Every fall, the Chicago Latino Theater Alliance (CLATA) imports top Latino theater artists and companies from the U.S. and Latin America to perform during Destinos Chicago International Latino Theater Festival.
That’s just one half of CLATA’s import/export business, which is dedicated to showcasing the diversity of the Latino experience.
Next month, CLATA is “exporting” La Gringa, the acclaimed play produced by Chicago’s UrbanTheater Company, to be performed as part of a cross-cultural exchange, live and in-person, at the Festival de Teatro Puertorriqueño e Internacional 2022.
(left, from left) NK Gutíerrez, Nydia Castillo and Sophia Tew in UrbanTheater’s 2017 Chicago premiere of La Gringa. The production is being remounted April 8-9, 2022 at the (right) Festival de Teatro Puertorriqueño e Internacional 2022 in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
La Gringa is playwright Carmen Rivera’s comedic story of a young Puerto Rican woman from the U.S. who visits her family’s homeland, only to be met with less than open arms. UrbanTheater Company Producing Artistic Director Miranda González, who staged UTC’s 2017 Chicago premiere, returns to direct.
This new production also reunites UTC’s original cast - Felipe Camacho, Nydia Castillo, Frankie Davila, NK Gutiérrez, Andrew Perez and Sofia Tew - to debut the play where it is actually set – in Puerto Rico.
UrbanTheater’s cast traveling to Puerto Rico to perform La Gringa features Chicago actors (from left) Felipe Camacho, Nydia Castillo, Frankie Davila, NK Gutiérrez, Andrew Perez and Sofia Tew.
This new production also reunites UTC’s original cast - Felipe Camacho, Nydia Castillo, Frankie Davila, NK Gutiérrez, Andrew Perez and Sofia Tew - to debut the play where it is actually set – in Puerto Rico.
La Gringa will be presented twice during the Festival de Teatro Puertorriqueño e Internacional 2022: Friday, April 8 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, April, 9 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets go on sale the week of March 21 at prticket.com.
The Festival de Teatro Puertorriqueño e Internacional 2022 runs March 18-June 16, 2022. Other Festival presentations include Quintuples by Luis Rafael Sánchez (March 18-27); Fefu and Her Friends by María Irene Fornés (May 3-8); the University Theatre Festival (March 31-April 3); Ether by Marian Pabón (May 13-15); A Number by Caryl Churchill (June 3-12); and, The Biscuit by Bekah Brunstetter (June 17-26).
All performances are at the Teatro Victoria Espinosa in Santurce, San Juan de Puerto Rico. For tickets and information, visit prticket.com.
La Gringa: A Puerto Rican in the U.S., an American in Puerto Rico, a nobody everywhere
La Gringa, written by Carmen Rivera, is the comedic story of María Elena Garcia, a young woman who visits her extended family in Puerto Rico, excited to connect with her homeland. Although this is her first trip to Puerto Rico, she grew up with a deep love for the island and even majored in Puerto Rican Studies in college. When she arrives, the majority of Puerto Ricans she meets consider her an American – a “gringa” – and María considers this a betrayal. Coming to terms with who she is leads María into misperceptions and misadventures. But will an unlikely ally help her find her way to the other side?
UrbanTheater presented the Chicago premiere of La Gringa in 2017 at its Batey Urbano location at 2620 W. Division St., in Chicago’s Humboldt Park neighborhood. Here’s what the critics said:
“With joy in its heart, Miranda González's production reflects on what it means to feel a connection to a culture…González's ensemble radiates loving vibes at a time when they're few and far between." - Chicago Reader
“Raw and honest. It will hit home for anyone who's desired to know which cultural identity they should choose: their birth or their ancestry.” - New City
“...always faithful to its cultural demographic, while appealing to audiences of all ethnicities.” - Windy City Times
“As UTC prepares for its 17th year, we are overjoyed to present La Gringa at Teatro Victoria Espinosa in San Juan Puerto Rico. We are grateful for this opportunity that was brought forth by CLATA and Instituto de Cultura Puertorriquena,” said Iván Vega, Executive Director, UrbanTheater Company
“This play is very special to us,” Vega added. “With our previous productions we were able to reflect stories that are important to our community and create long lasting relationships with playwrights Carmen Rivera and Candido Tirado. This will be our first theatrical production in Puerto Rico and we hope this endeavor marks the start of sharing our stories in our homeland.”
“What an enormous blessing…lightning does strike twice!” added playwright Carmen Rivera. “I have worked with UTC twice - they produced my plays, Julia de Burgos, Child of Water, and La Gringa. Their commitment to diversity and inclusivity is admirable and very inspiring. They gave my stories a nurturing space to live and share with their audience. They talk the talk. More importantly, they walk the walk.”
“The Chicago Latino Theater Alliance is very excited to participate for the first time in the Festival de Teatro Puertorriqueño e Internacional 2022 with La Gringa by UrbanTheater Company of Chicago,” said Myrna Salazar, Executive Director, CLATA.
“We are convinced that creating a cultural bridge together will undoubtedly be a cultural enrichment to all who are part of it. CLATA is proud to continue building these essential bridges and forging paths, as we have already for the past four years by presenting theater companies from Puerto Rico as part of our annual Destinos Chicago International Latino Theater Festival!”
About UrbanTheater Company
Powered by a bold mission to “decolonize theater,” UrbanTheater Company (UTC) celebrates our cultural experiences through interdisciplinary art forms. Centering fellowship and community we aim to elevate a diverse and culturally specific collective of Chicago creatives. We create innovative and accessible theater through decolonized praxis. Since its founding in 2005, UTC has served as a pipeline for a diverse and culturally specific collective of Chicago actors, designers, and producers who embrace the responsibility to create an environment full of honesty, integrity, representation and acceptance.
UrbanTheater is led by Co-Founder and Executive Director Ivan Vega, Artistic Director Miranda González and Company Manager Antonio Bruno. In 2021, UTC was selected as a Chicago Cultural Treasure for “contributing to the history, culture, vibrancy, and identity of communities of color in greater Chicago.”
Currently, UTC is thrilled to see its new home now under construction in the Nancy Franco Maldonado Paseo Boricua Arts Building, 2709-2715 W. Division St. in Humboldt Park. It is scheduled to be completed in summer 2022.
For more information, visit urbantheaterchicago.org, or follow UrbanTheater on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
About the Chicago Latino Theater Alliance (CLATA)
The Chicago Latino Theater Alliance (CLATA) is a transformative cultural engine helping drive the city’s local Latino theater community to a more prominent level and increase Latino representation in Chicago theater.
CLATA was founded in 2016 as a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization by Myrna Salazar and Chicago’s three most prominent Latino arts organizations: National Museum of Mexican Art (NMMA), International Latino Cultural Center (ILCC), and Puerto Rican Arts Alliance (PRAA), with the generous support of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
CLATA’s signature program is Destinos, 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 each fall, Chicagoans and visitors to the city experience a rich, diverse array of bilingual, Latino-themed shows, panels and student performances at marquee venues downtown and storefront theaters and cultural institutions in predominantly Latino neighborhoods throughout the city.
Additionally, CLATA provides local groups ongoing organizational, marketing and financial support, and is working 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.
For more, visit clata.org. To receive the latest updates, sign up for CLATA’s weekly e-news, and follow CLATA on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
La Gringa: playwright and director bios
Carmen Rivera (playwright) holds an MA in Playwriting and Latin American Theatre from New York University. Her play, La Gringa, was part of the OBIE Award Winning Series - New Voices - which premiered in 1996 and has recently celebrated its 26th year anniversary in repertory at Repertorio Español. It is now the longest running Spanish-language play in Off-Broadway history. Rivera is a teaching artist at Manhattan Theatre Club and also teaches playwriting at The School for Drama at The New School. She is also co-director of Educational Play Productions (EPP), which brings plays about social issues into public schools. carmenrivera-writer.com
Miranda González (director) is Producing Artistic Director at UrbanTheater Company (UTC). She was a founding member of Chicago’s all-Latina theater company Teatro Luna and has devised and developed plays since 2000. She is a two time 3Arts nominee and recipient of the International Centre for Women Playwrights 50/50 Award. She recently recorded a TEDx talk, “The Fear of Decolonization” in the theater industry. In 2021, she directed a virtual production of Melissa DuPrey’s Bruhaja as part of last year’s Destinos Festival. Her play Back In The Day: an 80’s House Music Dancesical, premiered at UTC as part of Destinos in 2019. She is currently developing a play about the history of the underground railroad to Mexico as part of Latino Theater Company’s Imaginistas cohort in L.A.
UrbanTheater’s presentation of La Gringa at the Festival de Teatro Puertorriqueño e Internacional 2022 is supported by the Instituto de Cultural Puertorriqueña, Puerto Rican Arts Alliance and the National Museum of Mexican Art.
