What Lessons Can We Learn When a Show Like Real Women Have Curves Closes?

While this show cannot go on, its message should stay with us, especially now.

I was lucky enough to sit beside my daughter at a matinee of Real Women Have Curves just before the show closed this past weekend. We joined an audience that filled three levels of the theater. Most of the seats were occupied by Latinas and women of color who clapped, cheered, and cried together as they watched the story unfold. These were women who saw themselves reflected on that stage. Women who have spent too many years being hidden, stereotyped, or made small.

It is hard to watch a production like this end its Broadway run after only a few months. Ticket sales could not sustain it, and now it is gone. But this is not only about a show closing. It is about what it reveals about where we are as a country.

Real Women Have Curves is set in 1987 East Los Angeles. It follows Ana García, a young Latina woman with dreams of becoming a journalist. Ana is judged every day for her body, her family, and her heritage. Even though decades have passed since that time, the same core issues remain. The fear of immigrants. The way working-class families are overlooked. The pressure on women to stay quiet and grateful, to be homemakers and caregivers, but never too bold or too ambitious.

Back then, immigrants were fighting to be seen as Americans. They were working tirelessly to build businesses, raise their children, and prove that they belonged. That has not changed. If anything, it has become even harder. Today, it is easier for some to look away and to call people seeking a better life a burden instead of recognizing them as neighbors.

I understand this journey because it is my own. I am an immigrant. My mother is an immigrant. We are the definition of the American Dream. We came to this country not to take but to give. We came to build. Over the years, we have contributed in countless ways, from creating careers to strengthening our communities. We are proud of our citizenship. We are proud of what we have made possible here.

When I watched this musical, I could not help but see pieces of my own life. I saw my mother in every woman who stayed up late to sew, clean, or cook so her children could have more. I saw myself in Ana’s longing to be heard and respected. I saw all the women who have had to balance the expectations of raising children and keeping households with their own hopes to lead, build, and thrive.

We often call ourselves a nation of immigrants. That phrase lives in textbooks and campaign speeches. But when it comes time to show up for stories that center immigrants, we do not always follow through. We forget that much of what we love about this country was made by people like my mother and me.

This show was more than a celebration of curvy Latina women, although that part is important and beautiful. The deeper truth is that Real Women Have Curves is about the American spirit itself. It is about believing you can arrive here with almost nothing and still find your voice. That you can work hard, lift up your family, and shape the community around you. That you can be proud to stand up and say, I am part of this place.

Instead of treating immigration like something to fear, we should be looking for better ways to welcome people who are ready to build a life here. We should be asking why we have made it so difficult for people to join our communities in healthy, sustainable ways. It does not serve us to push away those who come here to contribute. It does not reflect who we claim to be.

When stories like this do not get the support they deserve, we lose something important. We lose the chance to see ourselves clearly and honestly. We lose the chance to learn from the past and improve what is not working. We lose the chance to prove that compassion and progress are still part of who we are.

The producers have said they hope this musical will have another life beyond Broadway. I hope so too. But I also hope we look in the mirror and ask why it is still so hard for stories about immigrants and working-class women to survive. This is not just about theater. It is about the kind of country we want to be.

If we want to live up to our own ideals, we have to start by listening. We have to start by caring. We have to start by sharing.

So here is my invitation. If you have your own story of immigration, if you or your family came here and found hope, if you have built something you are proud of, share it. Tell that story. Let others see what is possible when we choose to open doors instead of closing them.

Immigrants are not strangers. We are your coworkers. We are your neighbors. We are your friends. We are part of the American story, and we always have been.

Let us keep this conversation going, so the next time a story like Real Women Have Curves is told, it gets the support it deserves. And let us remember that welcoming people in is not a loss. It is always a gain.