My overall impression
I am so glad I got a chance to see Chela at the Fringe Festival. It is an amazing true story performed by the beautiful and talented Dulce Maria Solis.
Dulce Maria is actually Chela’s daughter in real life. She bravely tells and her mother’s tale, skillfully playing at least a dozen different characters who had key roles in her life. The show is at times difficult to watch, but it is a personal story and tells the truth about the impact of harrowing domestic violence and rape with grace, poetry and vulnerability. There are feelings we must face and realities we must honor; that is what great art does and what Chela helps us to do.
Dulce shares very intimate and painful moments, but also shares the funny ones as well as the incredible love her mother had for her children even in the context of great hardship. Dulce is generous with her performance and gives so much to her audience, allowing us to know about her life and family in a way that makes us look more deeply at ourselves and our society.
