khristián méndez aguirre

I have started the long, slow process behind an upcoming play tentatively titled Cucaracha, which explores the idea of migrants from the Central American nation of San Cristóbal turning into bugs.

The concept was a finalist for the Civilians’ and Princeton’s Next Forever commission (UPDATED DEC 2025, and for Pipeline’s PLAYLAB).

As part of that research, I went to Ellis Island. I visited the Statue of Liberty and the Ellis Island Hospital, where European migrants deemed unfit or unsafe to enter the United States were contained.

The project was inspired by a natural history book called “American Perceptions of Immigrant and Invasive Species: Strangers in the Land” by Peter Coates, and a few other books about bugs and pests.