Examining Shakespeare Through a Chicano Lens

The Bard in Borderlands’ new volume tackles issues like immigration and labor rights.

A trio of San Antonio professors are capitalizing on the success of a collaboration they forged recently to reimagine William Shakespeare’s works from the perspective of the United States–Mexico Borderlands.

"The Bard in the Borderlands: An Anthology of Shakespeare Appropriations en La Frontera, Volume 2" was released in August and features adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays by prominent Latino playwrights.

“The Bard in the Borderlands: An Anthology of Shakespeare Appropriations
en La Frontera, Volume 2” was released in August.

The publication’s editors are Drs. Katherine Gillen and Adrianna M. Santos of A&M-San Antonio, and Dr. Kathryn Vomero Santos of Trinity University. Last year the three scholars were awarded a $500,000 Mellon Foundation grant to examine Shakespeare through a Chicano studies lens. They released the first volume of "The Bard in the Borderlands” in May 2023.

The first anthology garnered a great deal of media interest and is already being taught at universities all over the U.S. and even two Canadian universities.

Leading up to the publication of Volume 1, the three professors founded The Borderlands Shakespeare Colectiva (BSC ) in 2019 to engage with Shakespeare while integrating languages and traditions from the U.S.–Mexico Borderlands. The continuing cross-institutional partnership between Trinity University and A&M-San Antonio fosters research and supports the public humanities throughout the region. A third volume is scheduled to be published next year.      

“Bard in the Borderlands” celebrates the rich tradition of Chicano and Indigenous theater-makers who for decades have worked to repurpose the plays of Shakespeare to reflect the histories and lived realities of the United States–Mexico Borderlands.  

Adrianna M. Santos said that while many students feel alienated by Shakespeare—a literature tradition that doesn’t include their perspective—they’re interested in how Mexican American and Indigenous authors are making it fresh and interesting. Now, students can see themselves in these plays and feel a sense of cultural pride as opposed to feeling alienated.

“The local San Antonio community has positively reacted to the anthology, particularly students,” said Santos, an associate professor. “They have reported seeing themselves and their families represented in the bilingual plays. The appropriations take place in recognizable settings and address important issues like immigration, labor rights, and preservation of language and culture.”

Like the first volume, Gillen said the new publication retells some of Shakespeare's most iconic works through Latino and Indigenous lenses. Volume 2 includes treatments of "The Merchant of Venice," "The Winter's Tale," "Measure for Measure" and "The Comedy of Errors."

"This volume shows how theater can be a source of joy,” said Gillen, a professor of English and chair of the Department of Language, Literature, and Arts. “Whereas the plays in Volume 1 drew primarily from ‘Hamlet’ and ‘Romeo and Juliet,’ these works engage with Shakespearean comedy to explore difficult issues facing borderlands communities while also creating opportunities for laughter and liberation."

To help launch the new anthology, the three professors will read excerpts from Volume 2 at an upcoming event at the San Antonio Public Library. In addition, Augusto Contreras and his students from the Creative Arts Studio in the Rio Grande Valley will perform a short scene.