Courtesy Julie Marin plays Claribel, and Amy Renee Rubio is Marta.

When Vincent Toro set out to write “Oil on Canvas: Latino Landscape #1,” he wanted to create a cast of characters that didn’t conform to the stereotypes of Hispanic Americans. He also wanted to address racism, sexism, war and the American education system.

But in the end, the story is really about family.

“I think it’s pretty much about a brother and sister’s love, and it’s about overcoming,” said Toro, the theatre arts director at the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center.

The play follows Claribel and Carlos, two young middle-class Mexican-American siblings who don’t want to follow the traditional life paths dictated by their family and community.

Claribel (played alternately by Denisse Ibarra and Julie Marin) wants to go to art school, but her family thinks she should do something practical. Carlos (played by Eusebio Mendez) isn’t as smart or talented, but as the male, he is expected to attend college.

Carlos ends up joining the Army and returning with post traumatic stress disorder, and Claribel’s college plans are initially thwarted. But then she discovers she can change their fate through her art.

Many of the play’s significant scenes begin with Claribel painting an image, and members of the Guadalupe Dance Company enact it.

Toro wants the audience to question sexism and patriarchal family structures, as well as examine the effects of war and what he sees as the military’s disproportionate recruitment in certain socioeconomic classes.

He also wants audiences to think about how educational opportunities differ for kids of varying ethnicity and wealth.

“What I want them to do is react,” said Toro, who also directed the play. “I want them to understand this is what’s going on in their community, and I want it to hit them in their gut.”

The play, which is supported by the National Endowment of the Arts, will be staged in its final version in October. There is a Q&A session after this weekend’s performances.

Jessica Belasco | 210SA contributor