Mark your calendar! Destinos, 5th Chicago International Latino Theater Festival, will return with a big splash, live and in-person, September 14-October 16, 2022.
Destinos is Chicago’s annual citywide festival that brings together and showcases Latino theater artists and companies from Chicago, the U.S. and Latin America, every fall.
Destinos, 5th Chicago International Latino Theater Festival will host (top, left) the U.S. premiere of Blanco Temblor by Puerto Rico’s Teatro Público, a play about mental health featuring Isel Rodríguez, September 29-October 2 at The Den Theatre. The Midwest premiere of Pequeños Territorios en Reconstrucción (top, right), a documentary about a group of Colombian women who built 98 houses with their own hands, from Mexico City’s Teatro Línea de Sombra, is co-presented by CLATA and Goodman Theatre, September 21-25. Mexican TV stars María del Carmen Félix (bottom, left) and Mariannela Cataño (middle) star in the world premiere of La Pájara de San Juan at the National Museum of Mexican Art, September 14-17. Latino favorite Flaco Navaja stars in UrbanTheater’s Midwest premiere of his first solo show Evolution of a Sonero, September 29-October 23.
For five weeks in September and October, Destinos will give Chicagoans and visitors alike the chance to experience a rich array of Latino-centric shows, panels and student performances presented at marquee venues downtown, neighborhood storefront theaters, and cultural institutions throughout the Chicago area.
“The fifth annual Destinos is not to be missed,” said Myrna Salazar, Executive Director, Chicago Latino Theater Alliance (CLATA), which produces the city’s international Latino theater festival, one of the largest in the U.S. “Vibrant solo shows and large scale productions from Chicago and U.S. Latino companies, plus visiting artists and productions from Latin America, will be playing on Chicago’s top stages, each celebrating the Latino experience.”
The 2022 Destinos artist line-up – including the debut of six world premieres, one North American premiere, three U.S. premieres and three Midwest premieres – is set and now available to review on destinosfest.org.
Festival highlights include three provocative productions from Mexico and Puerto Rico:
- The world premiere of La Pájara de San Juan, a Trump-era drama about two sisters, one documented, one not, on a fateful night in Chicago, starring Mexican TV stars María del Carmen Félix and Mariannela Cataño, written by Victor Salinas and Sergio Gezzi, co-presented by CLATA and the National Museum of Mexican Art at the National Museum of Mexican Art, September 14-17.
- The Midwest premiere of Pequeños Territorios en Reconstrucción, a documentary fable about a group of Colombian women who created the “League of Displaced Women” and built 98 houses with their own hands, from Mexico City’s Teatro Línea de Sombra, co-presented by CLATA and Goodman Theatre in the heart of Chicago's Loop, September 21-25.
- The U.S. premiere of Blanco Temblor by Puerto Rico’s Teatro Público, a play about mental health as told via the story of Marina del Mar, a doctor in quantum astrophysics, Puerto Rican, bipolar, suicide survivor, with a disease from birth: she could not tremble, at The Den Theatre in Wicker Park, September 29-October 2.
You want new plays by Latino writers? Destinos will see diverse new works by Chicago’s top Latino companies and artists, including:
- Las Migas by Colectivo El Pozo, a world premiere drama set on the roof of a Chicago skyscraper as an eerie red moon disrupts city life below, presented at Chess Live Theatre in Bridgeport, September 15-October 2.
- The U.S. premiere of Bruna la Bruja Bruta by Mexican playwright Tomás Utrusástegui, starring Teatro Tariakuri Artistic Director Karla Galvan as a modern-day Latina bruja who flies into her theater’s Marquette Park storefront space to get a few things off her chest before Halloween, Saturdays and Sundays, September 17-October 16.
- The North American premiere of Tebas Land by Uruguayan playwright Sergio Blanco, inspired by the Oedipus myth, about a series of meetings in a prison basketball court between a playwright and a young parricide (a person who kills a parent or close relative), presented by CLATA in collaboration with the National Museum of Mexican Art, at Chicago Dramatists, September 22-October 9.
- The world premiere of Enough to Let the Light In, produced by Teatro Vista and co-presented with Steppenwolf Theatre Company, by Paloma Nozicka, a Mexican-American actor, writer, director and filmmaker, bred in Chicago, based in L.A. Her play introduces us to girlfriends Marc and Cynthia, who spend a night celebrating a milestone, but it quickly devolves into chaos as buried secrets are revealed and lives are irrevocably changed. Performances are September 21-October 23 at Steppenwolf's 1700 Theater.
- Poet, actor, singer and Latino favorite Flaco Navaja stars in his first full-length solo show Evolution of a Sonero, a Midwest premiere from UrbanTheater Company. With unabashed love for the Bronx, a gift for crafting memorable characters, and genuine good humor, Navaja and five top-notch musicians bring on the charm, the rhythm, and the soul essential to a Bronx Sonero. Don’t miss this fresh salsa epic that brings the Bronx streets to UrbanTheater's Humboldt Park stage, September 29-October 23.
- Alma, an American Blues Theatre world premiere about a single mom who has single-handedly raised her daughter on tough love, home-cooked comida, and lots of prayers. But on the eve of her daughter’s SAT, she’s nowhere to be found. Alma, written by 2019 National Latinx Playwriting Award winner Benjamin Benne, runs October 7-November 6. Venue TBA.
- The midwest premiere of Sancocho by Visión Latino Theater Company, written by Christin Eve Cato, directed by Xavier M. Custodio. The play tells the story of two sisters, 25 years apart, who come together to discuss their father’s will while making a traditional sancocho stew that suddenly becomes peppered with revelations about their family history. Performances are October 10-November 30. Venue TBA.
- The world premiere of BULL: a love story by Chicago’s own Nancy García Loza, about a Mexican American ex-con who returns to his old Chicago neighborhood, Lakeview, only to discover how much has moved on without him. BULL: a love story is a Paramount Theater BOLD Series production, October 5-November 20 at the new Copley Theatre in downtown Aurora, Illinois’ second largest city with a 40 percent Latino population. It also marks the first-ever expansion of Destinos into a Chicago suburb.
- The world premiere of The Wizards by Ricardo Gamboa, a supernatural thriller about a Black and Brown genderqueer couple who find a Quija board in their new Pilsen apartment that connects them to a ‘70s Mexican-American Motown cover band. The Wizards, co-produced by the Chicago Latino Theater Alliance at Pilsen’s historic APO Cultural Center, runs October 14-November 22.
- The U.S. premiere of Cintas de Seda from Aguijón Theater in Chicago’s Belmont-Cragin/Hermosa neighborhood. Set on the eve of the Day of the Dead, this play by Norge Espinosa imagines a painter and nun coming together for an impossible dialogue with ghosts, hallucinations, and images of the past, October 13-November 20.
Tickets to all productions will be on sale by mid-August. Visit destinosfest.org for more information and to sign up for CLATA’s weekly e-newsletter.
Also, follow Destinos at @latinotheater on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to receive first notice of all festival events.
More about the 2022 Destinos line-up, in chronological order:
Week One: September 14-18
Mexican TV stars María del Carmen Félix (left) and Mariannela Cataño star in La Pájara de San Juan
La Pájara de San Juan
- World Premiere
- by Victor Salinas and Sergio Gezzi, Mexico/Washington D.C.
- Starring María del Carmen Félix and Mariannela Cataño
- Presented by CLATA in collaboration with the National Museum of Mexican Art
- at the National Museum of Mexican Art, 1852 W. 19th St. in Pilsen
- September 14-17, 2022
- Opens Wednesday, September 14 at 7:30 p.m.
La Pájara de San Juan is the story about two sisters, Rosa and Verónica, both Mexican immigrants, one with documents, the other not, who meet again in Chicago. Rosa must give Veronica some news that will change both their lives forever. The play takes place during the Trump administration. Rosa and Verónica are played by popular Mexican actors María del Carmen Félix (Leticia Cabral in Telemundo’s La Doña) and Mariannela Cataño (star of Todos los días son tuyos, Espinas and Ingobernable). Written by Victor Salinas and Sergio Gezzi and directed by Victor Salinas.
Las Migas
- World Premiere
- Colectivo El Pozo, Chicago
- at Chess Live Theater, 3622 S. Morgan St. in Bridgeport
- September 15-October 2
- Opens Thursday, September 15 at 8 p.m.
Two characters - a professor and engineer - have been stuck on the roof of a Chicago skyscraper for days, locked out after climbing up to see a red moon that has disrupted life in the city. A domestic worker and a window washer stumble into this absurd situation, as the red moon continues to disrupt regular routines. On the seventh day they discover the door open, and each decides to return to their normal routine. Except one. Don’t miss this new drama by Chicago’s Colectivo El Pozo, directed by Raúl Dorantes.
Bruna la Bruja Bruta
- World Premiere
- Teatro Tariakuri, Chicago
- 3117 W. 63rd St. in Marquette Park
- September 17-October 16
- Opens Saturday, September 17 at 8 p.m.
Halloween is coming, so Bruna, a modern-day Latina bruja, has flown her broom into Chicago’s Marquette Park neighborhood to get a few things off her chest. A U.S. premiere comedy starring Teatro Tariakuri Artistic Director Karla Galvan, written by Mexican playwright Tomás Utrusástegui and directed by Natalia Traven, Clint Eastwood’s co-star in his 2021 film, Cry Macho.
Week 2: September 21-25
Pequeños Territorios en Reconstrucción
Pequeños Territorios en Reconstrucción
- Midwest Premiere
- Teatro Línea de Sombra, México
- Presented by CLATA in collaboration with Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn St., in the heart of Chicago’s Loop
- September 21-25
- Opening Wednesday, September 21 at 7:30 p.m.
Pequeños Territorios en Reconstrucción is a research project about the “City of Women” in Turbaco, Colombia, where, 15 years ago, a group of women displaced by armed conflict created the “League of Displaced Women” and built 98 houses with their own hands. After a short stay there, Teatro Linea de Sombra created a documentary fable posing a series of ethical questions on the potential destiny of the settlement, of the women who built it, and especially of the children who inhabit it. The piece is directed by Jorge A. Vargas, stars Alicia Laguna, Zuadd Atala and features musician Shantall Saad.
Tebas Land
- North American Premiere
- CLATA in collaboration with the National Museum of Mexican Art
- at Chicago Dramatists, 1105 W. Chicago Ave. in River West
- September 22 -October 9
- Opens Thursday, September 22 at 7:30 p.m.
Tebas Land, winner of the London Award Off West End in 2017, depicts a series of meetings in a prison basketball court between a playwright and a young parricide (a person who kills a parent or close relative). The writer tries to reconstruct the story of the crime, but gradually concerns himself not so much with the reconstruction, but with the scenic representation of the encounters between the two characters. The question that opens the piece is “how can you kill someone?” The question that closes it is “how can you portray someone?” Acclaimed Uruguayan playwright Sergio Blanco mines the Oedipus myth to question the artistic process of theater authorship. Renowned Argentinian director Juan Parodi directs. The production features Chicago actors Tommy Rivera-Vega and Esteban Schemburg.
Paloma Nozicka
Enough to Let the Light In
- World Premiere
- Teatro Vista, Chicago
- A co-presentation with Steppenwolf Theatre Company
- at Steppenwolf’s 1700 Theater, 1700 N. Halsted St. in Lincoln Park
- September 21-October 23
- Opens Saturday, September 24 at 8 p.m.
Girlfriends Marc and Cynthia spend the night celebrating a milestone, but it quickly devolves into chaos as buried secrets are revealed and lives are irrevocably changed. Paloma Nozicka is a Mexican-American actor, writer, director and filmmaker, working in Chicago and Los Angeles.
Week 3: September 29-October 2
Flaco Navaja
Evolution of a Sonero
- Midwest Premiere
- UrbanTheater Company, Chicago
- 2620 W. Division St. in Humboldt Park
- September 29-October 23
- Opens Thursday, September 29 at 8 p.m.
Evolution of a Sonero, the first full-length solo show written and performed by poet, actor, singer and Latino favorite Flaco Navaja, is a fresh salsa epic about growing up, getting inspired and staying on track. With unabashed love for the Bronx, a gift for crafting memorable characters and genuine good humor, Navaja and five musicians —aka The Razor Blades—bring on the charm, the rhythm, and the soul essential to a Bronx Sonero. Paying homage to musical icons – from Janis Joplin to Menudo, from The Doors to Héctor Lavoe, from Jimi Hendrix to Rubén Blades – the play is as much about Navaja’s creative evolution as it is the wild mix that gives life to a rhyme, a people and a culture. Directed by UrbanTheater Producing Artistic Director Miranda González.
(left) Isel Rodriguez in Blanco Temblor. (right) Isel Rodriguez and Carola Garcia.
Blanco Temblor
- U.S. Premiere
- Teatro Público, Puerto Rico
- at The Den Theatre, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Wicker Park
- September 29-October 2
- Opens Thursday, September 29 at 8 p.m.
Blanco Temblor is a reflection, between laughter, silence, music, and movement, around a topic that is not visible, what is not talked about, our mental health. The play tells the story of Marina del Mar, a doctor in quantum astrophysics, Puerto Rican, bipolar, suicide survivor, with a disease from birth: she cannot tremble. Witness the meeting of Marina del Mar with her living and dead affections, her transit through the abysses, and the lights of her psyche. Blanco Temblor is written and directed by Carola Garcia, and features Isel Rodriguez, Carola Garcia, Yussef Soto Villarini and Maximiliano Rivas.
Week 4: October 7-9
Alma
- World Premiere
- American Blues Theater, Chicago
- Venue TBA
- October 7-November 6
- Opening Friday, October 7
Alma has single-handedly raised her daughter, Angel, on tough love, home-cooked comida, and lots of prayers. But on the eve of the all-important SAT, Alma discovers her daughter isn’t at home studying. A sacrifice from Alma’s past weighs heavy on their present; now, Alma fears her worst nightmare may soon be their reality. Will the American Dream cost them a life together? Winner of the 2019 National Latinx Playwriting Award and 2019 Blue Ink Playwriting Award. Written by Benjamin Benne and directed by Ana Velazquez.
Week 5: October 10-16
Sancocho
- Midwest Premiere
- Visión Latino Theater Company, Chicago
- Venue TBA
- October 10-November 30
- Opening Monday, October 10
Caridad and Renata are sisters, 25 years apart. Their father's health condition is worsening day by day. Renata is a lawyer, and as her father’s proxy, is responsible for writing his will. To relieve the tension, Renata visits Caridad while she is making sancocho, a traditional Latino stew. As they prepare the sancocho, the sisters begin a journey of their culture, womanhood, transgenerational trauma, and family history. All is well until Renata shares some unexpected news, causing Caridad to spill the beans about their father's illegitimate son. Written by Christin Eve Cato and directed by Xavier M. Custodio.
BULL: a love story
- World Premiere
- Paramount Theatre, Aurora
- at the Copley Theatre, 8 E. Galena Blvd. in downtown Aurora
- October 5-November 20
- Opening Wednesday, October 12 at 7 p.m.
Bull dealt drugs, got caught, and served his time. For a decade, he’s thought about one thing: coming home. On the day Bull is released from prison, he returns to his old Chicago neighborhood, Lakeview, now unrecognizable. Hopeful and eager, he is ready to resume life with his family, only to discover how much has moved on without him. His dream now within grasp, what will it take to get home? BULL: a love story is written by Chicago playwright Nancy García Loza, who with the National Museum of Mexican Art just won a prestigious 2022 Joyce Award. BULL, directed by Laura Alcalá Baker, is part of Paramount Theatre’s inaugural BOLD Series, and makes downtown Aurora the first suburban destination in Destinos history.
The Wizards
- World Premiere
- Written by Ricardo Gamboa, Chicago
- Co-produced by the Chicago Latino Theater Alliance (CLATA)
- at the historic APO Cultural Center, 1438 W. 18th St. in Pilsen
- October 14-November 22, 2022
- Opens Wednesday, October 12
Amado and Sam, a Brown and Black genderqueer couple, move back to Amado’s hometown of Chicago after surviving a hate crime in New York the day after the 2016 presidential election. In their new apartment in the city’s gentrifying Pilsen neighborhood, they find a Ouija board that puts them in touch with The Wizards, a Mexican-American Motown cover band on the Southside during the 70s. The Wizards is a supernatural thriller about the histories and people that haunt us. Ricardo Gamboa is a Chicago theater artist and a writer on Showtime’s The Chi. Katrina Dion directs.
Cintas de Seda
- U.S. Premiere
- Aguijón Theater, Chicago
- 2707 N. Laramie Ave. in Hermosa/Belmont-Cragin
- October 13-November 20
- Opens Friday, October 14 at 8 p.m.
On the eve of the Day of the Dead, two unique and universal figures – The Painter and The Nun – come together in an impossible dialogue where ghosts, hallucinations, and images of the past are present from death in a poetic representation of life. With sharp, scathing, lucid language, they immerse themselves in a theatrical kaleidoscope to reveal the fears, passions, colors, and verses that accompanied them on their journey to transcendence. Written by Norge Espinosa, directed by Sándor Menéndez, featuring Rosario Vargas and Claudia Renteria.
About Destinos, 5th Chicago International Latino Theater Festival
Now entering its fifth year, Destinos 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.
“In Spanish, the word ‘destinos’ has multiple meanings: destinies, destinations or fate,” explains CLATA Executive Director Myrna Salazar. “Destinos showcases Latino theater artists from Chicago, across the U.S. and Latin America to present engaging and thought-provoking stories that transcend boundaries, amplify Latino voices, and diversify Chicago stages to encourage cross-cultural conversation.”
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: the National Museum of Mexican Art (NMMA), the International Latino Cultural Center (ILCC), and the Puerto Rican Arts Alliance (PRAA).
The organization’s goal is to create the country’s leading international Latino theater festival with an emphasis on showcasing Chicago Latino theater artists and companies. Additionally, CLATA provides local groups ongoing organizational, marketing and financial support, and works 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 gratefully acknowledges ongoing support from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, Joyce Foundation, Ford Foundation, Walder Foundation, Arts Work Fund, Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelly Foundation, Illinois Humanities, Shubert Foundation, a CityArts grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, Illinois Arts Council Agency, National Endowment for the Arts, Wintrust, Allstate, ComEd and Comcast/Xfinity.
For more, visit destinosfest.org or call (312) 631-3112.