4th Chicago International Latino Theater Festival Plans Live Return

4th Chicago International Latino Theater Festival plans to return this fall with live performances, September 23-October 17, 2021.

"After taking a year off due to the pandemic, Destinos, Chicago's annual citywide international Latino theater festival, is back!" said Myrna Salazar, Executive Director, Chicago Latino Theater Alliance (CLATA). "Please be sure to join us this fall. It's been too long, and now more than ever, it's time to come together to share the Latino experience as told by Latino artists and companies from Chicago, the U.S. and Latin America."

For four weeks this fall, Chicagoans and visitors alike will experience a rich, diverse array of Latino-themed shows, panels and student performances at marquee venues downtown, neighborhood theaters and cultural institutions throughout the city.

Collectively, the local Latino theater community will represent host city Chicago with five exciting productions: American Mariachi, a Midwest Premiere about an all-women Mariachi band presented by Goodman Theatre; Brujaja, a World Premiere live/virtual production about an "accidental witch" by UrbanTheater Company; and, La Gran Tirana: Descarga dramática, a World Premiere play with music inspired by La Lupe, the Queen of Latin Soul, at Aguijón Theater.

Two local companies will make their Destinos debut: Visión Latino Theatre Company with the World Premiere Y tú abuela, where is she?, about an interracial couple given the chance to choose the color of their unborn child, and Teatro Tariakuri with La manera como luces esta noche, an adults-only, Latino fairy tale.

Out-of-town productions (at press time) include Amal, in which Miami's Combat Hippies fuses spoken word with music to examine the impact of war; Tijuana via Mexico City's Lagartijas Tiradas al Sol, about the true story of a man who abandoned his life in the city to work for minimum wage at the U.S. border; Santurce, Puerto Rico-based Agua, Sol y Sereno with Corazón de Papel, a powerful depiction of post-Hurricane Maria Puerto Rico told through contemporary puppetry, and Mal de Amores, about an old man who tells his love stories as a woman with a wonderful, powerful voice sings boleros, baladas and rancheras, from Casa de Teatro in the Dominican Republic.
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Performer and director Lázaro Gabino Rodríguez of Lagartijas Tiradas al Sol, Mexico City blurs the line between fiction and reality in Tijuana, about a man from the city who takes a job at a sweatshop near the U.S. border. Tijuana makes it Chicago premiere September 23-26 at the National Museum of Mexican Art as part of Destinos-4th Chicago International Latino Theater Festival.

Mal de Amores, about an old man who tells love stories as a woman sings boleros, baladas and rancheras, comes to Destinos-4th Chicago International Latino Theater Festival via Casa de Teatro in the Dominican Republic. Photo credit: Pedro Bonilla.

i??Destinos is the signature program of the Chicago Latino Theater Alliance, a transformative cultural engine helping drive Chicago's local Latino theater community to newfound prominence.

"Despite the 18-month 'intermission' we all just had, CLATA has remained very active behind the scenes, supporting our amazing community of Latino theater artists while planning a high-profile platform for their return to live theater this fall," said Marty Castro, CLATA Board Chairperson and President and CEO of Casa Central. "So we are excited to announce that Destinos is back this September! We are ready to celebrate the joy and healing power of Latino theater with audiences who are hungry to reconnect with live art and the world around them."

Tickets to this year's Destinos will go on sale in late August. Stay tuned for more exciting festival updates. Visit clata.org for tickets, show dates, times, locations and information about the artists.

Note: CLATA and its partner venues will adhere to all COVID-19 safety precaution protocols as mandated by the state of Illinois throughout the festival. Specific Covid policies for each venue will be shared with ticket buyers prior to their performances.

To receive all festival news, sign up for the Destinos weekly e-update, and follow CLATA at @latinotheater on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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