PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact: Jay Kelly, [email protected] or (312) 315-3935 DESTINOS, 3rd CHICAGO INTERNATIONAL LATINO THEATER FESTIVAL, RETURNS SEPTEMBER 19-OCTOBER 27, 2019 WITH A FASCINATING ROSTER OF CHICAGO, U.S. AND INTERNATIONAL COMPANIES DESTINOS - experience the journey during a six-week, citywide showcase of Latino stories as told by Latino theater artists from Chicago, the U.S. and Latin America, presented at marquee venues and neighborhood theaters throughout the city CHICAGO, June 19, 2019 – CLATA, the Chicago Latino Theater Alliance, announces the fall return of DESTINOS – 3rd Chicago International Latino Theater Festival, September 19 - October 27, 2019. DESTINOS is Chicago’s annual, citywide, live, international theater festival dedicated to showcasing the Latino experience as told by Latino artists and companies from Chicago, the U.S. and Latin America. For six weeks this fall, Chicagoans and visitors to the city can look forward to experiencing a vibrant array of Latino-themed shows, panels and student performances at venues large and small throughout the city. This fall’s DESTINOS festival will showcase Latino artists and companies from Chicago, including Aguijón Theater Company, Repertorio Latino Theater Company, Teatro Vista, UrbanTheater Company and Water People Theater, as well as artists and companies from Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York, Chile and Mexico. 2019 host locations represent the full range of the Chicago live theater experience, from marquee locations like Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Goodman Theatre and Steppenwolf, to storefront theaters and cultural institutions in Latino neighborhoods like Aguijón Theater in Belmont Cragin, National Museum of Mexican Art in Pilsen, Repertorio Latino Theater Company in Bridgeport, UrbanTheater in Humboldt Park, and new this year, Chopin Theatre and The Den Theatre, both in Wicker Park. Chicago’s deep roster of Latino theater artists performing with equal billing with their international counterparts contributes to the growing reputation for DESTINOS as one of the country’s leading international Latino theater festivals. The DESTINOS artist and venue line-up follows. Visit clata.org for tickets, show dates, times and locations, information about the artists, and to sign up for the DESTINOS weekly e-update: Chicago Back in the Day: An ‘80s House Music Dancesical – World Premiere UrbanTheater Company, 2620 W. Division St. in Humboldt Park October 10-27 Set in the height of Chicago’s street dancing and battle era of the 1980s, when juice bars ruled the underage club scene and DJs created a movement, this house music immersive dancesical follows the northside dance crew the ALLSTARS and frenemies, the CULITOS and IMPORTED TASTE, as they struggle, soar, and move through life making their own families and redefining gender norms within a community not yet ready for change. Back in the Day is written and co-directed by UTC Artistic Director Miranda González from José “Gringo” Echevarría’s memoir The Real Dance Fever: Book One. -more- CLATA announces line-up for 3rd DESTINOS festival – pg 2 of 4 The Delicate Tears of the Waning Moon/Las Delicadas Lágrimas de la Luna Menguante – World Premiere Water People Theater at Steppenwolf’s 1700 Theatre, 1700 N. Halsted St. in Lincoln Park Presented as part of Steppenwolf’s LookOut Series September 19-October 13 This poignant drama by Rebeca Alemán is about a human rights journalist, Paulina, who has recently emerged from a coma and must recover her memory in order to achieve justice. All she remembers is having a mother and a daughter. Two characters fall into a world of violence where cruelty is a habit, impunity is routine, freedom a utopia, and telling the truth is the greatest risk. Water People Theater Co-Artistic Director Iraida Tapias directs. Note: CLATA, in partnership with the National Museum of Mexican Art, will remount Water People Theater’s production of La Peor de Todas at Universidad del Claustro de Sor Juana in Mexico City on December 1 and 2 as an international “grand finale” exchange of the 2019 DESTINOS festival. La Peor de Todas, a play about the life of Sor Juana de la Cruz, was a highlight of the first DESTINOS in 2017. Exquisita Agonía – Midwest Premiere Aguijón Theater Company, 2707 N. Laramie Ave. in Belmont-Cragin October 17-27 (regular run continues through November 24) The newest play by Pulitzer Prize-winner Nilo Cruz is about opera singer Millie Marcel, who, after losing her famous classical-musician husband Lorenzo in a car accident, indulges her grief and romantic obsession by relentlessly pursuing the recipient of his transplanted heart. Aguijón Theater Managing and Co-Artistic Director, Marcela Muñoz, directs. Hope: Part II of A Mexican Trilogy – Midwest Premiere Teatro Vista at The Den Theatre, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Wicker Park September 21-October 27 Evelina Fernández’s Hope: Part II of A Mexican Trilogy is a grand exploration of Mexican American life in the ’60s that follows the Morales family through that turbulent, transformational time. Teatro Vista Artistic Director Ricardo Gutiérrez and Teatro Vista ensemble member Cheryl Lynn Bruce will co-direct. Hotel-Ó – World Premiere Repertorio Latino Theater Company, 3622 S. Morgan St. in Bridgeport October 24-October 27 Repertorio Latino Theater Company introduces Hotel-Ó, a lyric experiment that departs from the classical Othello to cultivate the concept of “compersion” as the opposite of jealousy. The focus is to bring attention to the arguments surrounding gender violence. Hotel-Ó is written and produced for the stage by Ulises Rangel and performed under the direction of Jose Burgos. U.S. Aliens, Immigrants & Other Evildoers – New Orleans/Midwest Premiere National Museum of Mexican Art, 1852 W. 19th St. in Pilsen October 5-6 Award-winning performance artist José Torres-Tama and ArteFuture Productions produce Aliens, Immigrants & Other Evildoers, a visually dynamic, profoundly moving, provocatively funny sci-fi Latinx solo show that challenges the anti-immigrant hysteria gripping the “United States of Amnesia.” -more- CLATA announces line-up for 3rd DESTINOS festival – pg. 3 of 4 Daughter of a Cuban Revolutionary – Los Angeles/Midwest Premiere Co-presentation with Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn St. in Chicago Loop October 8-13 In this one-woman tour de force, L.A.-based theater artist Marissa Chibas tells an astonishing tale centered on three towering figures in her life: her father, Raul, who co-wrote the manifesto for the Cuban revolution with Fidel Castro; her uncle, Eddy, who was the frontrunner for the Cuban presidency in 1951 before committing suicide; and her mother, Dalia, Miss Cuba runner-up in 1959. Organic Sofrito or Other Recipes for Disaster – New York/Midwest Premiere at UrbanTheater Company, 2620 W. Division St. in Humboldt Park September 26-29 Santita Soto is a holistic chef with a big Internet following. Santita believes in the connection between traditional Latin dishes and mental illness. Watch as she nimbly executes each dish live on stage, recreating recipes that are not only full of flavor, but chock full of memories of her painful childhood. Written by Venessa M. Diaz. Directed by J. Anthony Roman. Original music by Desmar Guervara. Latin America Andares – México/U.S. Premiere Co-presentation with Chicago Shakespeare Theater on Navy Pier, 800 E. Grand Ave. October 23-27 México’s Makuyeika: Colectivo Teatral presents Andares, or “pathways,” about the lives of indigenous youth in México devised from personal anecdotes, ancestral myths and traditional art forms. Directed by Héctor Flores Komatsu, the production shines light on a range of realities—land usurpation, widespread violence, ancestral duties, community resistance—that indigenous people face at the crossroads of modern life and tradition. Feos – Chile/North American Premiere Chopin Theatre, 1543 W. Division St. in Wicker Park September 19-22 Legendary director and puppet artist Aline Kuppenheim's Feos is her first collaboration with Guillermo Calderon, Chile’s most recognized contemporary playwright, inspired by "La Noche de los Feos" (Night of the Ugly), a popular short story by Italian novelist Mario Benedetti. Feos is a visual feast of Bunraku-style puppetry incorporating stop motion projections and a story that challenges audiences to look at their own faults with honesty and acceptance. It's an adult work, about desire and love by two people who are physically disfigured. La Tia Mariela – México/U.S. Premiere Co-presentation with National Museum of Mexican Art, 1852 W. 19th St. in Pilsen September 26-29 Renowned Mexican actress and dramaturg Conchi León returns to Chicago with La Tia Mariela, produced by Once Once Producciones, directed by Alejandro Ley. Leon joins Regina Orozco and Montserrat Marañón to tell the stories of their 12 aunts whose names all begin with “M.” With Yucatan humor, in the style of León, the playwright who won national and international fame with Mestiza Power, audiences will laugh and cry throughout this saga about the pain and joy of Mayan women. Follow DESTINOS at @latinotheater across social channels including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to receive first notice of all festival events. The 2019 festival hashtag is #DESTINOSFEST. -more- CLATA announces line-up for 3rd DESTINOS festival – pg 4 of 4 Mark your calendar for the DESTINOS Kick-Off Reception, Monday, September 16 DESTINOS launches with a kick-off reception on Monday, September 16 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at a venue TBA. Leaders from the local Latino community will join the festival’s civic and philanthropic supporters, Chicago media, the city’s arts and theater community, and CLATA board, staff and volunteers to welcome and toast participating Latino theater artists from Chicago and around the world. About DESTINOS, the 3rd Chicago International Latino Theater Festival DESTINOS, now entering its third year, 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.