The 39th edition of the International Hispanic Theater Festival of Miami concluded its first weekend but there are still three more weekends to go until the closing night Sunday, Sept. 28.
It is the first year that the festival has been presented without Mario Ernesto Sánchez — he founded the International Hispanic Theater Festival under the auspices of his Teatro Avante in 1986. Sánchez passed away on April 10, at the age of 78, after a long illness.
This is also the first time the festival has been staged in September, not in July as usual, due to renovations at the Adrienne Arsht Center required adjusting the dates of the program.
Sánchez’s legacy lives on. Since the festival’s opening on Thursday, Sept. 4, nine productions by six groups from Argentina, Chile, Spain, the United States, Venezuela/USA, and Mexico, are presenting programs at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts’ Carnival Studio Theatre, Westchester Cultural Arts Center, Koubek Center Theatre, and Biscayne Community Center.
Beatriz Risk continues to lead the event’s Educational Program, which includes discussions at the end of each premiere performance. The Lifetime Achievement in the Performing Arts Award will be presented to artistic consultant Olga Garay-English on Thursday, Sept. 25, at the Carnival Studio Theatre.
Neher Jacqueline Briceño and Melissa Messulam, of Conecta Miami Arts, two individuals who have already earned their places in the South Florida theater scene, are now at the helm of the Festival.
In fact, the program closes with “Lear,” directed by Briceño, inspired by Shakespeare’s “King Lear.” Each of these four performances will open with a tribute to Sánchez under the title “UMPA! The Present Voice”.
Between Thursday, Sept. 4, and Sunday, Sept. 7, the festival presented “Las Delicadas Lágrimas de la Luna menguante” (“The Delicate Tears of the Waning Moon”), a production by the Chicago-based Venezuelan group Water People Theater, and “Viento Blanco” (“White Wind”), by the Argentine company Teatro Futuro.
The following is the lineup for the next three weekends. All the shows will be performed in Spanish. Only “Lear” will be presented with supertitles in English.
“El Brote” (“The Outbreak”), Argentina
8:30 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 11, Friday, Sept. 12 and Saturday, Sept. 13, Carnival Studio at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts
A one-man show, featuring Roberto Peloni, who plays the character of an actor who begins to confuse reality with fiction. As a result, he starts to distrust “those who write him.” A play written and directed by Emiliano Dionisi, from the Buenos Aires-based Teatro del Pueblo.
“Los Que Sobran” (“The Ones That Are Left Over”), Mexico
8:30 p.m., Friday, Sept. 12 and Saturday, Sept. 13, 5 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 14, Westchester Cultural Arts Center.
Five young people who met during their teens have become life partners. This is, as per the program, “a story of friendship, youth, humor, rebellion, courage, passion, violence, cruelty, survival, and love.” Written and directed by Adrián Vásquez, the cast features Fátima Favela, Quetzalli Cortes, Lariza Juárez, Paula Zepeda, Mónica Vega, and Iván Carbajal.
The Madrid-based group La Belloch Teatro brings to the Festival “Protocolo,” a play written by Cuban Abel González Melo and performed by Beatriz Argüello and Ernesto Arias. It will be on show Sept. 19, 20, and 21 at the Westchester Cultural Arts Center. (Photo courtesy of La Belloch Teatro)
“Palaboda,” Spain
5 p.m., Friday, Sept. 12 and Saturday, Sept. 13, 8:30 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 14, Koubek Center Theatre.
In this comedy by Rocío Sepúlveda, Juan Sebastián Domínguez, and La Tirana, directed by the latter, Begoñita wants to marry Juanmanué, but he is not excited about the prospect. While she’s hoping for a grand ceremony, he refuses to even wear a ring because he wants, quote, “it all over soon so I can go fishing.” Featuring Susana Rosado and Jay García.
“Magallanes,” Chile
8:30 p.m., Friday, Sept. 19 and Saturday, Sept. 20, 5 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 21, Carnival Studio at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts
Acting and music in the style of ancient minstrelsy blend in this show by Tryo Teatro Banda and Francisco Sánchez, directed by Sánchez and Eduardo Irrazábal. Disease and misery are the main obstacles to the expedition on which the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan attempts to reach the Spice Islands (or Morujas Islands) in eastern Indonesia.
“Protocolo,” Spain
8:30 p.m., Friday, Sept. 19 and Saturday, Sept. 20, 5 p.m., Sept. 21, Westchester Cultural Arts Center
A Cuban playwright based in Spain, Abel González Melo, authored the piece, which the Madrid-based group La Belloch Teatro brings to the festival, featuring performances by Beatriz Argüello and Ernesto Arias. According to the program, it is “a shocking human map where civic duty collides with intimacy.”
“Comicopicos,” (Argentina)
5 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 20, Key Biscayne Community Cetner, 5 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 21, Koubek Center Theater, both with free admission.
In its traditional celebration of International Children’s Day, the Festival brings the Fugaz Company from Argentina with two performances of “Comicopicos” by Osqui Guzmán and Leticia González de Lellis. The idea is to interact not only with children but also with adults. The Koubek Center performance is preceded from 2 to 5 p.m. by face painting, stilt walkers, snacks, and carnival games and painting, puppetry, dance, and percussion workshops from 3 to 4 p.m.
“Lear” (USA)
8:30 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 25, Friday, Sept. 26, and Saturday, Sept. 27 and 5 p.m., Sept. 28, in Spanish with English supertitles, Carnival Studio Theater in Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts
Neher Jacqueline Briceño, one of the festival’s directors, wrote this piece based on Shakespeare’s “King Lear.” It features Julio Rodríguez, Claudia Valdés, Claudia Tomás, Laura Alemán, and Daniel Romero. The four performances are preceded by “UMPA! La voz presente,” a tribute to the memory of Mario Ernesto Sánchez featuring Alina Interián, Marilyn Romero, Gerardo Riverón, and Yani Martín.
WHAT: 39th International Hispanic Theater Festival of Miami, featuring nine performances by six companies from Argentina, Chile, Spain, the United States, Venezuela/USA, and Mexico.
WHERE: Westchester Cultural Arts Center, 7930 SW 40th St. (Tropical Park), Miami; Koubek Center Theatre, 2705 SW 3rd St., Miami; Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, 1300 Biscayne Boulevard, Miami; and Key Biscayne Community Center, 10 Village Green Way, Key Biscayne.
WHEN: Through Sunday, Sept. 28
COST: $32.96 and $35.10 (includes fees)
INFORMATION: www.teatroavante.org/programa2025
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