National Latinx Playwriting Award winner and O’Neill finalist Desi Moreno-Penson has brought a side-splitting story of Pains, Strains, and Automobiles to La Mama. It begins with Joey (Wilson Hernandez) and Caterina (Kathleen Guerrero) arguing in his beloved ‘94 Camaro after leaving a party. The car was “born” the same year Joey was, as he is proud to point out. Caterina calls the old Camaro “a piece of sh-t”, and Joey insists that she stop badmouthing his “best friend.”

“It can hear you, and it’s not old, it’s vintage!” he retorts. Suddenly there is a (very well-realized) accident, and the shaken couple, having been thrown from the car, are quick to take sides on who’s at fault. Driver Joey blames Caterina for aggravating him, while Caterina thinks the blame lies elsewhere: Joey for doing tequila shots at the party they just left, and the Camaro for being junk.

“No don’t, it doesn’t like you!” yells Joey at Caterina when she goes to retrieve her phone from the car. “It knows you say bad things about it, so it feels a little resentful towards you!” Joey begins to talk so lovingly about the car that Caterina starts to wonder if he’s sleeping with it (a dynamic that many frustrated partners can no doubt relate to).

And if that wasn’t bizarre enough, suddenly a third character arrives on the scene to give its testimony on the situation: THE ACTUAL CAR (a hilarious Jayson Kerr, who enters to the sound of alarms and headlights on his shoulders). And this injured, outraged Camaro has a lot to say, especially to his “disrespectful” nemesis Caterina—suggesting that if it were up to him, he’d “send her back to the t-tty bar where she belongs!”

It is then that the plot thickens as Caterina reminds Joey that she wants him to sell the car to the unseen Mezaluca of the title, basically asking her partner to abandon his best pal for cash. Noting that Mezaluca is importantly Latine, Caterina triggers a discussion about how “there are all kinds of Latino,” as Joey and the Car uncomfortably but hilariously run down a series of old-fashioned stereotypes, much to her disgust.

“I’m Puerto Rican,” notes Caterina.

“Well maybe you’re a little bit shady,” the car claps back.

“None of this is based in reality!” exclaims Caterina in a slightly meta moment.

Stylishly directed by KM Jones Associate Member of the League of Professional Theatre Women, and with a winning cast, Let Mezaluca Buy Your Car is a quick and fun dive into the surreal combined with an astute look at relationships, prejudices, and the personality traits that can alternately create tension and yet somehow, connection.

Let Mezaluca Buy Your Car was performed at La Mama on June 3, 2026. Keep a look out for further performances and other works from this dynamic team.