'What Killed Marcelo Lucero?'

Adelphi University's Center for Social Innovation and Levermore Global Scholars Program are co-sponsoring the interactive theater piece, "What Killed Marcelo Lucero?" by the Brentwood-based theater group Teatro Experimental Yerbabruja, directed by Margarita Espada.

After attracting the attention of national media last fall, such as theNew York Times, a new dimension was added to include audience participation. After the performance, there will be a panel discussion to focus on the issue of immigration and hate on Long Island and alternative strategies that can be implemented to address immigration tensions in communities. The panelists include Margarita Espada, artistic director, Teatro Experimnental Yerbabruja; Dr. Deborah Little, associate professor, Adelphi Department of Sociology and Long Island Wins Delegate to Mexico; Maryann Slutsky, executive director, Long Island Wins; and Dr. Luis Valenzuela, executive director, Long Island Immigrant Alliance.

This event is free and open to the public.

The play is based on the November 2008 murder of Ecuadorian immigrant Marcelo Lucero in Patchogue. Lucero was attacked and stabbed to death by a gang of teenagers who were targeting Hispanic immigrants for violence.

The murder, along with the tepid response by some local government officials, triggered outrage that spread well beyond the Long Island village where the crime occurred. While that outrage spurred political action, it also stirred local artists like Teatro Experimnental Yerbabruja to engage the community in search of solutions. To learn more about the group, visit http://www.teatroyerbabruja.org.

To R.S.V.P., contact Yana Kusayeva, at 516-877-4183 or kusayeva@adelphi.edu, or Dr. Sarah Eichberg, at 516-877-4418 or eichberg@adelphi.edu.