The poetry and romance of Ardiente Paciencia are conquering the hearts of critics and audiences alike!
Milagro’s production, directed with nuance and nicely shaped swiftness by Olga Sanchez, is really quite lovely: I recommend it… The four stars are simpatico, playing off of one another easily and attractively, and together they make the audience fall just a little bit in love with them.
Long-time Milagro patron David Larsen, sent in this comment after opening night:
Ardiente Paciencia is both humorous and poignant. The acting was superb and the production richly deserved the standing ovation it received. The use of super-titles makes it very easy for non Spanish speakers to follow the nuances of the dialogue and they do not detract in any way from the beauty of this production.
To all actors, director, and support staff at Milagro: Gracias y Thank You for presenting such a provocative, emotional, creative play … Ardiente Paciencia! Neruda came alive on stage! Thanks to your production of this play, I learned so much about Neruda’s role not only as poet but as a folk and political hero of the Chilean people during the tumultuous ’60s when Allende was democratically elected by the people only to be deposed later by U.S. interests which allowed Pinochet to come to military power over Chile and its people. Thanks for telling the story.
I may see it again…it was that great!
Milagro is truly a gift to the Portland community in its mission to raise awareness of American cultures south of the U.S. and Canada.