Portrait of Carlos Cortés... and Us All

Wow, is it refreshing to meet a kindred spirit doing what they so obviously love to do! That is exactly how I met an incredible writer, performer, father, and Professor Emeritus of History – University of California, Riverside, named Carlos E. Cortés. My wife and I had the privilege to see his one-person autobiographical play, "A Conversation with Alana," as he performed it brilliantly at the Riverside Public Library as part of their 2022 Cinco de Mayo celebration in Southern California. The play is also a book of the same title, with cover art by Cortés' granddaughter, Amaya Lawton!

As an autobiographical cartoonist myself on Silly Daddy Comics and other books for the past 3 decades, meeting a fellow "autobio" creator of Carlos Cortés' caliber was a real treat. I even invited over 20 people to join me in seeing his play. Eight of them showed up to accompany my wife and I for an evening that entertained, educated, and enriched.

As soon as the play was over, I was compelled to personally thank Carlos for telling his story so powerfully. His play, a multicultural, heart-moving family journey, had intentionally minimal acting yet maximum impact. As I eagerly shook Carlos' hand and praised how he delivered his inspiring tale, my wife, Denise, nudged me and said, "You should show him the drawing you made during the play."

Prudence. That should be my wife's middle name. The word means to act or show care for the future. There seems to be no end to the prudent things my wife adds to our existence. Her one brief conversational interjection as we met the playwright sharply expanded the goodness of the moment.

Just as the husband-and-wife dynamic was a recurring theme in "A Conversation with Alana," so it manifested pleasantly beyond the play's completion. After appreciating my drawing (through my wife's prompting), Carlos enthusiastically motioned to his own wife and said, "Laurel, you've got to see this!" Then my wife and I had the pleasure of speaking with his wife for a bit.

There's something wonderful about meeting a man and then meeting his wife, and seeing them both joyfully purposeful. That's the impression I got from this esteemed couple. May we all grow into such characteristics.

Immediately upon exiting the theater, we prompted our many friends who accompanied us to discuss what we all learned from the play. Who said what I cannot recall. Yet the themes that come to mind a few days later are surprisingly fluid: how we can all relate to one another, how much more we can respect our elders, how our shared history can unite us when we fight for it, and how we all have something essential to contribute, regardless of race, culture, or social status. I say that we discussed the play with "friends," but really we see these people every week, and while not actually blood-related, they have become family.

Moreover, while I am not "related" to Carlos--and only met him this one evening--his heart-warming storytelling proves that I can completely "relate" to him, as I know so many can as well. So the comradery between Carlos and I, (both autobiographical authors), to our wives, to our friends/family became an outward spiral, cycling evermore into our gratitude for our widening scope of family.

There's something poetic about that whole evening that I cannot help but to cherish. It resonates to my soul, in such a brief interaction, that Carlos' performance prompted me to make something (a drawing), my wife prompted Carlos to see the drawing, Carlos prompted his wife to meet us, and our friends/family were prompted to say something profound, right there standing in a circle on the sidewalks of downtown Riverside.

We walked away from the evening floating on the vision that every person is part of a family, and every family is preciously important.

Carlos E. Cortés has a story to tell.
So do I.
So do we all.