bookended the baseball season completing his vision and concept, with a mural titled “Fernandomania Forever.” He personally identified the building, got the permits, and planned the Fernando mural, which was commissioned by LA City Councilmember Kevin de León, well in advance of when he began painting it.

It depicts Fernando in three different stages of his iconic windup and is visible from both directions of the 101 Freeway.

The Ohtani mural in Little Tokyo faces the one of Fernando, something Vargas intended to represent the bridge that connects the cultures in each neighborhood.

“His impact is really immeasurable. There was so much resentment towards Dodger Stadium by the Mexican American community for the kind of displacement of so many families there, and there’s still a lot of people that are really upset about that, rightfully so,” said Vargas.

“But Fernando coming to the team really gave Mexican Americans the kind of permission to be able to go to the games and root for someone who looked like them. Seeing him out there kicking butt and doing amazing was like a representation of the culture and the community. It’s very similar to the way you see people today in the AAPI community, especially the Japanese-American community so proud of Shohei and how you go to Dodger stadium, and you see a good, almost 30%- 40% Japanese fans now. Of course, the other half is predominantly Mexican and Latin.

“It’s about painting people in these murals that look like the communities that they live in, as a way of showing acceptance. Of course, this mural takes on an even bigger significance because of his passing, which has been really, really tough, but at the same time therapeutic. I think the community is coming out and processing his death in an amazing way. People are coming out and creating, making these flowers for the altar, which is traditionally in celebration of the Day of the Dead, except this entire mural surface, the whole building, is now the altar.”

Vargas was on day two of his journey to immortalize the late Valenzuela in the giant mural on an apartment building near Mariachi Plaza when Valenzuela died at the age of 63, just two weeks before Vargas unveiled the three panels of the Fernando mural. Angelenos came out to honor “El Toro,” especially at the unveiling, creating an altar to the man who inspired them. The artistic director of CASA 0101, Josefina López, read a poem at the unveiling on Sept. 3, 2024.

Eugene Antonio Negrete (photo by Rudy Torres)

As we enter the theatre, we see three panels of large screens that provide rotating projections of the Fernando mural, the settings for of each play, and even live images from the actor’s phones. A beautiful design by Itzel Ocampo.

It’s delightful to see another new play by Downey’s Ignacio Gonzales. His “Beisbol y Novelas” (“Baseball and Mexican Soap Operas”) is absolutely hilarious and a highlight of the evening. Gabriela Pedraza gives a knockout performance as Jaime, the grandson of Laura Vega, as they constantly fight over the TV when the Dodgers game and her soap operas are on TV at the same time. Jaime’s father, Luis Galilei, is caught in the middle, until Fernando arrives and brings them and the entire community together.

Pedraza is all energy as she plays him. Director Maldonado and her cast pull off flawless comic timing.

The opening play is Josefina López’s “Fernandomania Forever,” directed by Deleage, which includes the character of López (Evelyn Menchaca) reading her poem at the unveiling, along with the Latino community coming out at large, and the character of Vargas (Eugene Antonio Negrete) continuing to paint the mural. It anchors the show and provides transitions between each of the plays.

“Linda” is by Maria Fernanda Valenzuela, the youngest daughter of Fernando Valenzuela. Directed by Maldonado, it juxtaposes Fernando’s funeral with her parents love story over time. A beautiful play and a terrific tribute to her parents. Yasha Alaniz as the Young Linda is captivating.

“From Somewhere” by Jose Luis Lopez Jr., directed by Maldonado, features immigrant parents who have no interest in baseball yet they love Valenzuela because he “is one of us.” Martin Morales seems like he stepped out of time as the legendary Spanish language sports broadcaster Jaime Jarrín. Morales is an exceptional actor, and is a highlight in all five of the plays he appears in.

“No Sabo” by Oscar Arguello and directed by Deleage, depicts a Latino boy who doesn’t speak his parent’s native language. It’s a stereotype within Latino communities for Latinos who do not understand or never learned how to speak Spanish. He struggles with his identity and finds a connection through Fernando. Martin Morales is the dad.

Celina Martinez’s “A Good Hero”, directed by Ojeda, features Gabriela Pedraza suffering from a serious illness. She calls forth the spirit of her Cuban father, played by Eugene Antonio Negrete, who was a pitcher in Cuba. They reminisce about watching Fernando. Well done.

“Once Upon a Time in Los Angeles” by Michael St. Onge is directed by Ojeda. In a time before GPS, a young boy played by Alejandro Reynoso, and his Mexican grandfather, Marin Morales, set out across LA to see Fernando pitch. Again, Martin Morales is superb as the grandfather. Kudos to Alejandro Reynoso as the young boy, Luis Galilei as the father, and Laura Vega as the mother. Touching and heartfelt.

“Nando” by Gloria Isabel Briseño directed by Maldonado, is the name of the Isabel’s deceased brother, Fernando “Nando,” who was named after Fernando. Each year brother and sister, Isabel (Itzel Ocampo) and Nando (Jose Nateras) hike up Elysian Hills. It takes us a moment to realize Nando is a ghost and we are experiencing Isabel’s grief. Well directed and performed. Ocampo is excellent and touches everyone in the audience.

Christopher John Magallanes’ “La Habra Ass Foos” is directed by Vance Valencia. Edward Navarrete is hysterical as Gabe from La Habra, who changes into a Chicano stereotype surprising his somewhat hipster friends played by Gabriel Montoya and Jose Nateras. Things get even funnier as they to convince him to just be himself. It’s a crack up. Kudos to all three and the director.

In Kimberly Huff’s “Safe at Home,” directed by Valencia, Veli Gonzalez struggles with being of Mexican descent and having white skin. She is a fan of Fernando and recognizes the impact he has on Latinos, even when the Dodgers organization stayed silent during the ICE raids.

Dr. Connie Valencia’s “Our Playground,” directed by Valencia, gives us four young women, who were childhood friends, playing baseball in a park. Or at least trying to. Surprise, one of them has signed them up to play a professional team. And the winner gets a trip to Cancun. Adlih Alverado is more than nervous. Trying to come to grips with her anxiety she prays to Fernando for help. And he appears to her in a fog. Now this is funny. In slow motion she hits the home run that wins the game. Turns out the trip to Cancun was just a prank to motivate them to do well. Friends will be friends. Alverado, along with Gabriela Pedraza, Evelyn Menchaca, Phoenix Marroquin, and Edward Navarrete as Fernando’s spirit are a gem.

Chris Banda’s “Blue Day” is a touching play directed by Ojeda. Four brothers and sisters are getting rid of their recently deceased father’s stuff. They come across their father’s baseball glove. That discovery triggers a closeness between them and their memory of how a blue day was a good day. Itzel Ocampo, Jose Nateras, Yasha Alaniz, and once again, Martin Morales brings tears to our eyes.

Twelve little 10-minute plays pay tribute through Robert Vargas’s mural, to Fernando Valenzuela, and are touching, moving, and funny.

“Fernandomania” runs Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. through Sept. 21 at CASA 0101 Theater, 2102E. First St., Los Angeles. Tickets are $25 general admission, $22 for students and seniors, and $20 for Boyle Heights residents and groups of 10 or more. For tickets and information, visit casa0101.org or call 323-263-7684.