The Talía Awards, the highest honor awarding excellence in the Performing Arts in Spanish, presented by the Academy of Performing Arts of Spain (AAEE) are back.
This year, within the 34 categories of the Talía Awards, one category will award Latino and Hispanic productions in New York: “Award for the Best Hispanic Performing Arts Production in New York”
This year, for the third time, the Queen Sofía Spanish Institute supported the AAEE and organized the Selection Committee comprised of journalists, professors, and practitioners within the field of the performing arts who provide their unique and astute perspectives in determining a winner.
The Committee is supported by honorary members who strongly support Hispanic theater in New York City: the Consulate General of New York and the Queen Sofía Spanish Institute.
This award, in addition to giving visibility to current Hispanic productions, will help foster the interest in developing future Hispanic productions in New York.
This year, the nominees are:
Vidas Rotas
Produced by COREZÓN, RADIO DRAMA NETWORK & REPERTORIO ESPAÑOL
Las Vidas Rotas follows the endearing journey of Carla, a determined Venezuelan immigrant navigating the ups and downs of life in the United States. Fueled by hope and a dream to reunite with her mother amid one of the most controversial governments in history, Carla’s story is one of resilience and love. Blending humor, drama, and deep emotion, Las Vidas Rotas is a heartfelt tribute to the immigrants who have contributed to the development and progress of the United States.
What the jury says: An effective dialectic that moves the audience in an unusual way, those who laughed thunderously end up sobbing convulsively. Achieving this effect in the theater is worthy of praise. In the case of Las vidas rotas, the praise is unquestionably attributed to two factors: a successful direction and a well-assembled cast.
La linda tierra que busco yo
Produced by PREGONES/PRTT
It’s 1950. Oscar and Gris hurtle towards Washington, DC on a mission: strike in the name of Puerto Rican independence. When their trip goes off the rails, the two men confront familiar faces from the past, new questions about the future, and a tough decision to stay the course or get off the train. If only the other passengers would stop interrupting! Loosely based on historical events and definitely based on recent ones, the beautiful land i seek (la linda tierra que busco yo) is a funny, gripping rollercoaster ride through Puerto Rico’s relationship to the United States.
What the jury says: The actors are directed with surgical precision to take advantage of timing and comic vision: Lolita Lebron, Maria from West Side Story, Alexander Hamilton, Christopher Columbus and the author himself appear in the frame, causing the static and limited physical space to overcome the monotony of its rhythmic movement. (…) Zayas takes the comedy very seriously and, thanks to this, what could be an indoctrinating text is transformed into a profound reflection sprinkled with good humor.
Bathhouse.pptx
Produced THE FLEA THEATER
BATHHOUSE.PPTX features the ‘Presenter,’ a queer latiné student, whose PowerPoint presentation on the history of cleanliness and bathing quickly starts to burst at the seams with appearances from the ghosts of a bathhouse at the end of the world, A Conquistador! Wearing One of Those Hats!, A Very Real Twink, and even Laura Linney.
What the jury says: Jesús I. Valles presents a dichotomy in history: on the one hand, he makes a historical account of the culture of public baths and, on the other, he explores what was happening in one of these spas in Los Angeles during the 70s and 80s, when the gay movement had taken over these places to turn them into havens of free expression.
The award ceremony will take place on May 12th at the Teatro Fernán Gómez in Madrid.
