Latino stories take the spotlight in Chicago theater festival
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
From (Un)Documents. Photo: Courtesy of Chicago Latino Theater Alliance.
Latino-centered plays take center stage at Destinos: Chicago International Latino Theater Festival, and organizers say the event feels especially needed during this political moment.
The big picture: The month-long event created by the Chicago Latino Theater Alliance (CLATA) is dedicated to showcasing up-and-coming and established Latino playwrights, directors and actors and their stories about family, culture, love and tragedy.
Driving the news: Destinos features more than a dozen productions across the city — from Edgewater to Lakeview to Pilsen to Northwest Indiana — through Nov. 2.
Reality check: ICE's presence in Chicago will likely affect attendance of this year's festival. "Some of the performers in this year's festival have relatives who will not attend because they too are afraid to be separated from their loved ones," CLATA executive director Jorge Valdivia writes in this year's playbill.
- "Now more than ever, telling our stories is an act of resistance and resilience. It is how we remember, how we fight, and how we heal." Destinos, at its core, is Chicago's vibrant Latine theater community, amplifying our stories and creating much-needed visibility," Valdivia said in a press release.
Zoom in: The works span genres. Here are some highlights:
- Chisme: Todo Latine, Todo Queer: a one-night-only queer Latine variety show. Friday at Center on Halsted.
- Las Borinqueñas: The story of five Puerto Rican women alongside the controversial experiments behind today's birth control pill. Oct. 22-Nov. 9 at Chicago Dramatists.
- Nestor Gomez: A storytelling showcase curated by Nestor Gomez, winner of Moth Slams, about immigrant stories from across the globe. Oct. 29 at Chicago Shakespeare Theater on Navy Pier.
If you go: Prices vary by show. The full schedule is here.