Destinos Chicago International Latino Theater Festival marks 5 years

CHICAGO (WLS) -- The Destinos Chicago International Latino Theater Festival is celebrating five years showcasing the creativity and talents of the Latino community on stage.

"We are here in Chicago. We are one in three people in the city, so we need to have had our arts really showcase that," said Sara Carranza, the Chicago Latino Theater Alliance director of communications.

"It is important to see yourself reflected on stage, reflected behind the scenes, know that are other folks like you that are doing this work that you love to do as well as to present it to everyone in the city," said Marcela Muñoz, the Aguijón Theater managing and co-artistic director.

The festival has 13 productions. Chicago native and actress Paloma Nozicka is premiering her first play "Enough to Let the Light In." It's a 90-minute psychological thriller about love, loss and truth produced by the Latino theater company Teatro Vista.

"It it is amazing the way it lined up and the fact that we have all Latino cast. We have an Afro Latino actress," Nozicka said.

"It is very important to support anything that tells the story of your people and the story of your culture," said Lorena Diaz, the co-artistic director at Teatro Visto.

The Chicago Latino Theater Alliance produces the annual festival. And this year, it's dedicated to the alliance's former executive director and co-founder Myrna Salazar, who passed away unexpectedly last month.

"She was a force. She was a mother to Latino theater. But the thing that is really holding everything together is knowing that she would want this festival to continue," Carranza said.

Chicago is home to more than 200 theaters, but only a handful identify as Latino-centered.

Aguijón Theater is one of the festival venues. It's the oldest Latino theater in the city, located in the Belmont-Cragin neighborhood.

"One of the great things about the festival is that we are letting folks know that, hey. there's theaters all over the city. There is art all over the city. Come check it out," Muñoz said.

The festival runs until October 16. And organizers are hoping that people will support Latino theaters all year long, not just during Hispanic Heritage Month.