A Cry in the Desert | Yo Soy Joaquín
Millicent Rogers Museum & TCA present
A one man show by Tlacaelel Fuentes based on the poem Yo Soy Joaquin by Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzales.
Two special performances at the Taos Center for the Arts:
- Saturday, September 20, 7pm
- Sunday, September 21, 4pm
Presented In conjunction with the Millicent Rogers Museum Exhibition ¡CHICANAO!
Caminos Distintos. On display through November 2, 2025.
About the show:
Yo Soy Joaquin, the poem, had its birth in Taos, New Mexico at the Hotel La Fonda de Taos. It is fitting that the poem be staged as a one man show and presented at the Taos Center for the Arts. Having celebrated the 97-year anniversary of the birth of Rodolfo 'Corky' Gonzales this last June, Patricio Tlacaelel Trujillo y Fuentes, set the poem to stage, and proudly brings his one man show to our community, in conjunction with the Millicent Rogers Museum and the Taos Center for the Arts.
Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzales wrote the poem "Yo Soy Joaquin" in 1967, which became a significant work in the CHICANAO movement. It addresses themes of identity, heritage, and resilience, expressing the duality of being Mexican and American. The poem serves as both a literary piece and a powerful call for social justice and cultural pride, it outlines 2000 years of Mexican and Mexican-American history, highlighting the different and often opposing strains that make up CHICANAO heritage.
In 2016 theatre critic, Robert Spiegel of Talkin’ Broadway wrote; of the show, “Trujillo y Fuentes makes quite a spectacle of the performance, exploding onto the stage amid fog in native Yucatan costume. The poem outlines 2000 years of Mexican and Mexican-American history, highlighting the different and often opposing strains that make up Hispanic heritage… The joy Trujillo y Fuentes takes in the poem is clear and contagious… Trujillo y Fuentes keeps the energy high throughout.”
Artist Bio:
Patricio Tlacaelel Trujillo y Fuentes, was born and raised in Pueblo, Colorado. He states, “I am proud of my CHICANAO heritage, growing up in the American southwest.” Preferring to be called Tlacaelel, he studied music at Friends University in Wichita, KS, and later transferred to Wichita State University, where he became a dance accompanist in the dance department there. He was assigned the task of accompanying master dance classes given by Paul Sanasardo, who was brought to Wichita State U., dance department as an artist in residence. Tlacaelel and Paul hit it off. This friendship would find Tlacaelel following Sansardo to New York City, where he would begin to take master dance classes with Sanasardo.
Tlacaelel eventually relocated to Albuquerque, where he has resided since 1987. Since living in Albuquerque, Tlacaelel has served as a model for photographer Oscar Lozoya (Quiltman). He performed a in a play based on Santiago Baca’s, Martin and Meditations on the South Valley, and Encounter Along the Road, a short play written for MEZCLA, a visual arts group started by Tlacaelel. He worked with Douglas Riva, world renowned concert pianist, and worked with Luis Valdez’ famed El Teatro Campesino in San Juan Bautista, CA, in a Mariachi Musical, EMELIANO! Tlacaelel is also a visual artist, he works in a more contemporary form of Papel Picado, that he says, he developed his own brand of the artform. His work is on display at the Michael Gorman Gallery, in Taos, on the plaza, and his works are currently on display at the Millicent Rogers Museum, in an exhibition he helped to co-curate, titled CHICANAO! Caminos Distintos. That show will be up through November 2nd, 2025.