frijolebeans

Teatro Vivo brings frijolebeans to the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center from October 15 to 24, 2026. The play is written by Raul Garza and directed by Oscar Franco, and it's the first production of the company's 2026-27 season, Nuestras Historias.

frijolebeans didn't start here. It was developed at Teatro Vivo's Austin Latinx New Play Festival in the spring of 2025, and it's coming to the ESB-MACC Black Box Theater as a full production. The play looks at family, identity, and Latinidad—the kind of ground Garza has been working on for a while. He was named the Austin Chronicle's Best of Austin 2026 Playwright, so this is a good chance to see his work on a stage rather than just reading about it.

It's also part of a larger push. Nuestras Historias is a season built around Latinx histories and stories in Austin, and the board of directors says it's a nod to the company's long history of serving the city's Latine communities. That focus carries over into the rest of the year: the Latinx Playwriting Workshop enters its fourth year in 2027, and the Austin Latinx New Play Festival returns in the spring of 2027 for its seventeenth year. frijolebeans is one of the first pieces of that broader effort to keep Latinx voices and stories moving forward in the local scene.

If you're planning to go, keep in mind the dates: it runs from October 15 to 24 at the ESB-MACC Black Box Theater in Austin. It's a short run, so you'll want to pick your night early.