PÁSALE PÁSALE: Immersive theatre and Social Justice

Maria Patrice Amon’s campaign, PÁSALE PÁSALE: Immersive Theatre and Social Justice, aims to increase civic engagement through theatrical performance. This campaign invites audiences to step up and engage with artists through scenes centering on the lives of swap meet vendors to introduce the decolonial SARP Methodology (Survival, Adaptation, Resistance, Persistence). The vendor characters will be residents of the South Bay and familiar with the region’s history, including The Lemon Grove Incident, the Founding of Chicano Park, and local activism. In the play, the swap meet property owner is increasing the stall fees for all sellers and exploiting the labor of the swap meet DJ. The community can offer a successful alternative to the property owner through community town halls, shared resistance, collective action, and voting procedures. By observing the characters' resistance to economic oppression, the performance will guide audience members to examine their relationships to community resources and civic engagement. The impacted audience will leave the show with a knowledge of civic engagement tools and an increased appreciation for the efficacy of community organizing in the lowest quartile California Health Places Index communities of National City.