The Chicago Latino Theater Alliance (CLATA) announces Destinos al Aire, Thursday, September 17 at 6 p.m. at ChiTown Movies, 2343 S. Throop St. in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood.
Destinos al Aire will be presented live, in person, and simulcast on ChiTown Movies’ newly erected large, outdoor drive-in movie screen, and live streamed on social media.
Celebrating and showcasing Chicago Latino theater, film, music and art, Destinos al Aire promises to be a larger-than-life kick off event for Latino Heritage Month, September 15-October 15, 2020.
Tickets are $30 per car, with up to six people per car. Audiences may bring lawn chairs to sit outside alongside their vehicle, adhering to social distance and masks requirements.
Tickets go on sale today, Monday, August 17, at clata.org. Space is limited to 140 cars, so reserve early!
“Destinos al Aire is our 2020 solution to still create major excitement around Latino arts and culture as we do every fall in Chicago, no matter what barriers may present themselves,” said Myrna Salazar, Executive Director, CLATA, producer of the annual Destinos-Chicago International Latino Theater Festival.
“This one-night-only, one-of-a-kind live event will include appearances by artists from Chicago’s most acclaimed Latino theater companies, live music, a screening of a Latino-themed film, and more, all in a safe, socially distanced setting that is also fun and actually quite celebratory.”
Destinos al Aire will be emceed by WGN-TV Around Town reporter Ana Belaval and comedian/producer Mike Oquendo.
Artists with local Latino companies like Aguijón Theater, Repertorio Latino Theater Company, Teatro Vista and UrbanTheater Company will provide videos and special messages, as well as live vignettes of their work.
Cielito Lindo Family Folk Music will perform live. Traditional dance, festival food and a few surprises are also part of the fun.
Stay tuned: the live stage presentation will be followed by an outdoor screening of a major Latino movie (TBA) from the Chicago Latino Film Festival, launching the following day.
Follow @latinotheater on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, #DestinosFest for the latest updates.
Join CLATA on YouTube for Charlando, a web series where Latino theater artists from Chicago and around the world talk about topics impacting Latinos in the theater industry. Make sure to like and subscribe at: https://tinyurl.com/yblzuzn7. For more information, email info@clata.org.
CLATA thanks Goodman Theatre, Lead Sponsor of Destinos al Aire, for its generous support.
Destinos al Aire will be emceed by WGN-TV Around Town reporter Ana Belaval and comedian/producer Mike Oquendo.
Artists with local Latino companies like Aguijón Theater, Repertorio Latino Theater Company, Teatro Vista and UrbanTheater Company will provide videos and special messages, as well as live vignettes of their work.
Goodman Theatre is Lead Sponsor of Destinos al Aire.
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. 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 Latino-themed shows, panels and student performances at marquee venues downtown and storefront theaters and cultural institutions in predominantly Latino neighborhoods throughout the city.
In September 2019, the 3rd Destinos festival ran for six weeks, presenting 11 companies from Chicago, the U.S. and Latin America at venues large and small throughout Chicago to an audience of more than 9,000. The 4th Destinos festival has been moved to 2021, dates TBA.
In addition to producing the annual Destinos festival, CLATA works year round providing local groups ongoing organizational, marketing and financial support. CLATA is working 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 receives generous support from the The Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, The Joyce Foundation, The Ford Foundation, The Reva and David Logan Foundation, The Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelly Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, Illinois Humanities, a CityArts grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, Illinois Arts Council Agency, National Endowment for the Arts, Allstate, ComEd and Southwest Airlines.
For more, visit clata.org.
About the National Museum of Mexican Art
The National Museum of Mexican Art (NMMA) was founded in 1982 and opened its doors in 1987. Today, the National Museum of Mexican Art stands out as the most prominent Mexican cultural organization located outside the United States. The NMMA is home to one of the largest Mexican art collections in the U.S., including more than 10,000 seminal pieces. The Museum defines the Mexican culture as Sin Fronteras and presents the Mexican culture as it has manifested itself from both sides of the border and from ancient times to then present. The NMMA is the only Latino museum accredited by American Alliance of Museums.
Approximately twenty of the NMMA’s exhibitions have traveled across the United States and six have traveled to Mexico. NNMA is also well known for its annual Sor Juana Festival, a multidisciplinary festival initiated in 1994 that honors Mexican writers, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, to celebrate the rich artistic accomplishments of Mexican and Mexican American women in arts and society. For more, visit nationalmuseumofmexicanart.org.
About the International Latino Cultural Center of Chicago
The International Latino Cultural Center of Chicago is a pan-Latino, nonprofit, multidisciplinary arts organization dedicated to developing, promoting and increasing awareness of Latino cultures among Latinos and other communities by presenting a wide variety of art forms and education including film, music, dance, visual arts, comedy and theater. The Center prides itself for its outstanding multidisciplinary local and international cultural programming which spans Latin America, Spain, Portugal, and the United States.
The International Latino Cultural Center of Chicago presents the annual Chicago Latino Film Festival. Originally scheduled for April, the 36th Chicago Latino Film Festival has shifted to a virtual format and will now take place September 18-27, 2020. For more, visit chicagolatinofilmfestival.org.
About the Puerto Rican Arts Alliance
Since 1998, Puerto Rican Arts Alliance (PRAA) is dedicated to fostering community pride through cultural music and arts educational programs, performances, and exhibitions by providing access to high quality artistic experiences. By becoming a national model for pre-conservatory music learning and training we are developing the next generation professional musicians. Through studio arts and high quality exhibitions we provide opportunities for aspiring future artists
PRAA has instilled music and arts appreciation in over 330,000 youth and audience members. Through PRAA’s Latin Music Project and Studio Arts & Exhibition Programs children and youth begin their path to higher learning aspirations. PRAA’s diverse programs share Puerto Rican music, arts, and culture beyond Chicago, the Midwest region, and the country. Yearly, more than 1,350 attend PRAA’s Emmy Award winning National Cuatro Festival. For more, visit praachicago.org.
