By Lea Abito | Staff Writer
The Florida International University Theater Department saw a full house Wednesday night for a riveting performance of “The House of Ramón Iglesia,†exploring an emotional first-generation story many in Miami can relate to.
The performance started a few minutes after 8 p.m. at the Wertheim Performing Arts Center and was the fourth show after a two-day break between performances.
“I love all FIU plays,†Nathaniel Gayle, a second-year business management student, said after the performance.
Gayle has attended every production since his freshman year, having only regretfully missed one, “Uncle Vanya,†during the 2024-2025 season due to sold-out tickets.
Otherwise, he always makes an effort to attend, as he loves the diversity of the productions.
Gayle also recognized that the stage area was the same as that of “Intimate Apparel,†one of his favorite FIU productions, and he was already excited, expecting it to be just as emotional and personal.
The intimate staging and seating brought the audience right into the story, as attendees sat close enough to make out every detail of the performance, from facial expressions to props.
Attendees at “The House of Ramón Iglesia†at the start of the show, Wednesday night | Lea Abito, PantherNOW
Music played as attendees took their seats, setting the mood for a Puerto Rican immigrant family's divided household in Long Island, New York, in 1980.
Riding the relevancy of Bad Bunny's historic Super Bowl halftime performance, which celebrated unity and Puerto Rican culture earlier this year, the show came at the right time, zeroing in on a family for a personal but relatable examination of culture.Â
Janae Hill, a junior majoring in psychology at FIU, and Angel Walker, a third-year history major, attended the play together.
“I just felt proud the whole time— I just loved it,†Hill said with a smile.
“I could feel all the emotions, and the actors are so good,†Walker said, gesturing to the stage.Â
The seven-person cast played their flawed characters perfectly, evoking empathy and exploring human complexity, as they struggle to reconcile their culture and roots with their future in a new world.
The play focused on Javier Iglesia, a young Puerto Rican man struggling with his cultural identity, family responsibilities, personal ambition and whether or not he could break away from the family and culture that defined him.
Javier was not an easily-liked character either, as he often made selfish decisions and was prejudiced against his own culture, disturbed by his family's lack of assimilation, despite the sacrifices his parents made for him.
Nevertheless, the audience found they could feel for the character and his family's struggles.
“I feel like he's kind of written to be disliked,†Walker said, “But I have so much empathy for him because he's such a complex character.â€
Hill and Walker were moved by a scene in the second act that followed a heartbreaking argument between Javier and his father, Ramón Iglesia, that left Ramón alone in the snow.
“He could have left him, but he came back to save his family,†Walker said.
The experience depicted by the performance was also not singular.
“It felt reminiscent of a lot of immigrant families,†Hill said, describing the story as relatable.
Following the fall performances of “Much Ado About Nothing†and “The Moors†and the spring musical “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,†“The House of Ramón Iglesia†concluded with its eighth performance on April 12, bringing a satisfying and thought-provoking curtain close to a successful year of theater at FIU.
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