For writer/actor Alex Garza, performing Abuelita's Christmas Carol has become a holiday tradition. It began nearly a decade ago, when he wrote the play as a tribute to his late grandmother. For that first performance, the show was a traditional play, with different actors playing the various characters and Garza taking on the title role, a character based on his grandmother.
After that run, though, he changed the play into a one-man show, playing characters based on his abuelita and several other members of his family as well (including himself -- the narrator character is based on Garza). "I really loved the play and it meant so much to me -- because it was about my grandmother and my family -- that I wanted to keep doing it," Garza says.
And he has kept doing it ever since, performing the piece in Austin, across south and central Texas, and even taking it to Los Angeles one year. "It's something that has become very important to me," he says. "I try every Christmas holiday to find a place to perform. I can't let a holiday pass without presenting this play."
See Alexa Garza perform Abuelita's Christmas Carol January 2 and 3 at the Ground Floor Theatre.
