VivirLatino

If you are in NYC on any Monday evening this month, stop by the Nuyorican Poet’s Cafe to see Elaine del Valle’s award winning one-woman show, Brownsville Bred.

The autobiographical show takes the audience through an “emotional rollercoaster” that is uplifting, heartbreaking and powerful as they witness Del Valle recreate life in the tough projects of 1980’s Brownsville, Brooklyn NY. Amongst eight other characters, Del Valle narrates as herself from ages 11 to 17. Del Valle’s loving father, another empathetic character, leaves the family of five as he falls from stature as a talented musician to a defeated heroine addict. Not unlike most impoverished families, Elaine’s mother emerges as the loveable spirit that holds the family together and guides them to a hopeful future. Crime, Drugs and Poverty mix with the Joys of Family, Hope, Salsa and the Birth of Rap, as Del Valle’s innocence recounts a journey to womanhood, a neighborhoods crack & crime epidemic, Salsa rumbas, and her love of Run DMC, which often times help her verbalize a unique struggle and triumph that has audiences cheering and laughing through their tears while swaying to urban rhythms.