Destinos, 5th Chicago International Latino Theater Festival, Chicago’s annual citywide festival showcasing Latino theater artists and companies from Chicago, the U.S. and Latin America, returns September 14-October 16, 2022.
Destinos kicks off Chicago’s Hispanic Heritage Month with five weeks of Latino-centric shows, panels and student performances at downtown venues, neighborhood theaters, and cultural institutions throughout the Chicago area.
Click here or above to watch and download CLATA's Destinos 2022 announcement video (TRT :30 seconds)
The full Destinos 2022 line-up – 13 amazing productions including six world premieres, four U.S. premieres and three Midwest premieres – is set and tickets to most productions are on sale at destinosfest.org.
Chicagoans and visitors alike are encouraged to get their tickets now to experience new, vibrant solo shows and large scale productions playing on Chicago’s top stages in September and October, each celebrating the Latino experience.
Visit destinosfest.org to purchase tickets and for full show information. Sign up for CLATA’s weekly e-newsletter for first notice of festival events. Follow Destinos on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, all at @latinotheater.
Destinos is produced annually by the Chicago Latino Theater Alliance (CLATA), a transformative cultural engine helping drive the city’s local Latino theater community to a more prominent level, founded by Myrna Salazar, the National Museum of Mexican Art (NMMA), the International Latino Cultural Center (ILCC), and the Puerto Rican Arts Alliance (PRAA).
Chicagoans are still stunned by the recent loss of CLATA’s visionary leader, Myrna Salazar, who passed away suddenly on August 3.
“CLATA’s success would not have been possible without a visionary at the helm, a person with the tenacity and passion to bring Chicago’s Latino theater community to a level that had not yet been imagined,” wrote the CLATA staff in a program note dedicating this year’s Destinos to Salazar's memory.
“Now, in Myrna's honor, CLATA is charged with the task of making sure her legacy forges ahead with the same unbridled zeal that she brought to her beloved organization, the Destinos Festival, and her everyday life.”
Destinos, 5th Chicago International Latino Theater Festival will host (top, left) the U.S. premiere of Blanco Temblor by Puerto Rico’s Teatro Público, a play about mental health featuring Isel Rodríguez, Sept. 29-Oct. 2 at The Den Theatre. The Midwest premiere of Pequeños Territorios en Reconstrucción (top, center), a documentary about a group of Colombian women who built 98 houses with their own hands, from Mexico City’s Teatro Línea de Sombra, is co-presented by CLATA and Goodman Theatre, Sept. 21-25. Chicago’s Esteban Schemberg and Tommy Rivera-Vega (top, right) star in the U.S. premiere of Tebas Land by Uruguayan playwright Sergio Blanco, at Chicago Dramatists, Sept. 22-Oct. 9. (bottom, from left) Mexican TV stars María del Carmen Félix and Mariannela Cataño star in the world premiere of La Pájara de San Juan at the National Museum of Mexican Art, Sept. 14-17. Flaco Navaja stars in UrbanTheater’s Midwest premiere of Evolution of a Sonero, Sept. 29-Oct. 23. Teatro Tariakuri’s Karen Galván stars in Bruna la Bruja Bruta, Sept. 17-Oct. 16. Click the image or here for the digital press kit.
2022 festival highlights include three out-of-town productions from Mexico and Puerto Rico:
- The world premiere of La Pájara de San Juan, a Trump-era drama about two sisters, one documented, one not, on a fateful night in Chicago, starring Mexican TV stars María del Carmen Félix and Mariannela Cataño. It is written by Victor Salinas and Sergio Gezzi, and co-presented by CLATA and the National Museum of Mexican Art, September 14-17. Opens Wednesday, September 14 at 7:30 p.m.
- The Midwest premiere of Pequeños Territorios en Reconstrucción, a documentary fable about a group of Colombian women who created the “League of Displaced Women” and built 98 houses with their own hands, from Mexico City’s Teatro Línea de Sombra, co-presented by CLATA and Goodman Theatre in the heart of Chicago’s Loop, September 21-25. Opens Wednesday, September 21 at 7:30 p.m.
- The U.S. premiere of Blanco Temblor by Puerto Rico’s Teatro Público. This is a dramedy about mental health as told via the story of Marina del Mar, a doctor in quantum astrophysics, a Puerto Rican, bipolar, suicide survivor, with a disease from birth: she could not tremble. Performances are September 29-October 2 at The Den Theatre in Wicker Park. Opens Thursday, September 29 at 8 p.m.
You want new plays by Latino writers? Destinos will see diverse new works by Chicago’s top Latino companies and artists, including:
- Las Migas by Colectivo El Pozo, a world premiere drama set on the roof of a Chicago skyscraper as an eerie red moon disrupts city life below, Performances are September 15-October 2 at Chess Live Theater in Bridgeport. Opens Thursday, September 15 at 8 p.m.
- The U.S. premiere of Bruna la Bruja Bruta by Mexican playwright Tomás Urtusástegui, starring Teatro Tariakuri Artistic Director Karla Galván as a modern-day Latina bruja who flies into her theater’s Marquette Park storefront space to get a few things off her chest before Halloween. Performances are Saturdays and Sundays, September 17-October 16. Opens Saturday, September 17 at 8 p.m.
- The U.S. debut of Tebas Land by Uruguayan playwright Sergio Blanco, inspired by the Oedipus myth, about a series of meetings in a prison basketball court between a playwright and a young parricide (a person who kills a parent or close relative). Presented September 22-October 9 by CLATA in collaboration with the National Museum of Mexican Art at Chicago Dramatists. Opens Thursday, September 22 at 7:30 p.m.
- The world premiere of Enough to Let the Light In, produced by Teatro Vista and co-presented with Steppenwolf Theatre Company. Melissa DuPrey (Grey's Anatomy) and Lisandra Tena (Fear the Walking Dead) star in actor/playwright/filmmaker/director Paloma Nozicka's new psychological thriller about girlfriends Marc and Cynthia, who spend a night celebrating a milestone, but it quickly devolves into chaos as buried secrets are revealed and lives are irrevocably changed. Performances are September 21-October 23 at Steppenwolf’s 1700 Theater. Opens Friday, September 23 at 8 p.m.
- Alma, an American Blues Theatre world premiere about a single mom who has single-handedly raised her daughter on tough love, home-cooked comida, and lots of prayers. But on the eve of her daughter’s SAT, she’s nowhere to be found. Alma, written by 2019 National Latinx Playwriting Award winner Benjamin Benne, runs September 22-October 22 at Rivendell Theatre Ensemble. Opens Wednesday and Thursday, September 28 and 29 at 7:30 p.m.
- Poet, actor, singer and Latino favorite Flaco Navaja stars in his first full-length solo show Evolution of a Sonero, a Midwest premiere from UrbanTheater Company. With unabashed love for the Bronx, a gift for crafting memorable characters, and genuine good humor, Navaja and five top-notch musicians bring on the charm, the rhythm, and the soul essential to a Bronx Sonero. Don’t miss this fresh salsa epic about growing up, getting inspired, and staying on track. Performances are September 29-October 23. Opens Thursday, September 29 at 8 p.m.
- BULL: a love story by Chicago playwright Nancy García Loza. Bull dealt drugs, got caught, and served his time. After a decade, he is released from prison and returns to an unrecognizable Lakeview. What will it take to really get home? BULL: a love story is a Paramount Theater BOLD Series world premiere, October 5-November 20 at the new Copley Theatre in downtown Aurora, Illinois’ second largest city with a 40 percent Latino population. BULL also marks the first-ever expansion of Destinos into a Chicago suburb. Opens Wednesday and Thursday, October 12 and 13 at 7 p.m.
- The midwest premiere of Sancocho by Visión Latino Theater Company, written by Christin Eve Cato, directed by Xavier M. Custodio. The play tells the story of two sisters, 25 years apart, who come together to discuss their father’s will while making a traditional sancocho stew that suddenly becomes peppered with revelations about their family history. Performances are October 8-30 at Windy City Playhouse. Opens Monday, October 10 at 7:30 p.m.
- The U.S. premiere of Cintas de seda from Aguijón Theater in Chicago’s Belmont-Cragin/Hermosa neighborhood. Set on the eve of the Day of the Dead, this play by Norge Espinosa imagines a painter and nun coming together for an impossible dialogue with ghosts, hallucinations, and images of the past, October 13-November 20. Opens Friday, October 14 at 8 p.m.
- The world premiere of The Wizards by Ricardo Gamboa, a supernatural thriller about a Brown and Black genderqueer couple who find a Quija board in their new Pilsen apartment that connects them to a ‘70s Mexican-American Motown cover band. The Wizards, co-produced by the Chicago Latino Theater Alliance at Pilsen’s historic APO Cultural Center, runs October 14-November 26. Opens Friday, October 14 at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets to all productions are on sale now. Visit destinosfest.org for more information and to sign up for CLATA’s weekly e-newsletter.
Also, follow Destinos at @latinotheater on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to receive first notice of all festival events.
More about the 2022 Destinos line-up, in chronological order:
Week One: September 14-18
Mexican TV stars María del Carmen Félix (left) and Mariannela Cataño star in La Pájara de San Juan
La Pájara de San Juan
- World Premiere
- by Victor Salinas and Sergio Gezzi, Mexico/Washington D.C.
- Starring María del Carmen Félix and Mariannela Cataño
- Presented by CLATA in collaboration with the National Museum of Mexican Art
- at the National Museum of Mexican Art, 1852 W. 19th St. in Pilsen
- September 14-17, 2022
- Opens Wednesday, September 14 at 7:30 p.m.
- Performances continue through September 17: Thursday through Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
- Performed in Spanish with English subtitles
- Runs 60 minutes
- Tickets: $20-$25
La Pájara de San Juan es la noche en que dos hermanas, Rosa y Verónica, las dos inmigrantes mexicanas, una con documentos la otra no, se reencuentran en Chicago. Rosa debe de darle una noticia a Verónica que cambiará la vida de las dos para siempre. La obra se desarrolla durante la administración de Trump.
La Pájara de San Juan is the story of the night that two sisters, Rosa and Verónica, both Mexican immigrants, one with documents, the other not, meet again in Chicago. Rosa must give Veronica some news that will change both their lives forever. The play takes place during the Trump administration. Rosa and Verónica are played by popular Mexican actors María del Carmen Félix (Leticia Cabral in Telemundo’s La Doña) and Mariannela Cataño (star of Todos los días son tuyos, Espinas and Ingobernable). Written by Victor Salinas and Sergio Gezzi and directed by Victor Salinas.
Juanjo Lopez (left) and Claudia Urbano in Las Migas
Las Migas
- World Premiere
- Colectivo El Pozo, Chicago
- at Chess Live Theater, 3622 S. Morgan St. in Bridgeport
- September 15-October 2
- Opens Thursday, September 15 at 8 p.m.
- Performances continue through October 2: Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m.; Sundays at 6 p.m.
- Performed in Spanish with English subtitles
- Runs 75 minutes
- Tickets: $25
En la azotea de un rascacielos en Chicago, un profesor y un ingeniero han estado atrapados durante seis días, luego de que una luna roja interrumpiera la vida en la ciudad. Mientras cuentan sus historias, una empleada doméstica y un limpiador de ventanas se les unen inesperadamente mientras la luna roja continúa afectando sus vidas. ¿Se abrirá alguna vez esa puerta, y será posible volver a la normalidad?
Two characters - a professor and engineer - have been stuck on the roof of a Chicago skyscraper for days, locked out after climbing up to see a red moon that has disrupted life in the city. A domestic worker and a window washer stumble into this absurd situation, as the red moon continues to disrupt regular routines. On the seventh day they discover the door open, and each decides to return to their normal routine. Except one.
Since its inception in 2009, Colectivo El Pozo has expanded theatrical opportunities for Chicago artists that are interested in developing Spanish-language theater works within the broader scope of immigration. Raúl Dorantes directs. facebook.com/ColectivoElPozo
Karla Galván as Bruna la Bruja Bruta
Bruna la Bruja Bruta
- U.S. Premiere
- Teatro Tariakuri, Chicago
- 3117 W. 63rd St. in Marquette Park
- September 17-October 16
- Opens Saturday, September 17 at 8 p.m.
- Performances continue through October 16: Saturdays at 8 p.m.; Sundays at 7 p.m.
- Performed in Spanish with English subtitles
- Runs 90 minutes, for ages 18+
- Tickets: $35
Bruna, una bruja talentosa y extrovertida, descubre que en sus redes sociales la han insultado, lo que ha desatado su furia y sus inseguridades. En el arrebato de su sorpresa, nos cuenta su vida brujil relacionándose con el público de una manera picaresca y sin tabúes.
Bruna, a talented and outgoing witch, discovers that she has been insulted on her social networks, which has unleashed her fury and insecurities. In the outburst of her surprise, she tells us about her life as a witch, relating to the public in a picaresque and without taboos. A U.S. premiere comedy written by Tomás Urtusástegui, directed by Natalia Traven, Clint Eastwood’s co-star in his 2021 film, Cry Macho, and starring Teatro Tariakuri Artistic Director Karla Galván, and Patricia Galvan.
Teatro Tariakuri dance and theatre performing arts (TTPA) is a non-profit community arts organization established in Chicago in 2004 to offer children and adults from Chicago’s Marquette Park and surrounding communities affordable access to an array of performing arts classes and professional artistic training opportunities. Teatro Tariakuri offers bilingual/bicultural dance, theater and music courses for all ages. teatrotariakuri.org
Week 2: September 21-25
Pequeños Territorios en Reconstrucción
Pequeños Territorios en Reconstrucción
- Midwest Premiere
- Teatro Línea de Sombra, México
- Presented by CLATA in collaboration with Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn St., in the heart of Chicago’s Loop
- September 21-25
- Opens Wednesday, September 21 at 7:30 p.m.
- Performances continue through September 25: Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday at 8 p.m.; Saturday at 2 and 8 p.m.; Sunday at 2 p.m.
- Performed in Spanish with an English narrator
- Runs 60 minutes
- Tickets: $10-$25
Este proyecto de investigación nace a partir de la llamada “Ciudad de la Mujeres”, en Turbaco, Colombia, donde hace quince años, un grupo de mujeres desplazadas por el conflicto armado, fundó la “Liga de las mujeres desplazadas” y construyó 98 viviendas con sus propias manos. Esta fábula documental plantea algunas reflexiones éticas sobre los posibles destinos de aquel asentamiento suburbano, de las mujeres que lo construyeron, y especialmente, de los niños que también lo habitan.
Pequeños Territorios en Reconstrucción is a research project about the “City of Women” in Turbaco, Colombia, where, 15 years ago, a group of women displaced by armed conflict created the “League of Displaced Women” and built 98 houses with their own hands. After a short stay there, Teatro Linea de Sombra created a documentary fable posing a series of ethical questions on the potential destiny of the settlement, of the women who built it, and especially of the children who inhabit it. The piece is directed by Jorge A. Vargas, narrated by Sonya Madrigal, and features Abril Pinedo, Alicia Laguna and musician Shanttal Saad.
Founded in Mexico in 1993, Teatro Línea de Sombra is a compilation of theater makers, teachers, researchers, and actors who collaborate with musicians, scenic designers, visual artists, and other creators to produce what they think of as theater and other performance-based disciplines. teatrolineadesombra.com
Melissa DuPrey (left) and Lisandra Tena star in
Teatro Vista's new psychological thriller Enough to Let the Light In
(from left) Enough to Let the Light In playwright Paloma Nozicka, director Georgette Verdin, and actors Melissa DuPrey and Lisandra Tena
Enough to Let the Light In
- World Premiere
- Teatro Vista, Chicago
- A co-presentation with Steppenwolf Theatre Company
- at Steppenwolf’s 1700 Theater, 1700 N. Halsted St. in Lincoln Park
- September 21-October 23
- Previews Wednesday and Thursday, September 21 and 22 at 8 p.m.
- Opens Friday, September 23 at 8 p.m.
- Performances continue through October 23: Thursdays and Fridays at 8 p.m.; Saturdays at
- 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.; and Sundays at 3 p.m.
- Performed in English
- Runs 90 minutes
- Tickets: $25-$45
Una pareja disfruta una noche de celebración, pero rápidamente se convertirá en un caos a medida que algunos secretos vayan siendo revelados y sus vidas cambien para siempre. Enough to Let the Light In es un thriller psicológico sobre el amor, la verdad y los fantasmas que no nos abandonan.
Enough to Let the Light In is a gripping, fast paced, psychological thriller revolving around girlfriends Marc and Cynthia, who start an evening together celebrating a milestone, but the night quickly devolves into chaos as buried secrets are revealed and lives are irrevocably changed.
Paloma Nozicka is a Mexican-American actor, writer, director and filmmaker, bred in Chicago, based in L.A. Melissa DuPrey, known for her role as Dr. Sara Ortiz on ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy, plays Marc, and Lisandra Tena, best known as Lola Guerrero on AMC’s Fear The Walking Dead, is Cynthia. Georgette Verdin directs.
Teatro Vista is a non-profit theater-based company dedicated to multidisciplinary artists of color whose artistic expression on stage and beyond is rooted in the transformative power of telling and owning our own stories. teatrovista.org
Esteban Schemberg (left, both photos) and Tommy Rivera-Vega star in Tebas Land
Tebas Land
- U.S. Premiere - Chicago/Argentina
- CLATA in collaboration with the National Museum of Mexican Art
- at Chicago Dramatists, 1105 W. Chicago Ave. in River West
- September 22-October 9
- Opens Thursday, September 22 at 7:30 p.m.
- Performances continue through October 9: Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., Sundays at 3:30 p.m.
- Performed in Spanish with English subtitles
- Runs 90 minutes, for ages 18+
- Tickets: $20-$25
Tebas Land cuenta los distintos encuentros que mantienen en una cancha de básquetbol de una prisión, un joven parricida y un dramaturgo que busca poder escribir su historia, encontrando puntos en común con el legendario mito de Edipo.
Escrita por el dramaturgo franco-uruguayo Sergio Blanco y dirigida por el director argentino Juan Parodi, Tebas Land se aleja de la dimensión ética del parricidio, preocupándose no tanto de la reconstrucción del crimen sino en las posibilidades estéticas de su representación y poder finalmente ofrecernos una bella tesis sobre el acontecer teatral. Un revelador encuentro entre dos personas distintas que, mediante la confianza, la necesidad de atención, la mirada y la escucha irán modificándose mutuamente.
Tebas Land, winner of the London Award Off West End in 2017, depicts a series of meetings in a prison basketball court between a playwright and a young parricide (a person who kills a parent or close relative). The writer tries to reconstruct the story of the crime, but gradually concerns himself not so much with the reconstruction, but with the scenic representation of the encounters between the two characters. The question that opens the piece is “how can you kill someone?” The question that closes it is “how can you portray someone?”
Acclaimed Uruguayan playwright Sergio Blanco mines the Oedipus myth to question the artistic process of theater authorship. Renowned Argentinian director Juan Parodi directs. The production stars Chicago actors Tommy Rivera-Vega, last seen in Teatro Vista’s Somewhere Over the Border, and Esteban Schemberg, recently featured in Teatro Vista’s The Abuelas.
Jazmín Corona and Bryanna Ciera Colón star in Alma
Alma
- World Premiere
- American Blues Theater, Chicago
- in cooperation with Center Theatre Group
- Presented at Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, 5779 N. Ridge in Edgewater
- September 22-October 22
- Previews September 22-25: Thursday and Friday at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday at 2:30 p.m.
- Opens Wednesday and Thursday, September 28 and 29 at 7:30 p.m.
- Runs through October 22: Thursday and Friday at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday at
- 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.; Sunday at 2:30 p.m. Exceptions: No 3 p.m. show Saturday, October 1. No 7:30 p.m. show Saturday, October 22.
- Performed in English with some Spanish
- Runs 80 minutes
- Tickets: $25-$45
Alma ha cruzado la frontera hace 17 años en busca del Sueño Americano. En la víspera del SAT de su hija Angel, nacida en los EE. UU., Alma cree que todo el sacrificio y el trabajo que ha hecho durante tantos años darán sus frutos. Pero existe un problema: Angel tiene otros planes para su futuro. Alma del dramaturgo Benjamin Benne es una exploración honesta y compleja de la generación de inmigrantes y sus hijos de primera generación. Ganador del premio Blue Ink y el premio National Latinx Play.
Alma has single-handedly raised her daughter, Angel, on tough love, home-cooked comida, and lots of prayers. But on the eve of the all-important SAT, Alma discovers her daughter isn’t at home studying. A sacrifice from Alma’s past weighs heavy on their present; now, Alma fears her worst nightmare may soon be their reality. Will the American Dream cost them a life together?
Winner of the 2019 National Latinx Playwriting Award and 2019 Blue Ink Playwriting Award. Written by Benjamin Benne and directed by Ana Velazquez. Starring Jazmín Corona (Zulema with Goodman/Sones de Mexico) and Bryanna Ciera Colón (national tour of The Elf on The Shelf: A Christmas Musical). americanbluestheatre.com
Week 3: September 29-October 2
(left) Isel Rodriguez in Blanco Temblor. (right) Isel Rodriguez and Carola Garcia
Blanco Temblor
- U.S. Premiere
- Teatro Público, Puerto Rico
- at The Den Theatre, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Wicker Park
- September 29-October 2
- Opens Thursday, September 29 at 8 p.m.
- Performances continue through October 2: Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m.; Sunday at 3 p.m.
- Performed in Spanish with English subtitles
- Runs 100 minutes
- Tickets: $26-$31
Blanco Temblor es una reflexión, entre risas, silencios, música, movimiento, en torno a un tema que no se visibiliza, de lo que no se habla, nuestra salud mental. La pieza cuenta la historia de Marina del Mar, doctora en astrofísica puertorriqueña, bipolar y con una enfermedad de nacimiento: no puede temblar. Presenciamos el encuentro de Marina del Mar con sus afectos vivos y muertos, su tránsito por los abismos y las luces de su psiquis.
Blanco Temblor is a reflection, between laughter, silence, music, and movement, around a topic that is not visible, what is not talked about, our mental health. The play tells the story of Marina del Mar, a doctor in quantum astrophysics, Puerto Rican, bipolar with a disease from birth: she cannot tremble. Witness the meeting of Marina del Mar with her living and dead affections, her transit through the abysses, and the lights of her psyche.
Blanco Temblor is written and directed by Carola Garcia, and features Isel Rodriguez, Carola Garcia, Yussef Soto Villarini, Maximiliano Rivas and Laura Isabel Cabrera. Teatro Público is a women-led theater company committed to the development of a solid theater culture in Puerto Rico through excellence, diversity, innovation, community building, social impact and international exchange. teatropublicopr.org
Flaco Navaja
Evolution of a Sonero
- Midwest Premiere
- UrbanTheater Company, Chicago
- 2620 W. Division St. in Humboldt Park
- September 29-October 23
- Opens Thursday, September 29 at 8 p.m.
- Performances continue through October 23: Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m.; Sundays at 4 p.m.
- Performed in English and Spanish
- Runs 80 minutes
- Tickets: $42.50
Con un amor descarado por El Bronx, un don para crear personajes memorables y humor, el aclamado artista Flaco Navaja, y el The Razor Blades, aportan el encanto, el ritmo y el alma vital de un Bronx Sonero. Rindiendo homenaje a íconos musicales, desde Janis Joplin a Menudo, de The Doors a Héctor Lavoe y desde Jimi Hendrix a Rubén Blades, esta producción retrata no solo la evolución creativa de Navaja sino también la mezcla salvaje que da vida a una rima, un pueblo y una cultura.
Evolution of a Sonero, the first full-length solo show written and performed by poet, actor, singer and Latino favorite Flaco Navaja, is a fresh salsa epic about growing up, getting inspired and staying on track. With unabashed love for the Bronx, a gift for crafting memorable characters and genuine good humor, Navaja and five musicians —aka The Razor Blades—bring on the charm, the rhythm, and the soul essential to a Bronx Sonero. Paying homage to musical icons – from Janis Joplin to Menudo, from The Doors to Héctor Lavoe, from Jimi Hendrix to Rubén Blades – the play is as much about Navaja’s creative evolution as it is the wild mix that gives life to a rhyme, a people and a culture.
Evolution of a Sonero is directed by UrbanTheater Producing Artistic Director Miranda González. UrbanTheater Company (UTC) is founded by, led by, and for people of color in order to preserve the Puerto Rican and Humboldt Park community voice, celebrating cultural experiences through interdisciplinary art forms. Through fellowship and community UTC aims to elevate a diverse and culturally specific collective of Chicago creatives driven to create innovative and accessible theater through a decolonized praxis. urbantheaterchicago.org
Week 4: October 5-9
BULL: a love story playwright Nancy García Loza (left) and director Laura Alcalá Baker
BULL: a love story features (from left) Eddie Martinez as Bull, Alexandra Casillas as Sadie, Kelsey Elyse Rodriguez as Sol, Jocelyn Zamudio as Emme, Sammy A. Publes as Tio, and Andrew Perez as Otherman, Lawman and G.
BULL: a love story
World Premiere
Paramount Theatre, Aurora
at the Copley Theatre, 8 E. Galena Blvd. in downtown Aurora
October 5-November 20
Previews October 5-9: Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. and 7 p.m., Thursday at
7 p.m.; Friday at 8 p.m.; Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.; Sunday at 1 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.
Opens Wednesday and Thursday, October 12 and 13 at 7 p.m.
Performances continue through November 20: Wednesdays at 1:30 p.m. and 7 p.m.; Thursdays at 7 p.m.; Fridays at 8 p.m.; Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.; Sundays at 1 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.
Performed in English
Runs 2 hours with intermission
Tickets: $35 with promo code DESTINOS online, via phone or in person at the Paramount box office. Good for performances during festival dates, October 5-16, excluding opening nights, October 12 and 13. Discount may not be combined with any other offer. Regular tickets are $67 to $74
Bull vendió drogas, lo atraparon y cumplió su condena. Durante una década, ha estado pensado solo en una idea: volver a casa. El día que Bull sale de prisión, regresa a su antiguo barrio de Chicago, Lakeview, ahora irreconocible. Esperanzado y ansioso, está listo para reanudar la vida con su familia, solo para descubrir cuánto han progresado sin él. Su sueño está al alcance de la mano. ¿Qué necesitará para llegar a casa?
Bull dealt drugs, got caught, and served his time. For a decade, he’s thought about one thing: coming home. On the day Bull is released from prison, he returns to his old Chicago neighborhood, Lakeview, now unrecognizable. Hopeful and eager, he is ready to resume life with his family, only to discover how much has moved on without him. His dream now within grasp, what will it take to get home?
BULL: a love story is written by Chicago playwright Nancy García Loza, who with the National Museum of Mexican Art just won a prestigious 2022 Joyce Award. BULL: a love story, directed by Laura Alcalá Baker, is part of Paramount Theatre’s inaugural BOLD Series, and makes downtown Aurora the first suburban destination in Destinos history. paramountaurora.com
Week 5: October 10-16
Sancocho features (from left) Antonia Arcely, Amber Lee Ramos and Ana Santos.
Visíon Latino artistic director Xavier M. Custodio directs.
Sancocho
- Midwest Premiere
- Visión Latino Theater Company, Chicago
- Windy City Playhouse, 3014 W. Irving Park Rd. in Irving Park
- October 8-30
- Previews Saturday, October 8 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, October 9 at 3 p.m.
- Opens Monday, October 10 at 7:30 p.m.
- Continues through October 30: Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 p.m.; Sundays at 3 p.m.
- No show Thursday, October 13
- Performed in English with some Spanish
- Runs 2 hours
- Tickets: $30; $45 VIP Experience; $60 VIP Experience Plus; $25 groups of 5 or more
Caridad y Renata son hermanas y se llevan 25 años de diferencia. La salud de su padre empeora día a día, y Renata como su apoderada, es responsable de redactar su testamento. Para aliviar la tensión, Renata visita a Caridad mientras prepara un sancocho. La preparación del guiso llevará a las hermanas a través de un viaje que transitará la cultura, la feminidad, el trauma transgeneracional y la historia familiar. Todo va bien hasta que Renata comparte noticias sobre una herencia inesperada, lo que hace que Caridad confiese sobre el hijo ilegítimo de su padre, Eduardo. Las hermanas tendrán que decidir si deberá ser incluido en el testamento de su padre.
Caridad and Renata are sisters, 25 years apart. Their father's health condition is worsening day by day. Renata is a lawyer, and as her father’s proxy, is responsible for writing his will. To relieve the tension, Renata visits Caridad while she is making sancocho, a traditional Latino stew. As they prepare the sancocho, the sisters begin a journey of their culture, womanhood, transgenerational trauma, and family history. All is well until Renata shares some unexpected news, causing Caridad to spill the beans about their father's illegitimate son.
Sancocho is written by Christin Eve Cato and directed by Xavier M. Custodio. Visión Latino Theater Company, Latinos with a Visión, was founded in August of 2014 by Xavier Custodio, Yajaira Custodio and Johnathan Nieves to break down racial boundaries and to open the minds of audiences to Latino struggles and perseverance through theater. visionlatino.com
(from left) Claudia Renteria, Marcopolo Soto and Rosario Vargas star in Cintas de seda
Cintas de seda
- U.S. Premiere
- Aguijón Theater, Chicago
- 2707 N. Laramie Ave. in Hermosa/Belmont-Cragin
- October 13-November 20
- Previews Thursday, October 13 at 8 p.m.
- Opens Friday, October 14 at 8 p.m.
- Performances continue through November 20: Fridays and Saturdays at
- 8 p.m.; Sundays at 3 p.m.
- Performed in Spanish with English subtitles
- Runs 80 minutes
- Tickets: $12-$35
Domingos Gratis|Free Sundays - October 23, 30, November 6, 13 and 20 thanks to the support of the National Museum of Mexican Art
A la víspera del Día de Muertos, dos figuras icónicas y universales por demás, se unen en un diálogo imposible donde los fantasmas, alucinaciones e imágenes del pasado se hacen presentes desde la muerte en una representación poética de la vida. Con un lenguaje cortante, mordaz y lúcido, La Pintora y La Monja se sumergen en un caleidoscopio teatral para revelar los temores, pasiones, colores y versos que las han acompañado en su viaje hacia la trascendencia.
On the eve of the Day of the Dead, two unique and universal figures – The Painter and The Nun – come together in an impossible dialogue where ghosts, hallucinations, and images of the past are present from death in a poetic representation of life. With sharp, scathing, lucid language, they immerse themselves in a theatrical kaleidoscope to reveal the fears, passions, colors, and verses that accompanied them on their journey to transcendence.
Cintas de seda is written by Norge Espinosa, directed by Sándor Menéndez and features Rosario Vargas, Claudia Renteria and Marcopolo Soto. Founded in 1989 by actress/director Rosario Vargas, Aguijón Theater Company of Chicago is dedicated to creating exciting and meaningful theatrical experiences through the cultural exploration, discussion and performance of works in Spanish. Through powerful artistic work, Aguijon fosters the diverse cultural excellence of Chicago’s Latino artists while challenging and inspiring audiences to surmount language barriers and cross cultural boundaries. aguijontheater.org
The Wizards
The Wizards
- World Premiere
- Concrete Content
- Written by Ricardo Gamboa, Chicago
- Co-produced by the Chicago Latino Theater Alliance (CLATA)
- at the historic APO Cultural Center, 1438 W. 18th St. in Pilsen
- October 14-November 26, 2022
- Opens Friday, October 14 at 7:30 p.m.
- Performances continue through November 26: Thursday, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m.
- No show Thursday, November 24 (Thanksgiving)
- Performed in English
- Runs 120 minutes
- Tickets: $20-$60; 10 Pay what you can walk-up tickets per show
Amado y Sam, una pareja genderqueer de color, se muda de Nueva York a Chicago después de sobrevivir a un crimen luego de las elecciones presidenciales de 2016. Al instalarse en su nuevo apartamento de la aburguesada Pilsen, descubren una tabla Ouija que los conecta con The Wizards, una banda de Motown mexicano-estadounidense del South Side durante la década de los ‘70s. The Wizards es un inquietante thriller sobrenatural sobre las historias y las personas que nos persiguen.
Amado and Sam, a Brown and Black genderqueer couple, move back to Amado’s hometown of Chicago after surviving a hate crime in New York the day after the 2016 presidential election. In their new apartment in the city’s gentrifying Pilsen neighborhood, they find a Ouija board that puts them in touch with The Wizards, a Mexican-American Motown cover band on the Southside during the ‘70s. The Wizards is a supernatural thriller about the histories and people that haunt us.
The Wizards is written by Ricardo Gamboa, a Chicago theater artist and a writer on Showtime’s The Chi. Katrina Dion directs. Concrete Content, an art, performance, and media incubator and producing entity founded by Gamboa, Dion and Sean James William Parris, is dedicated to creating work that is accessible and entertaining while providing audiences with radical imagination and perspectives and pushing aesthetic and cultural boundaries. The Wizards is Concrete Content's first production.
About Destinos, 5th Chicago International Latino Theater Festival
Now entering its fifth year, Destinos is the signature program of the Chicago Latino Theater Alliance (CLATA), a transformative cultural engine helping drive the city’s local Latino theater community to a more prominent level. The organization’s goal is to create the country’s leading international Latino theater festival with an emphasis on showcasing Chicago Latino theater artists and companies.
Visiting companies making their Destinos Festival debuts include Teatro Línea de Sombra (México), Teatro Público (Puerto Rico), and La Pájara de San Juan (Mexico/Washington D.C.). Participating Chicago Latino theaters are Aguijón Theater, Colectivo El Pozo, Concrete Content, Teatro Tariakuri, Teatro Vista, UrbanTheater Company and Visión Latino Theater Company. Presenting partners are Goodman Theatre, the National Museum of Mexican Art and Steppenwolf Theatre. Collaborating partners are American Blues Theater and Paramount Theater. Venue partners are APO Cultural Center, Chess Live Theater, Chicago Dramatists, The Den Theatre, Rivendell Theatre Ensemble and Windy City Playhouse.
CLATA, which produces Destinos, was founded in 2016 as a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization by Myrna Salazar and Chicago’s three most prominent Latino arts organizations: the National Museum of Mexican Art (NMMA), the International Latino Cultural Center (ILCC), and the Puerto Rican Arts Alliance (PRAA).
“In Spanish, the word ‘destinos’ has multiple meanings: destinies, destinations or fate,” explained CLATA’s late Executive Director Myrna Salazar, who passed away suddenly this past August, and to whom the 2022 festival is dedicated. “Destinos showcases Latino theater artists from Chicago, across the U.S. and Latin America to present engaging and thought-provoking stories that transcend boundaries, amplify Latino voices, and diversify Chicago stages to encourage cross-cultural conversation.”
Additionally, CLATA continues to provide local groups ongoing organizational, marketing and financial support, and works diligently to create a permanent home for Chicago’s Latino theater artists. Ultimately, CLATA strives to underscore Chicago’s reputation as one of the most exciting and culturally diverse theater cities in the world.
CLATA gratefully acknowledges foundation support from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, Joyce Foundation, Ford Foundation, Walder Foundation, Driehaus Foundation, Bezos Family Foundation, Creative Reaction Lab, Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelly Foundation, Shubert Foundation, Chicago Community Trust, a CityArts grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, Illinois Arts Council Agency and National Endowment for the Arts. Supporting partners are Allstate, Choose Chicago, Xfinity, 3Arts, ComEd and Wintrust.
For more, visit destinosfest.org or call (312) 631-3112.