UB to Present IACE Performing Arts Series: Cuba

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- IACE International Artistic and Cultural Exchange Program of the Department of Theatre and Dance, the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures, and the Center For The Arts, in collaboration with Antecesores, will present IACE Performing Arts Series: Cuba, which will showcase Teatro Galiano 108 in La Virgen Triste (Sad Virgin) on at 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 21 in the Drama Theatre in the Center for the Arts on the UB North (Amherst) Campus. The event is free and open to the public. Tickets will be available at the door one hour prior to the show on a first come first serve basis. Seating is limited. The performance will be in Spanish.

Following its acclaimed international tour, this production of La Virgen Triste is presented at UB in celebration of the September National Hispanic Heritage Month, The Year of the Languages and the UB Gender Week. UB's Michele Bewley, Thomas B. Burrows, Jose Buscaglia, Maria S. Horne and Margarita Vargas, and Antecesores' Sheila M. Lopez., are members of the Ad-Hoc Committee for this highlight event presentation.

Since its founding in Havana in 1990, Teatro Galiano 108 has become one of the most acclaimed Cuban troupes of the decade and has earned major awards at renowned international festivals in Europe, Africa and the Americas. The company focuses its research on recapturing the purest values, and the richness and theatricality that are present at the roots of the Afro-Cuban culture from which it draws its inspiration. La Virgen Triste, written by Elizabeth Mena, directed by Jose Gonzalez and performed by Vivian Acosta, centers on the passion of Juana Borrero, one of the most exceptional figures of Cuban arts and letters of the 19th century. The play will be performed in Spanish and will be followed by a bilingual Q&A session with the artists.

Teatro Galiano108's residency at UB is the opening event for IACE International Season 2005-2006, which continues the annual international residency exchanges IACE started in 1995. During this week long residency the renowned artists of Teatro Galiano 108 will engage in a wide variety of artistic, academic and cultural activities and as part of the IACE Community Outreach Program, in close collaboration with Antecesores, an additional school-time performance will be presented at 10 a.m. on Sept. 22 in same location. This sold-out event will bring young people of diverse backgrounds together to increase awareness of diversity in lives and communities. There will also be a post performance Q&A with the artists and Antecesores' Executive Director. Antecesores is a not for profit organization that aims to advance children's knowledge about Latino ancestral cultures and heritage; to nurture children's skills to acknowledge others and recognize themselves; and to celebrate among all people the richness of Latino cultures using theater as a medium for exploration, expression and communication.

Sponsors of both performances and residency are Antecesores, CELCIT Latin American Center for Theatre Research and Creation, Center for the Arts, Council of International Studies and Programs, Cuban and Caribbean Programs, Department of Romance Languages and Literatures, IACE International Artistic and Cultural Exchange Program of the Department of Theatre and Dance, IREWG Institute for Research and Education on Women and Gender, James McNulty Chair of English, Julian Park Chair of Comparative Literature., Melodia E. Jones Chair of French, Office of the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Office of the Vice Provost for International Education, Samuel P. Capen Chair of American Culture, Samuel P. Capen Chair of Poetry and Humanities, and The Humanities Center.

The company, founded in Havana in 1990, is devoted to the study of Afro-Cuban culture, from which it draws inspiration for its plays. Since its inception, Galiano 108 has earned major awards at prestigious national and international festivals, becoming one of the most acclaimed Cuban troupes of the decade in Europe, Africa and the Americas. The group has conducted successful tours through Spain, Portugal, Egypt, Brazil, Costa Rica, Bolivia and Mexico and participated in such international festivals as Cairo's Experimental Theatre Festival, where it won the Best Performance Award, the Ibero-American Theatre Festival at Cadiz, the Three Continents Theatre Festival at Aguimes, Canary Islands, as well as festivals in Costa Rica, Almada and Oporto in Portugal, Sao Paulo and Porto Alegre in Brazil and the Autumn Festival in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, as well as Miami's International Hispanic Theatre Festival.