CST and Chicago Latino Theater Alliance Present “Destinos, 7th Chicago International Latino Theater Festival”

This fall, Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) and the Chicago Latino Theater Alliance (CLATA) present two international limited engagements in partnership as part of Destinos, 7th Chicago International Latino Theater Festival, a cultural high point of Latino Heritage Month showcasing Latine theater artists and companies from Chicago, the US, and Latin America. Azira’i from Brazil will run October 24-27, 2024, and La Memoria de los Sésiles from Chile runs October 31-November 3, 2024, both in the Upstairs Studio.

“It is a huge pleasure to be partnering with CLATA to bring these two beautiful and thought-provoking pieces of work to CST as part of this year’s Destinos,” said CST’s artistic director Edward Hall. “Hearing these voices in our city represents such an important part of experiencing the world from every standpoint possible through the power of live theater. We are proud to continue to be part of this joyful International Festival as Chicago begins a true celebration of Latino Theater.”

“CLATA is proud to partner with CST to bring you two equally beautiful and strikingly different musical productions, La Memoria de los Sésiles by Astillero Teatro from Chile and Azira’i by Sarau Cultura Brasileira from Brazil,” shared CLATA’s executive director Jorge Valdivia. “While La Memoria de los Sésiles is visually stunning and makes us reflect on the environment in a way that families, adults, and children can appreciate, Azira’i makes us appreciate the strong women in our lives, Indigenous women, who defy the norms that men impose. We hope you’ll join us and celebrate Latino history month with us.”

From Brazil’s Sarau Cultura Brasileira, Azira’i, Um musical de memórias is a biographical play by Indigenous performer Zahy Tentehar. The play examines her relationship with her mother, Azira’i, the first female shaman from the Cana Brava reserve and supreme shaman of the Tentehar peoples. Azira’i is performed in Portuguese and Ze’eng eté with projected English translation.

From Chile’s Astillero Teatro, La Memoria de los Sésiles takes place in a not too-distant future where all the trees have been cut down by an uncontrolled real estate expansion. Sacha, an old hermit, embarks on a journey deep underground in the face of the inevitable destruction of his home. Accompanied by Tujo, a rebellious young environmentalist, Sacha goes in search of the last living roots to make the forest emerge again. La Memoria de los Sésiles is performed in Spanish with projected English translation, and in addition to the public performances, there will be one student matinee. 

CLATA will also offer two free workshops as part of Intercambios, a new series of workshops and seminars as part of Destinos. “Navigating the Creative Process” will be facilitated by Azira’i’s creative team on Saturday, October 26, 2024, from 1:30-3:00 p.m., and will explore all the stages of the show’s creative and production process, from conceptualization, through the design and creation, to the artistic updates they continue to make to the work today.

In “Building a Framework for the Development of Family Theater,” Astillero Teatro will explore the implementation and development of methodological strategies in the field of theatrical work based on the question, “How can we create family theater plays using contingency as a starting point?” This workshop seeks to propose new perspectives on what, how, and why to create in this type of language and will be held Saturday, November 2, 2024, from 12:00-2:00 p.m.

Registration for these events and additional information on Destinos, 7th Chicago International Latino Theater Festival is available at www.chicagoshakes.com.