I come from the trash dumps of Honduras, the football fields of Mexico, the genocide in Guatemala, a first-grade classroom in Bogotá. I come from riding the tops of freight trains across la bestia, arriving at O'Hare airport in my mother's arms, hiding beneath clothes in a pickup truck headed for Los Angeles. I come from farming, from shoemaking, from scavenging. From busing tables and going to school. From construction, demolition, painting, gardening. I come from waiting for work at La Parada and waiting for the law to change. I come from my long-distance love for the family I left behind, my devotion to the family that came with me, my dreams for the family I created here. I come from being a citizen, refugee, resident, alien-I come from being American. Aqui Estoy. I am here. In Chicago, in Albany Park, on the stage, in the audience.
Aqui Estoy.

Aqui Estoy features new productions of two pieces originally performed by APTP in 2003: Amor de Lejos chronicles the lives of day laborers from Central America and Mexico. Nine Digits tells the story of an APTP teen artist who has lived the life of an undocumented immigrant since his parents brought him to the U.S. from Colombia when he was six.

Play Focuses on Life of Undocumented Workers Chicago Public Radio The struggles of undocumented immigrants take center stage in a revival of a play based in Chicago's Northwest Side....Chicago Public Radio's Lynette Kalsnes has this report. Listen...

Aqui Estoy: True Life on Stage Extra: Chicago's Bilingual Newspaper Representing at least five different nationalities from Cuban to Kyrgyzstani, the young actors of Albany Park Theater Project eloquently narrate the realities of undocumented Latin American immigrants. More...

Opening Night Review: Looking at the perils of the promised land Chicago Sun-times In an ideal world, the Albany Park Theater Project production of "Aqui Estoy" (Spanish for "I Am Here") would be performed before a full session of the U.S. Congress. More...

Aqui Estoy Production Photo Gallery - 2007 View photos from APTP's production of Aqui Estoy in 2007.

PBS Feature on Aqui Estoy In May, 2003, the WTTW-11 news program "Chicago Tonight" visited APTP for a look behind the scenes at the making of the original production of Aqui Estoy.

Ethnography Every original performance created by APTP is based on real-life stories that ensemble members collect from people living in our neighborhood or in other immigrant, working-class communities like ours. Read an excerpt from the interviews APTP conducted with jornaleros, or day laborers, to create Amor de Lejos.

Aqui Estoy Resources Where to look on line for information about day labor and humane immigration reform.

Talk Back Have you seen Aqui Estoy? Please share your reflections with us on the stories, the performances, the issues.