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frijolebeans: The Magic of Memory, Home, and Food

When Gabriela dies suddenly, her grown children Rita, Lucía, and Georgy battle for ownership of her final pot of frijoles. As the siblings quarrel, a series of frijol-guides manifests from the humble Country Crock container, provoking them to re-examine their identity, privilege and Latinidad. In the end, Rita, Lucía, and Georgy discover the richness of familia where they least expect it.

Teatro Vivo’s Barbara Mojica spoke with Playwright Raul Garza for the upcoming world premiere of frijolebeans at the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center in Austin, Texas. 

frijolebeans began with a memory…

Memories are an important theme throughout the play. Throughout their conversation, Garza reflected on memories and what happens when a place, smell, taste, or object suddenly takes us back somewhere. The story grew from those moments of returning home—of returning to your abuela’s house—and suddenly remembering not just what happened, but how you felt. 

“I remember visiting my grandmother when I was little. She used to live by the border, and I vividly remember el rio, los arboles, las calles. And it’s only when I went back to that place that once made me happy. That I remembered exactly how I felt at that moment. I think we take it for granted and do not realize how meaningful it is.”

Home, noted Garza, is something we experience through our senses. Garza’s memories of his grandmother are especially beautiful. He remembers:

Garza realized that when he returned to a place that had once made him happy, the feelings came back with the memories. It made us realize that sometimes memory doesn’t live in our minds. Sometimes it lives in a smell, a taste, a kitchen, a wall, a river.

In the show, food becomes a way of remembering.

Garza spoke about frijoles, beans that are normally ready to eat in the back of the fridge, as humble—something simple, something that starts with very little.

But through ritual—la lumbre, el ajo, la sal—something meaningful happens. Magic.

A ritual, Garza shares, that is left to us, that we may not know about or are willing to share.

The play lives in the space between the painful and the beautiful

Garza shared that his biggest questions were: What do I regret? What do I cherish?

And realized how those things can exist simultaneously.

The play isn’t simply about grief or nostalgia. It’s about the complicated experience of looking backward and realizing that some of the things we took for granted were actually incredibly meaningful.

That gives frijolebeans emotional depth without making it solely a “play about loss.”

“Anyone can relate to this play no matter where you live; it is a universal experience about loss and what we are, regardless of your age or grieving experience. “

frijolebeans by Raul Garza runs October 15–24 at the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center. 

Performances rare  Thursday–Saturday at 7:00 PM. Tickets are available on a sliding scale; audiences are invited to select the ticket price that works for them while supporting Teatro Vivo’s important work of sharing Latino stories and artists on Austin stages.

Get your tickets HERE! 

This production is funded through the generous support of Austin Arts, Culture, Music and Entertainment (ACME).