THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, MARCH 3, 2015
NORTH COAST
3A
Fantastical story of muralist Diego Enterprise zone
takes
step
forward
Rivera’s childhood presented
Astoria would
Teatro Milagro,
Tolovana Arts
Colony present
bilingual play
partner with
Port, county
and Warrenton
By ERICK BENGEL
EO Media Group
CANNON BEACH — The
childhood story of Mexican
muralist Diego Rivera gets the
fairy-tale treatment in “El Niño
Diego,” a 40-minute bilingual
play that Portland’s Teatro Mi-
lagro (Miracle Theater) will
perform at the Coaster Theatre
Playhouse at 7 p.m. Saturday.
“Diego Rivera is one of the
most revered Mexican painters
in the last couple of centuries,”
said Lisa Kerr, program coordi-
nator of the Tolovana Arts Col-
ony. People who aren’t familiar
with Rivera may be familiar
with his paintings, she said, “be-
cause they’ve been made into
posters 100 times over.”
“El Niño Diego” (The Boy
Diego) imagines what would
have happened if Diego (played
by Brian Burger) — who, in real
life, was a child prodigy sent to
live with a curandera (medicine
woman) because of his poor
health — had met the Aztec god-
dess Coatlicue in his youth. The
goddess gives the boy a magical
paintbrush, which Diego thinks
will make him a legendary artist.
When a dastardly art school
director (played by Ajai Terrazas
Tripathi) and his dimwitted min-
ion (played by Ana Silva) try to
exploit Diego’s “magical” talents,
Diego’s nurse, Antonia, helps Di-
ego realize that he doesn’t need
magic to make great art.
“In our story, he discovers
he doesn’t need outside magic,”
said Alida Wilson-Gunn, the
associate artistic director of the
Milagro’s touring program and
director of the Coaster produc-
tion. “He has the strength inside
to create, and that it’s not the
magical paintbrush at all. It’s his
own ability that will propel him
forward in his career.”
Political themes
Beneath the slapstick and
family-friendly fantasy lies a
serious political subtext, play-
wright Dañel Malán said.
The evil school director, Jose
Manguino (who, in reality, wasn’t
evil), is trying to squeeze money
from the school’s arts program
for his private enrichment. The
character represents the forces in
favor of defunding the arts in pub-
lic schools, Malán said.
“It’s a kids’ show, so it
doesn’t get too heavy with polit-
ical commentary,” Tripathi said.
“I’m really afraid that if we
adopt an enterprise zone with the
Port of Astoria as a partner we
will be forced to keep making
more concessions on our zon-
ing,” Herzig said.
Jim Knight, who took over as
the Port’s executive director late
By DERRICK
last year, sought to reassure the
DePLEDGE
City Council that the Port is in-
The Daily Astorian
terested in collaborating on eco-
nomic development.
The Astoria City Council
Knight called it a “new day in
gave a tentative nod Monday Astoria. So the days of conten-
night toward a new Clatsop en- tiousness between the Port and
terprise zone that would attract the city, under my watch, I’m
business investment through going to do everything that I can
that those days come to an end.”
property tax breaks.
The Clatsop enterprise zone
New or expanded businesses
would be eligible for property would cover 4.5 miles in total,
WD[H[HPSWLRQVIRUWKUHHWR¿YH 1.5 miles in Astoria. The city
years. The businesses, in return, parcels would include the down-
would be expected to meet mini- town corridor, the Port and prop-
mum employment levels and job erty off Youngs Bay now used by
Astoria Ford.
creation goals.
Targeted businesses for an
The Clatsop enterprise zone
would not alter local zoning reg- enterprise zone typically include
manufacturers, processors, ship-
ulations.
Astoria would partner with pers, call centers and headquar-
Clatsop County, Warrenton and ter-type facilities. The City Coun-
the Port of Astoria. The City Coun- cil and the other jurisdictions will
cil’s endorsement is key to the likely agree to also allow hotels,
collaboration, since the Port could motels and destination resorts.
The enterprise zone, if ap-
not take full advantage of the en-
terprise zone unless the city, which proved by the state, would be
controls zoning on a large segment managed by Kevin Leahy, the ex-
ecutive director of Clatsop Eco-
of Port property, is a sponsor.
The City Council is expected nomic Development Resources.
Some critics have noted that
to formally approve the enter-
prise zone in a resolution later enterprise zones, both in Oregon
this month. The Port, the Clat- and across the nation, have had
sop County Board of Commis- mixed results and have occasion-
sioners, and the Warrenton City ally been derided as examples of
Commission are also expected to corporate welfare. Analysts have
RIWHQKDGGLI¿FXOW\LQPHDVXULQJ
back the enterprise zone.
The application is due at the the economic return of the tax in-
Oregon Business Development centives.
Leahy said the enterprise
Department in April.
City Councilor Drew Herzig zone could be a tool to help the
said he is dubious about the city region become more competitive
partnering with the Port because and create more family wage
of contentious disagreements jobs.
“We’re all committed to
over land use in the past. The
Port, for example, had threatened growing our economy here. But
to sue the city over development we’re committed to growing our
restrictions in the city’s River- economy with the right type of
industries,” he said.
front Vision Plan.
Courtesy of Silvia Malan-Gonzalez
“El Niño Diego” stars, from left, Ana Silva as the dimwitted Escupir, Ajai Terrazas-Tripathi
as the dastardly director Jose Manguino, Brian Burger as young Diego Rivera (seen here
endowed with a magical paintbrush) and Elizabeth Romero as Diego’s nurse, Antonia.
IF YOU GO:
What: “El Niño Di-
ego” (The boy Diego),
performed by the
Teatro Milagro (Miracle
Theater)
When: 7 p.m. Saturday
Where: Coaster The-
atre
Cost: $20 per family
(which could be any
number of individuals),
$5 per individual, or
whatever a person can
afford. Attendees pay
at the door; tickets will
not be available ahead
of time.
Story: The childhood
story of Mexican
muralist Diego Rivera,
done in fairytale style;
suitable for children
He added, however, that —
in addition to incorporating Ri-
vera’s interest in pre-Columbian
indigenous culture, mythology
and folklore — the play express-
es Rivera’s philosophy of social
equality, that “art should be for
all people, as opposed to the bad
guy who thinks that art is some-
thing to commodify.”
“It’s very sweet story. It has
villains and heroes and goddess-
es and magic,” Wilson-Gunn
said. “It’s a play written for
youth to encourage them to par-
ticipate in the arts, to make (the
arts) more accessible, especial-
ly for those who may not have
much exposure to the arts.”
Reaching out
Teatro Milagro is coming to
Cannon Beach courtesy of the
Tolovana Arts Colony, which
late last year received two grants
— $3,300 from the Meyer Me-
morial Trust and $1,500 from
the Clatsop County Cultural
Coalition — to pay for the per-
formance.
Kerr, who secured the grants,
wants to hold more events that
involve the town’s Hispanic
community and integrate His-
panic art and culture. Money left
over from the Meyer Memorial
Trust grant will help fund multi-
cultural cooking classes in April,
May and June, she said.
“We thought Teatro Mila-
gro was the perfect way to do
it because it’s a bilingual the-
ater, and that might bring out
more of the Hispanic popula-
tion,” she said, adding that, if
“El Niño Diego” proves pop-
ular in Cannon Beach, the arts
colony may arrange for a more
adult-themed production in the
future.
as the kids do,” said Malán,
who co-founded the Milagro
Theatre Group with her hus-
band, Jose Eduardo Gonzalez,
in 1985.
After the show, the four
actors will have a Q-and-A
“talk-back” with the audience.
Earlier that day, the arts colony
is hosting a free acting and mu-
ral drawing workshop for kids
featuring the Milagro cast from
2:30 to 4:30 p.m. at Tolovana
Hall, 3779 S. Hemlock St.
“Kids so seldom have a
voice in the arts,” Wilson-Gunn
said. This is why it’s important,
she said, to ask children after an
artistic experience, “what they
felt about it. What did they see?
What did they remember? What
did it mean to them?”
Malán said she hopes her
play conveys the value of art to
the children in attendance. “Peo-
ple don’t really understand how
important the arts are.”
W A NTED
Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber
N orth w es t H a rdw oods • Lon gview , W A
Contact: Steve Axtell • 360-430-0885 or John Anderson • 360-269-2500
Value of art
“El Niño Diego” is written in
a way that’s called “code-switch-
ing,” where the dialogue alter-
nates between English and Span-
ish. “The idea is that, if you were
monolingual in either language,
you would be able to follow the
plot,” Wilson-Gunn said.
“We’ve done several public
performances, and the adults
seem to enjoy the play as much
Warrenton School Board reprimands
one of its own for policy violation
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
The Warrenton-Hammond
School District Board of Di-
rectors voted 5-0-1 to publicly
censure Vice Chairwoman Kel-
ly Simonsen at a Monday meet-
ing. Board members Debbie
Morrow, Darlene Warren, Joe
Talamantez, Brian Bruney and
Adam Neahring approved the
censure — Simonsen abstained,
FLWLQJDSRWHQWLDOFRQÀLFWRILQ-
terest, and board member Isaac
Anderson was absent.
The board, said Morrow in
a prepared statement, deter-
mined that Simonsen failed to
refer a complaint about a staff
member to the appropriate ad-
ministrator — Superintendent
Mark Jeffery — and instead
initiated direct contact with
the employee regarding a per-
current term ends June 30,
2017.
“The board of directors has
determined that it must distance
itself and the school district from
the conduct and action of Kelly
Simonsen, so as to protect the
board of directors and the dis-
WULFW IURP OHJDO DQG ¿QDQFLDO
liability,” said Morrow. “In con-
sideration thereof, the board of
directors of the Warrenton-Ham-
mond School District does here-
Kelly Simonsen
by condemn the conduct of ac-
tions of Kelly Simonsen.”
sonnel matter, in violation of
In an equally tallied vote,
board policy.
WKHERDUGDSSURYHGWKH¿QGLQJV
&HQVXUHLVDQRI¿FLDOFRQ- of an investigative report into
demnation of a board mem- the complaint against Simon-
EHURURWKHUSXEOLFRI¿FLDOE\ sen. The details behind her cen-
their peers. It does not remove VXUH RU ZKR ¿OHG D FRPSODLQW
Simonsen from the school against her were not made pub-
board or impede her ability to lic. Staff in the audience includ-
serve. She joined the school ed Jeffery and Athletic Director
board July 1, 2007, and her Ian O’Brien.
zZDXQDIFXRUJ