After 39 years of trying to speak fluent Spanish, I give up. But, I’m fluent in Spanglish, which I believe is way more fun than Spanish or English because I have to use my body as well as my mouth to communicate what I want to say. El Field, which is the Spanglish version of The Field, does the same. El Field is a workshop/performance art series of original works-in-progress performed in Spanglish by a body of local artists who gather under the feathery wings of Camposition Artistic Director Octavio Campos.

Octavio Campos. Photo by Neil de la Flor

Last Sunday, Meeshell Almonte, Joshua Mapp Weiss, Jose Manuel Dominguez, Claudio Marcotulli, Erik Thompson-Green, Sergio Mora and Oscar Fuentes exhibited their works-in-progress during an informal showing at the newly renamed Miami Theater Center in Miami Shores. After the performances, the artists received feedback from peers and strangers.

Unfortunately, El Field started a bit later than scheduled, so I had to head out after the first performance. What I saw: Eric Thompson-Green in gray shorts, blue tee shirt and a gray-green long sleeve coat-shirt delivering a monologue in Spanglish while he cavorted with a piano stool. “Man y Momento” was an existential performance that addressed all the major topics humans seem to be preoccupied with — love, love, money, ego and more love.

El Field. Photo by Neil de la Flor

Even though I didn’t get a chance to experience the entire field during El Field’s culminating performance, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that El Field exists and it’s here in Miami providing artists with a center of gravity — a home space for them to create and communicate within and to the community at large.

Information: If you’re an artist, or artist in hiding, come out and join the Filed. To participate in upcoming Fieldwork sessions, contact Octavio Campos at [email protected].