From the Tampa Tribune, 24 April 2009

Reverence guides actor's portrayal

By JOSE PATINO GIRONA

jpatino@tampatrib.com

Since age 6, Chaz Mena has revered Jose Marti, the 19th century Cuban patriot, poet, journalist and thinker.

His Cuban-born grandfather gave him a book of Marti's writings for children and a picture book of the Cuban leader.

He has kept the Cuban writer at a reachable distance from that first encounter. When he went to study theater in Russia, he took a book of Marti's writings to have a familiar companion.

Two years ago, the Florida Humanities Council asked Mena, a New York-based actor, to perform a one-act play connecting Marti's work to Florida's history. He will perform "Charla, a Chat with Jose Marti," at 1 p.m. Saturday at the West Tampa Branch Library, 2312 W. Union St.

Mena's Chautauqua performance begins when Marti came to Ybor City for one week in November 1891. The Cuban Workers Federation had invited Marti to speak and promote Cuban independence from Spain.

After Mena completes his monologue, the performance turns into a question-and-answer session with the audience while Mena remains in character.

In Marti, Mena found someone who easily empathized with others.

"It is said that once you met Marti you were a different person from meeting him," Mena said.

People were struck by Marti's loving and comforting approach, Mena said. He easily could focus and listen to people, he said.

"He unapologetically tried to perfect his humanity," Mena said. "Those that give to others receive 10 times more."

Mena said Marti's writings have changed him. It has pushed him to be more understanding, compassionate and loving to others, he said.

It has also helped motivate him to learn about his family's homeland and to expand his intellect.

Mena, 42, is no starving artist. He has a master's in fine arts degree from Carnegie-Mellon University. He has performed in plays throughout the country and appeared in films, television shows and commercials. He plays a recurring character in the television show "Law and Order."

But Marti is a passion for him. About 10 years ago, his wife, Ileana Musa, encouraged him to write a play about Marti but other work got in the way.

He said he performs the play because he sees a value in people learning about Marti and is moved when he receives comments from people saying they picked up Marti's writings after seeing his performance.

He also wants people to see that Marti remains relevant.

"We are at a crossroad in our American democracy," Mena said. "We need to decide which way to go. Marti was dealing with those issues in his day."

What is the best way of making money?

HELIUM ONLINE MAGAZINE
by David Gittlin

Chaz Mena is a man of passion. Whether it is creating roles for the stage and screen or spending time with family and friends, there is nothing this forty-one year old, Cuban-American actor does half way.

Chaz was born and raised in Miami, Florida where his earliest memories included scenes of his parents and grandparents telling each other stories of daily life in their long lost homeland of Cuba. Today, the population of South Florida is predominantly Spanish speaking. A large segment of the Hispanic population is Cuban-American. This is the exact opposite of the situation in the early Sixties. At the time, the first waves of Cuban exiles were literally lost in America. Chaz remembers "coming alive" when listening to the colorful stories his family members acted out on the front porch of their two story home in "Little Havana." In hindsight, Mena realizes that telling these stories in a theatrical style enabled his family members to reconnect with their history and culture. These childhood experiences and an innate drive to tell a story that creates a shared experience have made Chaz Mena the man he is today.

After completing an MFA in Drama at Carnegie Mellon University, Mena arrived back in Miami with eighty thousand dollars in debts from his undergraduate and graduate studies. Even worse, he didn't have a single lead or personal contact that might lead to gainful employment. It took a full week of sleeping in bed and the encouragement of wife Ileana before Mena was able to face the situation. He had been brought up to be a man of action rather than words. This led him to bravely pursue his childhood dream of becoming an actor without worrying about the consequences. Now, the first of many gut-wrenching reality checks Chaz Mena would have to learn to deal with waited unannounced on his doorstep.

By working odd jobs, Mena scraped together a nest egg of three thousand dollars. He set sail for New York City to establish himself as a legitimate, working actor. Chaz leased an apartment and began searching for an agent and acting roles. A few months later, Mena was penniless. All he had to show for his earnest efforts was a case of walking pneumonia. Then, serendipity or something akin to Divine Intervention changed Mena's fortunes. While auditioning for a stage role, Chaz met the manager of the Spanish Repertoire Theater. The manager, whose name was Gilberto, recognized Mena's family name. It turned out Gilberto had gone to college with Chaz's father. He liked the father and enjoyed having his son, who bore a striking resemblance to Gilberto's old college mate, around. "It made him feel young again," Mena explains. So Chaz became a regular member of the theater company, which gave him the opportunity to play as many as six roles at a time in classical and contemporary Spanish speaking plays written by Spanish playwrights. The Spanish Repertoire Theater was the vehicle that launched Mena's career. He began landing roles on TV and in Independent films. Mena was now living his dream as a respected and well-reviewed New York actor. Yet something was still missing.

Mena says he felt like "a fisherman constantly casting his line for roles with no real anchor. " It isn't hard to understand this statement since most actors live from role to role in their working life. One night, as Chaz was lamenting about the situation to his best friend Juan Carlos, something amazing happened. Instead of commiserating with Mena, Juan Carlos came up with an inspired idea. He knew Chaz had been, from early boyhood, a fan and avid reader of the work of Jose Marti, a 19th century Cuban Poet, Humanist, and Revolutionary. Juan Carlos suggested that Chaz write a one man play about Marti and act the role of the man whose ideas were instrumental in helping Cuba win independence from Spanish colonization. Chaz's response to his friend's idea might have been, "Are you kidding?" if not for the fact that Juan Carlos was a member of the Board of Directors of the Florida Humanities Council. All Chaz needed was his resume, some head shots, and of course, the play, Juan Carlos explained. He chose to ignore the fact that Chaz had never written anything for the stage or screen before in his life. Nevertheless, the next morning, Mena woke up with the first sentence of the play in his head: "Jose is still with us."

Nowadays, between stage and screen roles, Mena travels to colleges and universities to enact the one man show with the sponsorship of the Florida Humanities council. As part of the presentation, audience members can ask questions and hear a carefully researched answer from the actor who has brought a great historical figure and his ideas to life. Getting into character, Mena expresses a "Martiano" idea: "That which is beautiful is moral. That which is moral is beautiful.

Cuban hero a man of passion, action--Florida Today

BY LARRY JOHNSTON • ALWAYS LEARNING • September 3, 2008

For more than 45 years, the U.S. has had no diplomatic ties with Cuba. This is sad. It's as if ignoring something will make it go away. Here is a country only 90 miles away, and our government pretends it doesn't exist.

This is the type of logic we expect from a child. Have you ever tried to think something away? It doesn't work.

There is so much we don't know about Cuba. For example, can you name any one of its historic national heroes? Fidel Castro doesn't count.

I'll give you one: Jose Marti. You might say he was the Cuban equivalent of a Thomas Jefferson and Henry David Thoreau all in one.

Though he was born in 1853, I had the privilege of meeting and listening to the man as played by Mr. Chaz Mena. This engaging performance came courtesy of the Brevard Reading Festival. The year was 1891, and it was the day before an important speech to a group of Cuban exiles living in Ybor City near Tampa.

Mr. Marti practiced his speech before those of us in the audience. He asked us which phrases and inflections might be more convincing and effective.

We learned his fight for independence started early. He was jailed at 16 and spent two years in prison for treason. Following his release, he lived in France, Mexico and the U.S., picking up ideas and gathering important friends along the way.

He must have left quite an impression on the people of New York. They erected a statue of him on horseback in Central Park. It still is there. He must have left a pretty good impression on the citizens of Ybor City, because there is a bust of him there, too.

My brief encounter with the reincarnated Marti exposed me to a multifaceted man. He was a man of passion and action, who, together with everything else, wrote poetry and children's books. He told us about a teacher who taught him that verbs are the heart of sentences, not the adjectives. He realized the same is true of humankind. Our worth is measured by the actions we take, not how colorful we are.

Marti returned to Cuba to fight for his country. He died leading a raid against the Spanish in 1895. But Cuba did gain its independence eventually, though some may say only temporarily.

It was a pleasure meeting Mr. Marti through Mr. Mena. Mr. Marti left behind some words you may know. Let me quote a few of them.

"I am a sincere man from where the palm tree grows, and before dying I want to share the verses of my soul . . . With the poor people of the earth I want to share my fate. The brook of the mountains gives me more pleasure than the sea."

Sound familiar? It should. His words became the lyrics to the once very popular song by the Sandpipers called "Guantanamera." It also is the unofficial national anthem of Cuba.

Now you have no excuse for not remembering at least something about one of Cuba's national heroes. Of course, you will be humming that song for the rest of the day.

Try thinking it away and see how well it works. Then report your success to those in Washington who want to think away Cuba.

Johnston is a retired juvenile court judge who travels the country to see what he can discover, proving you're never too old to learn something new. E-mail him at LarryJohnstonFL@aol.com

José Martí at NCU, Institute for the Studies of the Americas

Actor presents dialogue with José Martí

November 27 2007

by Sara Weist, Co-Editor
Daily Tar Heel

Chaz Mena, an actor from Florida, came to UNC on Nov. 17 to perform a short theatrical work about the life of José Martí.

Cuban intellectual José Martí (1853-1895) is most famous for his works of literature, his diplomatic endeavors and his role in the fight for Cuban independence from Spain.

"He's like an uncle, like a member of the family, he's always there," Mena said.

"You just can't get rid of him. He's always there; he's always present."

Mena's presentation was in the Chatauque style, which is a dramatic attempt to represent a historical figure outside the context of a specific scene. This Chatauqua work was in the form of a conversation between the audience and the historical figure Martí.

Kathy Ibarra, a UNC junior, said she liked the Chatauqua style.

"It made it possible to speak with a historical figure that no one from our generation will ever be able to talk to," she said.

"I am studying abroad in Cuba in the spring, so for me this was an awesome opportunity because Martí is a very important figure in Cuban culture."

In the presentation, Mena spoke about the all aspects of Martí's life, both personal and political.

"The Spanish say that in Cuba we are bitter," Mena said. "We are not bitter; we are dying."

Mena also spoke about Martí's family life.

"I was married, but my wife has since left me and returned to Cuba," he said. "But sometimes in the mornings, I feel something, and I know that what I am feeling is that my son is going to wake up."

Mena is traveling throughout the country presenting his work, and he said he was especially looking forward to coming to UNC.

"I was really excited about coming to UNC, more that anything because of what I had learned about Louis Pérez and the work that he is doing here," Mena said. Pérez is a history professor and director of the Latin American Studies program.

His research focuses mostly on the history of the Spanish-speaking Caribbean during the 19th and 20th centuries.

Pérez, who also attended the performance, said he was happy with how things had gone and he thought it is important for more people to learn about the life of José Martí.

"I want everyone to read Martí's works," he said. "He is a central figure in the history of Latin America."

Contact the editors of La Colina at lacolina@unc.edu.

Miami Dade College Forum, “Telling a Hero’s Story Through Interactive Performance”

Author: Christopher C. Gregory-Guider

Although the celebrated Cuban Icon and writer Jose Marti died more than a century ago, actor Chaz Mena talks about him with an infectious immediacy and intimacy. “Marti was a constant subject at the dinner table when growing up, “ says Mena. “He was like a member of the family.”

With a grant from the Florida Humanities council, Mena immersed himself in Marti’s voluminous writings over the past year in preparation for a one-man theater production that will bring the fallen Cuban hero to life. In a return to the city where he spent his formative years, Mena will perform “Charla, A Chat With Jose Marti in the Chapman Conference Center on MDC’s Wolfson Campus. The performance promises to shed new light on Martí’s tireless efforts to expose injustice and his role in Cuba’s long struggle for independence.

Mena anticipates that the theme of the performance will deeply resonate with his Miami audience, but he is quick to point out that the play ultimately promotes a universal message that transcends any one ethnic group. “The message of quality Marti expressed through his life and writings is one that applies to all and one that has special meaning to Floridians,” Mena explains the connection to Florida is immediately apparent in Mena’s performance, which focuses on Marti’s trip to Ybor City in 1891 as part of his efforts to rally the region’s Cuban exiles to rise up against colonial Spain.

The play is far more than a history lesson, though. Performed in the Chautauqua style –a mode of theatre originating in fin de siecle New York—audience members will be able to interact with Mena’s character and pose questions, much as would have been the case in Marti’s actual discussions with South Florida’s late 19-century Cuban community.

Marti’s championing of the cause of the downtrodden was not without cost. He was imprisoned and deported multiple times, although Cuban officially gained independence from the U. S. in 1902, Marti was not destined to see it: He fell at the Battle of Dos Rios on May 19, 1895 after charging Spanish troops.

“Charla” A Chat With Jose Marti proves that Marti’ spirit has secured an afterlife through artists like Mena, whose performance reminds us that history is not a closed chapter of the past, but a living and breathing voice that continues to call out to us in the present.

Miami New Times

Charla: A Drama About Cuban Patriot José Martí
Date/Time: October 25 2007
Price: FREE
Contact Info: Event Website


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BY CARLOS SUAREZ DE JESUS

For those who grew up in a Cuban home, childhood stories of José Martí described the legendary poet and revolutionary charging the Spanish lines astride a white steed, waving his sword overhead. Parents spoke in reverent tones of the “Apostle of Cuban Independence” and his heroic death, making it impossible to separate the man from the myth. Tonight at 6:00 at the Historical Museum of Southern Florida, Cuban-American actor Chaz Mena will don period dress and a push-broom mustache to channel the spirit of the island’s founding father during Charla: A Drama About Cuban Patriot José Martí. In Mena’s one-man show, it’s 1891 and Martí struggles to persuade his countrymen living in Ybor City to join him in overthrowing Spanish rule. Mena will engage the audience by peeling the layers off the legend to reveal what made Martí tick.