2017 Siglo de Oro Drama Festival

Date: April 12, 2017
Contact: Anne Doherty-Stephan, 915-532-7273x124

Chamizal National Memorial Superintendent F. Gus Sanchez announces the lineup and other important information for this year’s 42^nd Siglo de Oro Drama Festival. The Festival’s main stage performances will take place at 7 pm each night from Wednesday, April 19^th through Saturday, April 22^nd, 2017 in the Cultural Center theater.

On Wednsday, April 19^th at 7 pm, The Illinois State University School of Theatre and Dance will open this year’s Festival with The Heresy of Love. This modern play by Helen Edmundson tells the story of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, a nun living in what was then New Spain, who contributed to both Spanish Golden Age and early Mexican literature. Illinois State University School of Theatre and Dance performers will present The Heresy of Love earlier in the day to a full theater of local high school students in addition to their evening performance for the general public.

On Thursday, April 20^th at 7 pm, EFE Tres Teatro and Cabaret Misterio present a performance of their original work ¿Qué con Quique Quinto? The two companies, both from Mexico City, Mexico, have combined their distinctive qualities to create this play which is loosely based on Shakespeare’s Henry V. Having performed in last year’s festival, EFE Tres Teatro returns with their characteristic ñaque style in which a couple of actors play many roles, and this year they add to that Cabaret Misterio’s hallmark of live music and humor to provide us with a performance that entertains while still delivering social commentary typical of that period yet appropriate still today.

On Friday, April 21^st at 7 pm, Compañía de Teatro Reymala, from the Canary Islands, makes their debut performance at Chamizal National Memorial with La Reunión de los Zanni which is based in the Italian commedia dell’arte of the same time period. Viewers can expect to recognize typical character types with their masks and costumes as well as other characteristics of Siglo de Oro period theater. Reymala puts a new spin on the theatrical conflicts between masters and servants, demonstrating in a fresh, elegant and humorous way that the disputes of the past, when seen through a modern lens, are the same as the ones today.

On Saturday, April 22^nd at 7 pm, the Festival closes with a traditional Spanish Golden Age piece presented by Morfeo Teatro, a company returning to perform from Burgos, Spain. The company’s adaptation of El Retablo de las Maravillas by Miguel de Cervantes includes a striking set based on Picasso’s Guernica. Their cast for this performance also includes, in the role of Cervantes, the seasoned Joan Llaneras who has starred on the stage, in television and in film.

Tickets are free and available first come, first served beginning at 6 pm each evening for that night’s performance only. Please note that the Cultural Center regularly closes at 5 pm but will reopen at 6 pm when ticket distribution begins. All attendees must be present to receive a ticket. Theater doors open for general seating at 6:30 pm.

For more information, please contact [e-mail] or at 915-532-7273 ext.124. For general information and our calendar of events, visit our website, www.nps.gov/chamizal.

Chamizal National Memorial: El Paso’s national park, where history and culture come to life.