By Barrett White
The struggle is familiar and has been echoed by countless actors of color: “There were no parts for me, other than the ‘struggling friend,’ the ‘drug dealer,’ or the ‘misfit,’” says actor and writer Peru Flores, who will appear in his own comedy show, Peru and the City, this month at Rich’s in Houston. Flores’ family moved to Midland–Odessa, Texas, from Peru when he was a young teen. In the small town of oil workers and farmers, Flores was taken in by the skater crowd at school. He never saw himself as different from any of his peers—that is, until it was pointed out to him.
“You’re from Peru, right?” he was asked by a girl in his class. “You speak Spanish, right?” she prodded. “Then why do you act so white?”
“It was the first time I’d ever been confronted with that,” Peru recalls. It wouldn’t be the last. He had been a successful actor in high school theatre, but upon entering the industry professionally, the roles came to a crawl. “I would audition for roles that I saw myself in, but the casting director didn’t,” Flores says.
“Was I too brown? Too effeminate?” Flores questions. He even auditioned for a role written specifically for a young Peruvian man. It seemed to be tailor-made for him, but went to someone else. The casting director told him that, despite loving his audition, they were looking for someone who appeared more indigenous. Feeling caught between two worlds—not white enough, not Latino enough—he discovered improv. “In theatre or film, they can tell you what you are,” Flores says. “In improv, you tell the audience what you are—and they believe it.”
Flores left Midland-Odessa after high school to try out university life in New York. The costs of a degree from NYU were exorbitant, so he opted to study with the renowned Upright Citizens Brigade instead. He laughs when recalling his time living in New York—nearly a decade—before he came to Houston. “I came [to Houston] by chance!” he says. “My sister was here getting married, so I came down and I thought I would spend a few months here and go back. It’s been two years.”
His time in Houston has been good for creative growth, though. Prior to Peru and the City, he produced two previous shows of his own, GREASE(D)! A Live Parody, and UNPOPULAR OPINIONS: LIVE! Both shows were sold out with standing room.
For Peru and the City, he’s taking a page from Carrie Bradshaw. Parodying a theme from a Sex and the City episode in which Carrie’s sense of self is put to the test, Flores asks, “Is Houston gay?” (Spoiler alert: Houston is very gay). The production features Flores himself with his gay posse—Daniel, Jonah, and Charlie—as they discover their queerness in Houston’s hustle and bustle. “This could have taken place in New York. It could have taken place in Los Angeles. But I set it here in Houston intentionally,” Flores says. “I set it here because these lives exist here. Houston is a progressive city. People should see gay lives in cities other than New York and San Francisco.”
For ‘Peru and the City,’ Flores is taking a page from Carrie Bradshaw. Photo by Christeland Studio.
To add, Flores insisted that the cast and creatives be queer, too. “That representation matters,” he says. Wrapping the production up is a fashion show featuring some of Houston’s top drag queens and dancers, and designs by local designer Mysterious by NPN.
“Be the leader that you don’t want to be,” Flores says about forging your own way as a queer artist of color. “Sometimes the opportunities presented to you don’t offer the image that you want to portray for queer people or Latino people. I had to come to the realization that if I wanted to create or appear in content that I was going to be proud of, I had to make it myself.”
“I just moved to New York to be a fucking actor. But in that process, I learned that this is a much bigger thing,” Flores adds. “Now being in Houston, I’ve learned to create for my audience that I want to embrace. So do that. Form a group for your people—you all go running, but you’re all queer. You all play chess. You’re film lunatics—anything. What you want to leave a stamp on, do it yourself. You may not feel like a leader, but most people who started something great weren’t natural-born leaders. Throw yourself into it. You don’t have to have a big group. Even if it’s only a group of five people who feel like they identify and that they’re part of something, that’s so cool. You could be the beacon for someone who feels totally lost.”
Prior to Peru and the City at Rich’s, the cast will celebrate National Martini Day (naturally) on June 19 at Hanh Gallery with martinis by Belvedere. Along with the martinis and mingling, the event will include a donation-based raffle drawing, with all proceeds benefitting the Montrose Center in honor of Pride Month.
National Martini Day Fundraiser
What: National Martini Day, Sponsored by Belvedere
Where: Hanh Gallery, 2617 Bissonnet Street, #103, Houston, Texas 77005
When: June 19, 2019, 6–8:30 p.m.
Details: Free admission. Donation-based raffle benefitting the Montrose Center.
Comedy Show
What: Peru and the City: A Pride Comedy Show
Where: Rich’s Houston, 2401 San Jacinto Street, Houston, Texas 77002
When: June 24, 2019 at 8 p.m.
Details: General admission is $5 per ticket.
