Photos and Story Ivan Sitahong
Teatro Milagro’s “Broken Promises” attracted a wide audience when it played at the Little Theatre on Oct. 6.
“Broken Promises” was presented in both Spanish and English. It tells a story about four teenagers that fall into the life of pornography and prostitution. Played by Emile Dultra, the main protagonist, Adriana, moved out of town with her father. Adriana is just an ordinary girl who wants to study well and pursue college. With a miserable life under her dad, Adri- ana needs to find a way to produce her own money.
Written by Olga Sanchez, “Broken promises,” explore the pain of the sex trafficking life in Adriana’s youth. Adriana befriended with her classmate, Esteban, who eventually became her boyfriend. Having the same dream to be financially independent, they looked at a way to produce their own money. Esteban used Adriana as his “business partner,”
making her work as a prostitute, getting paid for having sex.
The story relates to the increasing number of youth hurt by sex traffickers. Many teenagers nowadays become victims of sex trafficking. One of the main reasons in the play was that they were promised, by their “business partner,” that they would gain a lot of money, and able to be financially independent.
“Relatives and family friends may condition potential victims into believing they should engage in prostitution by discouraging them from ‘having sex for free’.”
Dultra, Marlon Oviedo, Danielle Pecoff, and Ajai Tripathi received a great reception from the audiences when the play ended. Tu Hoang, a member of the audience, said, “I thought it was a rather interesting yet tactful approach to sensitive issues surrounding incest, prostitution, and human trafficking.”