"I AM CELSO"

By: Jose Ruben De Leon

 I AM CELSO remains an amazing accomplishment, both as a literary masterpiece and as a reflection of theatrical excellence. Rubén Sierra and Jorge Huerta brilliantly crafted this stage adaptation from the poetry of Leo Romero. The one-person show features the bittersweet and colorful tales of Celso, an old philosopher from the barrio, the local drunk who preaches "the gospel of the holy grape." He transcends the ethnic stereotype of the American Southwest and becomes an Everyman who struggles with the universal challenges of life. Celso's comic, dreamy monologue reflects the Shakespearean wise fool, "scared and annoyed my own stupidity."