Queens Theatre Announces Latino Cultural Festival, 7/29-8/3

Queens Theatre proudly presents its 17th Annual LATINO CULTURAL FESTIVAL, Extraordinary Women, Illuminated. The six-day celebration of Latin culture is one of Queens Theatre's signature events, featuring theatre, music, dance and children's programming by the premiere Latina artists. "This year, women are center stage. The performances will be incredibly diverse, created by amazing, talented, inspirational women," remarks Managing Director Taryn Sacramone.

LATINO CULTURAL FESTIVAL will play six days only, July 29 - August 3, 2014 at Queens Theatre (14 United Nations Avenue South, Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens, NY 11368). Performances are Tuesday, July 29, 2014 through Sunday, August 3, 2014. Tickets are $14-$30 and available online at www.queenstheatre.org or by calling the Box Office at 718-760-0064. Tickets may also be purchased in-person at the Queens Theatre Box Office, Monday 10am to 2pm, Tuesday through Friday 10am to 6pm.

This year's LATINO CULTURAL FESTIVAL is illuminating extraordinary women, by putting them in the forefront of the performances. These talented women include performance group Glamour Tango led by musical director Polly Foreman, legendary singer Gloria Mirabal, well-known Colombian actress Marilyn Patiño and more.

Chronological listing below:

Opening night:
Glamour Tango - Tuesday July 29, 2014 8PM
(Main Stage) $30

A multi-media show of music and dance, created as a tribute to the women who quietly wrote the pages of Tango from the very beginning. Twelve women make up the entire company - a rarity in the world of Tango.

Cocomama- Wednesday July 30, 2014 8PM (Main Stage) $30

A virtual United Nations of women, from such diverse places as Cuba, Israel, France, Argentina, Mexico, Oregon and Wisconsin. Their sound draws from the musical traditions of Cuba, Brazil, South and North America.

World Beat Folklore Colombia - Thursday July 31, 2014 8PM
(Main Stage) $30

Three artists perform traditional Colombian music. Andrea Tierra from Medellin, Colombia comes from a musical and theatrical family. Her songwriting partner and husband, Edmar Castañeda, is considered one of the world's greatest harpists and will join her onstage to perform their songs. Johanna Castañeda, a singer and a cuarto player (and Edmar's sister) from Bogota, Colombia, will perform Afro-Colombian music mixed with urban music accompanied by her group REBOLU. Carolina la O is an internationally renowned musician who has won awards from the Latin Grammys and the Latin Billboard Awards. At the end of the show all three ladies will join together to perform an encore.

Dramas Del Bolero - Friday August 1, 2014 8PM
(Main Stage) $30

An evening of six Bolero singers spanning three generations, including Ivana Ivanna, a passionate, enchanting singer of Bolero music. She has toured across Latin America, and in Las Vegas, Miami, Washington and New York. Mariel Sol, an Argentine-Ecuadorian vocalist and songwriter from New York City, has also performed worldwide. Gloria Mirabal from Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico sang with the famous Puerto Rican composer Rafael Hernández and recorded the songs of famous Cuban composer Julio Gutierrez for Mozart Records. Marlene De La Peña is a talented vocalist who interprets many styles of music infused with her Cuban heritage. Elsa Ozuna is an extraordinary singer from the Dominican Republic and recently won the OTI festival in Washington D.C. Wendy Olivos, an Ecuadorian singer-songwriter who performers her own songs, which are acoustic music, fused witih classical, boleros and folklore.

Ser Feliz No Tiene Hombre -- Friday, Saturday & Sunday 8PM

(Studio Theatre) $20

Created by and starring Colombian superstar Marilyn Patiño, "Happiness Knows No Man", is a hysterical and poignant solo show performed in Spanish. Ser Feliz No Tiene Hombre is a fascinating true tale of two very different women, who in the end are looking for the same thing.

Caperucita Roja "Little Red Riding Hood" - Saturday August 2,201 1PM (Main Stage) $14

A bilingual musical for the entire family which tells the classic fable of Little Red Riding Hood. Little Red stands-up for herself and challenges the wolf, leading audiences on an exciting journey full of dance, song, and original music.

PRESENTED BY :Teatro SEA, The Society of the Educational Arts, Inc. (SEA), a Bilingual Arts-in-Education Organization & Latino Theatre Company for Young Audiences, Mariachi Flor de Toloache - Saturday 8PM (Main Stage) $30

The premier all female mariachi band was founded in New York City in 2008 by Mireya I. Ramos. This ten member ensemble utilizes traditional instruments, violins, trumpets, guitarron (bass), vihuela (5 string guitar) and guitar. The members are from countries spanning the globe, including Puerto Rico, Mexico, Singapore, Germany, Cuba, Colombia, Dominican Republic, and the United States. Traditional Mexican music and their own edgy and versatile sound come together naturally and seamlessly.

Play reading: Cuerdas Saturday 8:00pm
(Cabaret) FREE

Cuerdas by Barbara Colio is about three brothers, Peter, Paul, and Prince, who are at an airport, having decided to travel together to meet their father, who they haven't heard from in over 20 years. He is the best tightrope walker of all time, a gift he wants his children to experience, or at least, so says his letter. Cuerdas (Ropes) is a journey, developed between foreign spaces: an airplane, an airport, a taxi, and a stadium. Peter, Paul and Prince are tightrope walkers oftheir own lives, living in tense balance on the ropes that bind them.

Mujer Internacional: Fernando's Kitchen and La Toquilla -Sunday
August 3, 2014 7:30pm (Main Stage) $30

This evening is a double bill starting with Fernando's Kitchen. Frontwoman Heidi Joubert blends world music with flamenco using a Cajon (wooden box). The night continues with La Toquilla. Ecuadorian singer Alejandra Garcia takes traditional Ecuadorian and Latin American music and mixes it with world, electronic and rock music. She's accompanied by a DJ, an electric guitar player with a driving rock sound and bluesy riffs, and an acoustic guitar player who integrates classical and flamenco scales.

LATINO CULTURAL FESTIVAL will play the following schedule:
Glamour Tango - Tuesday July 29, 2014 at 8PM
Cocomama - Wednesday July 30, 2014 at 8PM
World Beat Folklore Colombia - Thursday July 31, 2014 at 8PM
Damas del Bolero - Friday August 1, 2014 at 8PM
Ser Feliz No Tiene Hombre -- Friday, Saturday & Sunday at 8PM
Caperucita Roja - Saturday August 2,201 at 1PM
Mariachi Flor de Toloache - Saturday at 8PM
Play reading: Cuerdas Saturday 8:00pm (Cabaret space)
Mujer Internacional -Sunday August 3, 2014 at 7:30P

TICKETS: $14 - $30
Mini-pass: any three shows for $75 (Mainstage). Full festival pass: any six shows for $125. Purchase by calling (718) 760-0064.

Queens Theatre
14 United Nations Avenue South
Flushing Meadows Corona Park
Queens, NY 11368
FREE PARKING

DIRECTIONS:
Car: Queens Theatre is accessible by all major highways that traverse Queens and is minutes away from Long Island, Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Westchester. And the best part? Parking is always FREE. http://queenstheatre.org/getting-theatre for directions Subway: 7 train to the Mets-Willets Point station. Follow signs to LIRR/Flushing Meadows Corona Park. Free Shuttle Service runs one hour prior to curtain and stops outside Mets-Willets Point station.

About Queens Theatre:
Queens Theatre (QT) is the premier performing arts venue in Queens. QT's mission is to provide quality and diverse live performances that are economically and geographically accessible to the 2.2 million residents of Queens, the most ethnically diverse county in the nation, and the surrounding metropolitan region. To foster greater cultural awareness and appreciation, the Theatre presents and produces programs that reflect this diversity and feature international, national and local artists.