Cara Mía Theatre kicks off its 2019-2020 season tomorrow night at the Latino Cultural Center. The company’s 24th anniversary season will bring its most diverse and inclusive storytelling yet, according to Executive Artistic Director David Lozano. Giving a platform to a variety of Latinx voices–from a child at the border, to a queer woman navigating the healthcare system–is one way that Lozano and others have pushed Cara Mía to expand its reach to non-theatre going Latinos. But at their core, these stories are about humanity, they’re something anyone can feel. Even if you can’t relate, you can learn something.
“We’re seeing nowadays, there is a great diversity in what it means to be a Latino in the U.S.,” says Matthew Rodriguez, communications coordinator and artistic assistant. “That’s the truth of Dallas, that’s the truth of the U.S. There is no one story. So, we’re really using this season as a gathering place for diverse voices.”
The season begins with Latinidades: A Festival of Solo Shows, a three-part program that runs from August 15 through September 8. Each play in the trio is new to Dallas.
The first, showing August 15-18, is Evolution of a Sonero, from New York City-based Pregones and the Puerto Rican Traveling Theater. Written and performed by Flaco Navaja, the story is filled with love for The Bronx, where he was born and raised. Navaja is joined on stage by five musicians, a.k.a. The Razor Blades, who pay homage to musical icons like Janis Joplin and The Doors. The vivacious performance is in English with some Spanish mixed in.
The season continues with a powerful story by Austin-based playwright Virginia Grise, Your Healing is Killing Me, running August 22-25. The play, a collaboration with Todo Dar Productions, follows a Queer, Chicana woman as she discovers the frustrating limitations of the U.S. health system. According to the season announcement, “The result is a manifesto full of clarity into the revolution that must come in order for our society to truly care for its most vulnerable.” This play is performed in English and is recommended for ages 18 and up.
Latinidades concludes with a locally created play called Ursula, showing August 29 through September 8. Written and performed by Cara Mía resident artist Frida Espinosa-Müller, Ursula was first presented as a play-in-progress during last season. It tells the journey of 7-year-old Nadia, a Honduran who was separated from her mother at the U.S. border. The play uses original music to explore Nadia’s thoughts as she waits for her asylum to be processed.
“It’s a timely and very tender story of immigration,” says Rodriguez.
Following the Festival of Solo Works, Cara Mía will continue its season with gripping stories like Swimming While Drowning (following a LGBT teen after they’ve run away from their home), and My Red Hand, My Black Hand (following a girl as she searches for belonging in her African American and Native American heritages). This is the first time either of the plays will be performed in Dallas.
Find more information on this season and buy tickets here.
