Collaboraction and Teatro Vista Productions are excited to announce the companies will team to present a free, outdoor, staged concert version of Sandra Delgado’s smash hit La Havana Madrid, Friday, August 23, 2024 at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion as part of Millennium Park’s 20th Anniversary Season, presented in partnership with the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE).
Step back to the 1960s as the Jay Pritzker Pavilion is transformed to honor
La Havana Madrid, a real nightclub at the corner of Belmont and Sheffield where newly arrived Latino immigrants gathered to dine, dance and find community. As the glorious rhythms of mambo and salsa form the heartbeat of an ever-changing city, audiences learn the stories of Latine newcomers seeking a home in Chicago, discovering their destinies and falling madly in love.
La Havana Madrid is inspired by real stories of Cuban, Puerto Rican, and Colombian immigrants who found refuge in that vibrant second-floor supper club, including Chicagoans Myrna Salazar, Maria Bechily, Carlos and Maria Delgado, photographer Carlos Flores, club owner Tony Quintana, and band leader Roberto “Carpacho” Marin.
Throughout, this evening of musical celebration reveals how and why these new Chicagoans migrated to the shores of Lake Michigan, only to be pushed further west – away from the lake – by the forces of gentrification and racism.
Alongside their true stories, the live band Carpacho y Su Súper Combo chronicles the history of Caribbean Latine music, from boleros, to mambo, to the birth of salsa. By the end of the night, audiences need little encouragement to get on their feet and dance along.
Sandra Delgado, creator and star of La Havana Madrid (credit: Joel Maisonet)
This staged concert version of the smash hit play will take full advantage of the Pritzker Pavilion’s oversized canvas to recall an actual time and place in Chicago history, scored by a soul-stirring Latine beat.
Starting at 6 p.m., DJ Julio Bishop will spin classic salsa music to get the party started. The performance begins at 6:45 p.m. Bring your dancing shoes. Admission is free. The Jay Pritzker Pavilion is located at 201 E. Randolph in downtown Chicago. Visit MillenniumPark.org for more information.
La Havana Madrid is one of five local productions to be presented this summer by Chicago-based cultural producers as part of the Millennium Park Residency program for Millennium Park’s 20th Anniversary Season in 2024, produced in partnership with the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE). It’s one of dozens more special events this summer celebrating what’s now the #1 tourism destination in the Midwest. For more, visit MillenniumPark.org.
“We are so grateful to embrace the opportunity to tell our story on the boards of this iconic Chicago platform. La Havana Madrid will come back to life to illuminate the untold chapters of our city's rich history,” said Teatro Vista Producing Artistic Director Wendy Mateo. “The Latine contribution to our cultural fabric is undeniable, and though the physical building may be gone, the resilience of our stories endures. 'No dejen que te quiten tu historia'—don't let them rewrite our narratives. In reliving these experiences, those who lived them are transported back, while younger generations gain a profound understanding that their stories and history are equally vital.”
“We couldn’t be more excited to reunite our legendary Chicago production and artistic team to share this love letter to Chicago on such a massive canvas in a milestone year for Millennium Park,” said Anthony Moseley, Artistic Director, Collaboraction Theatre Company. “In addition to an amazing night of live entertainment, the current influx of migrants has made the true stories of La Havana Madrid, of new Chicagoans coming to the city to build a new life, even more present and important.”
Bienvenidos a La Havana Madrid
Sandra Delgado, creator and star of La Havana Madrid (credit: Joel Maisonet)
Teatro Vista’s 2017 world premiere of La Havana Madrid at Steppenwolf Theatre was an instant hit, attracting attention from the New York Times and championed by the Chicago Tribune as “heartfelt and fascinating…bursting with music and warmth.” The production went on to sold-out productions at The Miracle Center, The Goodman’s Owen Theatre and, in co- production with Teatro Vista and Collaboraction, at the Den Theatre in May 2019.
This isn’t the first time La Havana Madrid has been performed outdoors, however. Last summer, Delgado took La Havana Madrid to South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa for a successful three-week run under the night sky at Mission San Juan Capistrano.
For its Chicago return, this one-night-only production reunites the show’s creator, Sandra Delgado, and original director, Cheryl Lynn Bruce. Stop by the west side of the Chicago Cultural Center on your way to Millennium Park on August 23rd, and you’ll see both immortalized as two of the 20 trailblazing Chicago women honored in Kerry James Marshall’s largest outdoor public mural, “Rushmore.”
Watch former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE), alongside internationally renowned artist and MacArthur Fellow Kerry James Marshall, unveil his mural on the Chicago Cultural Center (78 E. Washington St.),on December 4, 2017. Just a block away from Millennium Park, the mural, titled Rush More, honors 20 women who have shaped Chicago’s arts and culture landscape, including Sandra Delgado, creator of La Havana Madrid, and director Cheryl Lynn Bruce.
The La Havana Madrid design team will make full use of the state of the art sound system at Pritzker Pavilion by having Tony Award-winning sound designer Mikhail Fiksel design an immersive soundscape. Chicago projectionist Liviu Pasare will create a multimedia video design that mixes live video of the performance with interlacing images of Lake Michigan and 1960s Chicago. Also back is the La Havana Madrid house band, Carpacho y Su Super Combo.
Stay tuned for more exciting details. The full cast and production team is TBA.
Sandra Delgado (creator, title role) is a Colombian-Chicagoan artist who creates joyful spaces of connection for all. She is best known for her smash-hit show La Havana Madrid, a musical celebration of the city’s Latino community set in a long-gone Caribbean night club that drew throngs of newly-arrived Latinos to the city’s north side in the 1960s. A respected veteran of the stage, Delgado’s acting highlights include work at Steppenwolf and The Goodman Theatre in Chicago and The Public Theatre in New York. Her new, self-produced theatrical concert series, The Sandra Delgado Experience, debuted in 2023 at the Public Theatre’s Joe’s Pub in New York, andsold-out Chicago’s Epiphany Arts Center last December. Her awards include a United States Artist Fellowship, NALAC Grant, Illinois Arts Council Fellowship in Literature, 3Arts Award, Joyce Award, TCG Resident Actor Fellowship, and the 2017 Latina Professional of the Year Award from the Chicago Latino Network. She also serves her city as a board member of The Chicago Public Library.
Cheryl Lynn Bruce (director) is a Chicago-based actor and director who has performed on numerous regional stages as well as in Europe and Mexico. She originated the role of Elizabeth Sandry for Steppenwolf’s Tony Award-winner The Grapes of Wrath (Cort Theatre, National Theatre (UK), La Jolla Playhouse.) Bruce helped develop and directed Sandra Delgado’s La Havana Madrid premiere (Steppenwolf Theatre 1700) and subsequent productions (Goodman Theatre, The Miracle Center, Navy Pier Lake Stage, The Den Theatre). Most recently, she performed in Antigone at Court Theatre, and directed Written by Phillis (Quintessence Theatre) and The House of the Negro Insane (Contemporary American Theatre Festival, The National Black Theatre Festival). Last year, she helped develop and directed Yemandja featuring Angelique Kidjo (Mass MOCA, Broad Stage, Cal Performance at Berkeley, Kennedy Center). Her other directing credits include Pipeline (Victory Gardens Theatre); SPUNK and From the Mississippi Delta (Congo Square Theatre); and the streamed readings of The Wedding Band (Quintessence Theatre) and The Agitators (Remy Bumppo Theatre).
Collaboraction is a 27-year-old non-profit arts organization that builds knowledge, empathy, dialogue and action around oppression and inequity through live theater, film, radio and online interactive programs that leverage the power of storytelling and community to cultivate positive social change. Collaboraction is recognized as an industry leader using theater, storytelling, community building and digital media (film, radio/podcast) and has been awarded two Emmy Awards, a Distinguished Service to the Arts Award, DCASE’s Foster Innovation Award and a Silver Gavel Honorable Mention from the American Bar Association, among others. Notable examples of Collaboraction’s recent work include two-time Emmy-award winning The Lost Story of Emmett Till: Trial in the Delta, Collaboraction Radio, live, every Saturday at 4 p.m. CST on WCPT-820 AM, Moonset Sunrise, A Blue Island In the Red Sea, The Light youth ensemble and the annual Peacebook Festival. In addition to live performances, radio, community building and video production, Collaboraction centers and presents its work in Chicago neighborhoods historically overlooked like Englewood, Austin and Lawndale. To learn more about Collaboraction, visit collaboraction.org or follow the company on Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and Twitter.
Teatro Vista Productions (TVP) is a non-profit multimedia theater company dedicated to multidisciplinary artists of color whose artistic expression on stage and beyond is rooted in the transformative power of storytelling. The award-winning, critically-acclaimed theater company operates as the only Equity Latino/e theater company in the Midwest. In the past two years, Teatro Vista productions have garnered 17 nominations and 11 Jeff Award wins, including two for Best Production. The organization continually employs and builds the resumes of 50 to 80 artists per season, a majority artists of color, providing them opportunities to further their careers in a supportive and collaborative environment. Teatro Vista Productions has served the Latino/e community for 33 years and is celebrating its 34th season, having presented over 65 productions, including 20 world premieres and 15 Midwest premieres, since its inception in 1991. For more information visit teatrovista.org or follow TVP on Facebook, Instagram and Youtube.
Returning for its second year, the Millennium Park Residency Program has announced five Chicago cultural organizations selected to present dynamic free programming as part of Millennium Park’s 20th Anniversary Season. In addition to Collaboraction and Teatro Vista, 2024 Millennium Park organizations-in-residence include Chicago Black Dance Legacy Project, Vocalo, Experimental Sound Studio, and Old Town School of Folk Music. Visit MillenniumPark.org for more information about each company and their Millennium Park programming. The Residency Program is presented in partnership with the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) and with support from the Pritzker Foundation and Millennium Park Foundation.
Celebrating its milestone 20th anniversary season, Millennium Park delivers a world-class collection of architecture, landscape design and art that provides the backdrop for hundreds of free cultural programs including concerts, exhibitions, interactive art and family activities. In addition to the more than 80 free events to be presented throughout the summer, a special four-day 20th Anniversary Celebration will take place July 18-21 across the Park featuring award-winning headliners, activities for families and youth, workouts, new public art, concerts, and fireworks — presented by DCASE with the Grant Park Music Festival and others and supported by the Illinois Office of Tourism, Millennium Park Foundation and others.
Millennium Park is the #1 attraction in the Midwest and among the top 10 most-visited sites in the U.S. Located on Michigan Avenue, bordered by Randolph St. to the north, Columbus Dr. to the east and Monroe St. to the south, the Park is open daily from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Plan your visit at MillenniumPark.org; follow on Facebook (@MillenniumParkChicago), X (Twitter) and Instagram (@Millennium_Park); and join the conversation on social media using #MillenniumPark.
The City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) supports artists and cultural organizations, invests in the creative economy, and expands access and participation in the arts throughout Chicago’s 77 neighborhoods. As a collaborative cultural presenter, arts funder, and advocate for creative workers, our programs and events serve Chicagoans and visitors of all ages and backgrounds, downtown and in diverse communities across our city — to strengthen and celebrate Chicago. DCASE produces some of the city’s most iconic festivals, markets, events, and exhibitions at the Chicago Cultural Center, Millennium Park, and in communities across the city — serving a local and global audience of 25 million people. The Department offers cultural grants and resources, manages public art, supports TV and film production and other creative industries, and permits special events throughout Chicago.
For details, visit Chicago.gov/DCASE and stay connected via our newsletters and social media.