Re “For music theater, an unwanted spotlight’’ (Page A1, Sept. 11): Exactly who does Lauren Villegas, founder of Project Am I Right?, think should be playing the roles of Eva and Juan Peron and Che Guevara in the North Shore Music Theatre’s production of “Evita’’? She decries the paucity of Latinos in the cast and argues for “authenticity’’ in casting. But what exactly does that mean?

Eva Peron was of French and Spanish Basque ancestry, and liked to dye her hair blonde; Juan Peron’s ancestry was Spanish, French Basque, and Sardinian, of which he was especially proud; and Ernesto “Che’’ Guevara was of Spanish, Basque, and Irish ancestry (his father was Ernesto Guevara Lynch). All would probably be classified, at least at the time, as ethnically and culturally “white’’ European.

I totally agree with the position of Bill Hanney, owner and producer of North Shore Music Theatre, that the most talented performers, regardless of their race or ethnicity, should get the parts.

It is long overdue for many in this country to move past their obsession with identity politics. We are all human beings, and talent and merit should always be the only consideration.

Donald H. Rousseau

Marblehead