Gender, homosexuality, the diasporic experience, and other key themes in Víctor Fragoso’s theater

The essay analyses Víctor Fragoso’s contributions to theater, which have not been studied in a serious manner before due to their lack of circulation. The essay looks at newly acquired material by the Center for Puerto Rican Studies archives, specifically five of eight recovered plays: First Night Out, No te pongas nervioso, Hora de no quedarse, Dádme mi número, and La era latina. The article builds connections throughout Fragoso’s work for the stage by following various thematic threads across the plays, among them the portrayal of 1) gender, specifically female oppression imposed by societal mores, 2) homosexuality and “sexile,” and 3) the live of im/migrants in New York City during the 1970s and 1980s. Other recurring themes, such as the oneness and duplicity of the self, and Puerto Rican independence from the USA, are also pointed out. This is a project focused on the presentation of Fragoso’s “lost” and recovered works, and the initial establishment of literary topics to be further studied.