San José, California

GAYTINO! September 16, 2010, Mexican Heritage Plaza

Teatro Visión opens it’s 27^th season with a September 16^,th 2010 special performance of GAYTINO!, the touching and hilarious father and son journey through decades of Chicano history.  Son of famed composer and singer, Lalo Guerrero, Dan Guerrero’s story of courage and emergence takes us from East L.A. to Broadway musical theater stages and is a celebration of Gay Chicanismo. Teatro Visión co-presents this 75 minute performance at the Mexican Heritage Plaza with the Mexican Heritage Corporation which kicks off its acclaimed Mariachi and Latino cultural arts festival with GAYTINO!

BLESS ME, ULTIMA: the play by Rudolfo Anaya, Directed by Elisa Marina Alvarado, March 17 – April 3, 2011, Mexican Heritage Plaza

First published in 1972, “Bless Me, Ultima” by Rudolfo Anaya has become the best selling Chicano novel of all time.  Teatro Visión’s West Coast premiere brings Anaya’s stage adaptation to life with it’s first mainstage production. BLESS ME, ULTIMA is a magical coming of age story set on the ‘llanos’ surrounding a small village in New Mexico during World War II.  The novel continues to generate controversy for holding, as a central beloved character, a curandera (traditional healer).

LOL! LATINA ON THE LOOSE!, Created and performed by Mina Olivera, directed by Alberto Barboza,  May 12 – May 22, 2011, Mexican Heritage Plaza

Teatro Visión presents Mina Olivera’s award winning LOL! Latina on the Loose!, a rollicking,  whirlwind trip from Brazil to the United States by way of Switzerland and El Salvador during which a girl becomes a woman.  As much as her  revolutionary parents try to prepare her for the rollercoaster ride of young love, bad boyfriends, discouraging teachers and dreams  of stardom, it the voice of a tough grandmother who helps her land on her feet.  Olivera’s one-woman performance is filled with energy, desire and hope.

Production information contact:  Elisa Marina Alvarado (408) 294-6678

Ticket information: Jess Moreles, (408) 294-6685

All performances will take place at the Mexican Heritage Plaza Theater

1700 Alum Rock Ave.

San José, CA 95116

Please note new Teatro Visión address:

365 So. Market Street,

San José, CA   95113

Teatro Visión to produce one of his plays this January

SAN JOSE, California – August 27, 2008 – With deep sadness, Teatro Visión recognizes the profound loss of renowned Mexican playwright Victor Hugo Rascon Banda, who passed away July 31 in Mexico City after a long battle with Leukemia.

Writer of more than 50 plays including the award-winning novel Contrabando, Rascon Banda (b. 1948) was considered one of Mexico’s most important contemporary dramatists. His work presents the complex voices of the US/Mexico border region. He addresses the complexity of languages spoken and heard on the border. A writer who wrote so eloquently of the universality of the human heart in exile, presided over the International Theater Congress of UNESCO and was president of Mexico’s Writer’s Guild Association (SOGEM). Despite his long-running battle with leukemia, Rascon Banda fought tirelessly to improve working conditions for film and television writers.

Teatro Visión is scheduled to produce in January 2009 Victor Hugo Rascon Banda’s The Woman Who Fell From the Sky, an uncompromising look at cross-cultural sensitivity from the perspective of an indigenous Mexican woman trapped in a U.S mental hospital after her language and customs are mistaken for insanity. In discussions with Rascon Banda, plans were being made for a visit and discussion with the playwright during the run.

Que En Paz Descanse (Rest in Peace)

About Teatro Visión

Teatro Visión is the only theater company on the West Coast to deliver a full season of high-quality productions that address issues concerning the Latino community in a 500-seat theater. The company uses a unique artistic approach that involves drawing from the community experience to produce plays that would not otherwise be accessible to people seeking cultural-specific or Spanish-language theater.

Media Contact:
Carlos Velázquez
408.928.5581
carlos@teatrovision.org

San José’s Teatro Visión resurrects a literary favorite and revives its most successful production ever

SAN JOSE, CA-August 21, 2008— This October, Teatro Visión, one of the nation’s premiere Latino theater companies, celebrates its 25th anniversary season by bringing back to life its highest attended and most loved play in its history, with a new twist and signaling the start of the company’s biggest celebration yet.

Teatro Visión’s 25th anniversary season kicks off with La Casa en Mango Street, a Spanish-language adaptation of Sandra Cisneros’ classic book, The House on Mango Street, running Oct. 16-Nov. 2, 2008 at the Mexican Heritage Plaza in San José. Produced almost ten years ago by Teatro Visión, this version will mark the play’s first presentation in Spanish with English subtitles.

In a series of eloquent vignettes, The House on Mango Street covers a year in the life of Esperanza, a twelve-year old girl growing up in a crowded Latino neighborhood in Chicago. Rich with images of her youth, the play vibrates with the heartbreak and joy of growing up amidst the harsh realities of the modern world.

Originally published in 1984, The House on Mango Street has sold over two million copies, entering the canon of coming-of-age books. It has been translated into over a dozen languages, most recently into Greek, Thai, and Serbo-Croatian, and has become required reading in middle schools, high schools, and universities across the country. Largely influenced by Sandra Cisneros’ own family experiences growing up in Chicago’s South Side, the book was adapted into a play by Amy Ludwig and first produced in 1992 in Chicago, IL. This production combines Ludwig’s adaptation with the Spanish translation of the book by famed Mexican journalist Elena Poniatowska.

Complimenting the language accessibility and themes of the play are a number of special events planned by Teatro Visión. Sunday, Oct. 19 will be Teatro Visión’s Domingo de Teatro, a free performance of La Casa en Mango Street which includes the post- show short performance, Somos Mujeres, Somos Vida from Teatro Familias Unidas, a theater group of immigrant women from east San José. The piece highlights both their struggles and strengths as immigrant women. There will be a pre-show performance Oct. 24 and Oct. 25 a Creative Writing and Theater workshop for women by the hybrid performance troupe Las Manas Tres. Based out of Oakland, Las Manas Tres will showcase their talents on the 24th and on the 25th will engage participants in an afternoon writing and theater workshop inspired by the texts of Sandra Cisneros.

Sandra Cisneros is a Chicago-born Latina author and poet best known for The House on Mango Street. She is also the author of Caramelo, (2002), Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories (1991), My Wicked Wicked Ways (1987) and the collection of poems, Loose Woman. She has taught as a visiting professor at a number of Universities including the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. In 1995 Cisneros was named a MacArthur Fellow and has become a lead organizer for the ‘Macarturos’, a group of Latino recipients of the award.

Wilma Bonet returns to Teatro Visión to direct. Bonet recently directed Teatro Visión’s School of the Américas by José Rivera, Dog Lady and Evening Star (2006) and The Cook (2006). Also an accomplished actress, she was a collective member of the Tony Award-winning San Francisco Mime Troupe and last seen on the Teatro Visión stage in The Lady from Havana (2003).

La Casa en Mango Street runs October 16 to November 2, 2008 Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. at the Mexican Heritage Plaza Theater in San José (1700 Alum Rock Ave, 95116). Average ticket price is $17, ranging from $10-$24, with special discounts available for groups, seniors and students. Opening Night is Saturday, October 18, 2008. Tickets can be purchased in person at the box office, by phone at (408) 272-9926 or online at www.teatrovision.org. Performances will be in Spanish with English subtitles projected near the stage.

About Teatro Visión

Teatro Visión’s mission is to celebrate culture, nurture community and inspire vision through art that moves people to feel, think and act to create a better world. Celebrating 25 years, Teatro Visión has played a leading role in the evolution of Chicano/Latino theater through producing professional, main stage work by leading Latino playwrights. Grounded by the ideals of social justice and community access, its programming seeks to share the cultural values that unite communities.

Media Contact:
Carlos Velázquez
408.928.5581
carlos@teatrovision.org

SAN JOSE, California – June 3, 2008 – For Teatro Visión, the words community, culture and vision have embodied the scope and meaning of their work as a theater company. This season, these words will also symbolize 25 years of success.

Teatro Visión, the largest regularly performing Chicano/Latino Theater Company on the West Coast, will celebrate its 25th anniversary with a powerhouse season of plays beginning in October with a Spanish adaptation of Sandra Cisneros’ classic book House on Mango Street. The theme “25 years of Culture, Community and Vision” will be the mantra for a season’s worth of forums, events and performances that culminate in a gala anniversary event on May 30, 2009.

The Woman Who Fell From the Sky, an uncompromising look at cross-cultural sensitivity from Mexico’s most celebrated playwright, Victor Hugo Rascón Bánda, will be followed by Culture Clash member Richard Montoya’s Water & Power in March, a play that will be directed by fellow Clash member Herbert Sigüenza.

Teatro Visión enters this season having posted record audiences the last two years, reflecting the high artistic quality in past performances such as Blood Wedding and School of the Américas and its outreach to non-traditional theater audiences through its student matinees, free performances and translation. Both House on Mango Street and Woman Who Fell From the Sky will be accessible to Spanish and English speaking audiences through subtitles projected above the stage. Teatro Visión’s fourth Instituto de Teatro, an intensive civic/participatory theater training that partners with social service agencies working with immigrant families, will take place in October.

Discussions and events related to the plays taking place throughout the season will be announced soon. Teatro Visión’s 25th anniversary gala will occur on Saturday, May 30, 2009 in San José.

Teatro Visión’s 2008-09 Season:

La Casa en Mango Street/ House on Mango Street

By Sandra Cisneros, adapted by Amy Ludwig with Spanish Translation by Elena Poniatowska
October 16-November 2, 2008

Teatro Visión opens its season with a revival of its most successful play ever, a Spanish-language adaptation of Sandra Cisneros’ classic book The House on Mango Street with English subtitles.
An earnest, intimate collection of vignettes from the eyes of young Esperanza as she grows up in the Latino quarter of Chicago, Teatro Visión presented the play in 1999 at the CET Theater in San José.

The Woman Who Fell From the Sky/ La Mujer Que Cayó del Cielo

By Victor Hugo Rascón Banda
January 22- February 8, 2009
From one of Mexico’s best known playwrights comes the true story of a Tarahumara woman from Mexico institutionalized for 12 years in a U.S. mental hospital after her indigenous language and culture are mistaken for insanity. An unflinching look at mental health systems and cultural insensitivity on both sides of the border, the play will be performed in English, Spanish and Tarahumara, with subtitles in English.

Water & Power

By Richard Montoya of Culture Clash
March 12-29, 2009
Part three of Culture Clash’s trilogy of plays on California Latino history, (Chavez Ravine and Zorro the others), Water & Power is a gripping look at the new Latino power structure. Twin brothers Water and Power – one a rising star state senator and the other an honored police officer – must call upon their conflicted histories to prevent their careers and the city from crashing to ruin. Produced in English and peppered with Culture Clash’s trademark satire and biting wit, Water & Power will also be directed by fellow clashero Herbert Sigüenza.

Additional Information

Individual ticket prices range from $7-$50
All performances will be held at the Mexican Heritage Plaza theater
For season ticket plans and additional performance information, call 408.272.9926 or visit www.teatrovision.org

Teatro Visión
1700 Alum Rock Ave Ste. 265
San José, CA 95116

Teatro Visión continues to grow and evolve as a theater company, and we are happy to announce that our third play of the season, Hero (April 3-27, 2008), will be performed at the arts space MACLA, located in Downtown San José. As a four-character play, Hero calls for a more intimate space and MACLA will allow for the best artistic experience possible.

For more information on our third production at MACLA, please look over the FAQ below. If you still have more questions, please feel free to contact us at Teatro@teatrovision.org

FAQ

What and where is MACLA? MACLA, (Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana) is an 18 year old contemporary arts space located at 510 South First Street in downtown San José. Presenting visual, performance and literary arts programs, MACLA has staged a number of plays from the nationally toured ¡Gaytino! Starring Dan Guerrero to Chicago’s Teatro Luna. MACLA and Teatro Visión have enjoyed a strong, longstanding partnership as two of the largest Latino arts organizations in San José. Hero will be performed at the Castellano Playhouse at MACLA, a 2400 square foot space in which we will be able to accommodate 120 people a performance.

Why are you doing a show at a different location? Teatro Visión is proud of its residency at the Mexican Heritage Plaza; its large space allows us to accommodate more audiences and provide you with a main stage theater experience. Our performance of Hero at MACLA is purely to provide the best artistic experience possible. Hero is a four character play that calls for a more intimate space. At MACLA, you will be much closer to the stage, feel the emotions of the characters and connect with the energy of the audience. We are very excited and hope this leads to the experience you expect at Teatro Visión. Our other two plays, the World Premiere of Visitor’s Guide to Arivaca (Map Not to Scale) and the California premiere of School of the Americas will still be performed at the Mexican Heritage Plaza.

Aside from the venue, how will the performance of Hero be affected? The biggest change will be the number of seats available. With only 120 seats, there is a likelihood of many sell outs. Advance ticket purchases will be the best way of assuring a seat. Our ticket prices will remain the same and we still will have our discounted preview performances and our free Domingo de Teatro performance. Again, your experience is of the utmost importance; we will be investing in quality seats, staging and other amenities that will equal the quality and professionalism you expect from us.

Can I still reserve tickets in advance? Where will I be able to purchase tickets? Yes and it is encouraged. Ticket can be purchased through our website, phone or in person at the Mexican Heritage Plaza. Tickets will not be sold at MACLA until one hour before each show, pending availability. All seats for Hero will be General Admission, meaning that there will be no assigned seats. Arriving early is now much more important if you wish to get a good seat.

I am a subscriber. How will this affect me? There are two issues that subscribers may face. Opening Night subscribers are urged to renew as soon as possible to receive an Opening Night ticket for all three plays. Once we pass the 120 mark, you may need to select a regular performance for Hero along with your Opening Night tickets for the first two shows. Another issue is arriving early. Subscribers will get priority 15 minutes before a performance, but after that we cannot guarantee your seating arrangement.

What will the parking situation and surrounding area be like? MACLA is located on 510 South First Street, right next to the San Jose Stage. There is limited parking in front and around the space. The nearest free parking garage is a few blocks north on San Carlos and Second street that is free after 6 PM and on the weekends. There are a number of places to enjoy your night out before or after the performance of Hero. Please visit the San Jose Downtown Association website for a list of restaurants, all within walking distance of MACLA.

Production at MACLA highlights Teatro Visión’s 2007-2008 Season of Plays
Season of Premieres for Teatro Visión’s 23rd year of plays

SAN JOSE, California – August 13, 2007 – Immigrants, Che Guevara, an Oscar nominated playwright, an Iraq veteran, projected translation and a new venue are the main elements that highlight a season of premieres for Teatro Visión’s 2007-2008 season of plays.

The World Premiere of Visitor’s Guide to Arivaca (Map Not to Scale), by Evangeline Ordáz, the California Premiere of School of the Americas by José Rivera and the Northern California premiere of Hero by Luis Alfaro will be presented between October 2007 and April of 2008, offering Bay Area audiences the chance to see these productions for the first time on a main stage theater.

Building off the success of last season’s Bodas de Sangre, two plays in 2007-08 will have projected translation. Visitor’s Guide to Arivaca (Map not to Scale) is a bilingual play that will have English and Spanish translation, and School of the Americas is an English only play that will have Spanish translation projected near the stage. This capability will increase accessibility to a larger portion of the community.

Hero (April 3-27, 2008), will be performed at the arts space MACLA, located in Downtown San José’s artistic South First Street. As a four-character play, Hero calls for a more intimate space and MACLA will allow for the best artistic experience possible.

This change to a 120 seat space is the first Teatro Visión performance outside of the Mexican Heritage Plaza since its move to the center as a resident theater company in 1999. Teatro Visión continues to be proud of its residency with the Mexican Heritage Plaza, which allows it to be one of the largest Chicano theater companies performing regularly in a main stage theater. The first two plays of the season will still be performed at the Plaza’s theater.

Visitor’s Guide to Arivaca (Map Not to Scale) by Evangeline Ordáz
October 25-November 11, 2007

Since 1998, over 2,000 people have died crossing the U.S/Mexico border. The town of Arivaca, located in Southern Arizona’s desert, might as well be the statistic’s ground zero. Attorney and playwright Evangeline Ordáz draws on interviews with ranchers, Tohono O’Odham tribal members, humanitarian workers, vigilantes and those who risk the perilous journey to create a fast paced, multi-dimensional look at immigration. This will be a bilingual play with English and Spanish translation projected onto stage.
School of the Americas By José Rivera
January 24-February 10, 2008

From the Oscar-nominated creator of The Motorcycle Diaries comes a stirring account of the final days of Che Guevara. While held captive in a small Bolivian schoolhouse, Che is befriended by a teacher in search of her own revolution. Based on actual events, School of the Americas will touch the revolutionary in us all. This play will be presented in English with Spanish translation. Contains strong language

Hero By Luis Alfaro
April 3-27, 2008

A young Chicano soldier is welcomed home from Iraq by a disgruntled veterano from the “real war”, a concerned brother and a tired mother. Playwright Luís Alfaro (Electricidad) blends insight and humor into a homecoming celebration where the heroes are both celebrated and disregarded. This play will be presented in English only.

Additional Information

Teatro Visión is located at the Mexican Heritage Plaza (1700 Alum Rock Ave.) in San José.

MACLA (Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana) is located at 510 South First Street in San José.

Subscriptions range from $27 to $125.

Tickets range from $7-$45

For additional performance information, call (408) 272.9926 or visit www.teatrovision.org

MEDIA CONTACT:
Carlos Velázquez
408.928.5581
carlos@teatrovision.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Federico García Lorca and Teatro Visión To Wed for Bodas de Sangre
Classic of Theater will be open to all audiences

SAN JOSE, California—February 28, 2007— Masked actors, live music, life size puppets and projected translation will enhance Teatro Visión’s spring presentation of a true classic of theater.

Teatro Visión will present the famous Spanish playwright Federico García Lorca’s Bodas de Sangre , a tale of human passion set afire on a fateful wedding day. Directed by Mark Valdéz, the play will run three weekends only from April 26-May 13, 2007 at the Mexican Heritage Plaza Theater in San José.

Federico García Lorca, a Spanish poet and dramatist, was killed by Nationalist Franco supporters in 1936 during the Spanish Civil War at age 38. Beloved in México and Latin America, this work is considered one of the best Spanish plays ever written.

Bodas de Sangre was written in 1931 and is part of his famous ‘Rural Trilogy’ of plays (Yerma and La Casa de Bernarda Alba are the others). All three center on the very contemporary theme of repression caused by social norms, originally inspired by his criticisms of Spaniard society and its rigid class structure. The play is interwoven with music, song and surreal symbolism, Teatro Visión has assembled a dynamic and talented cast to handle Lorca’s poetic words.

A tremendous response by the Chicano/Latino theater community yielded a crop of talented actors from the Bay Area whose experiences range from Teatro Visión to El Teatro Campesino. Veteran actors such as VIVIS and Rosa Maria Escalante, a longtime member of El Teatro Campesino, will share the stage with talented Bay Area professionals including Gendell Hernández, Carla Pantoja, and Hugo Carbajál, who will also be creating the masks used in the production.
Custom made masks, live music and large scale puppets will be just a few of the unique aspects of this production. The play will be presented in its original Spanish, with English translation will be projected near the stage. This is a first time event for Teatro Visión, which has experimented for the last three years with methods ranging from partial translation to rotating nights in English and Spanish to increase accessibility.

Mark Valdéz returns to Teatro Visión having directed the 2006 production Electricidad. Mark is an artist and educator based in Los Angeles. While the Associate Artistic Director for Cornerstone Theater Company, Mark directed Boda de Luna Nueva, Peter Howard’s adaptation of Blood Wedding. Recently, Mark directed The Victorian Hotel, by noted illustrator Angus Oblong, and a new, Latino version of the classic musical comedy, The Pajama Game. Mark received an MFA in Directing from UC Irvine.
Bodas de Sangre will run April 26- May 13, 2007 Thursday through Saturday evenings at 8 p.m. and Sunday afternoons at 2 p.m. at the Mexican Heritage Plaza Theater in San José (1700 Alum Rock Ave). Average ticket price is $14, ranging from $7-$40, with special discounts available for groups, seniors, and students. Tickets can be purchased in person at the box office, by phone at (408) 272-9926 or online at www.teatrovision.org. All performances will be in Spanish with English translation projected near the stage. Open to all ages.

About Teatro Vision
Teatro Visión is the only theater company on the West Coast to deliver a full season of high-quality productions that address issues concerning the Latino community in a 500-seat theater. The company uses a unique artistic approach that involves drawing from the community experience to produce plays that would not otherwise be accessible to people seeking cultural-specific or Spanish-language theater.

Media contact:
Carlos Velázquez
408.928.5581
carlos@teatrovision.org