Theater: The Thalia Theater
Location: Sunnyside, New York
Website: https://thaliatheatre.org
The Thalia Theater was founded 1977. It is the first and only bilingual Hispanic theatre in Queens. They serve about one million hispanics from a multitude of backgrounds. They have produced over 215 Spanish plays, Spanish operettas, and folklore shows of music and dance. The Spanish theater was established to serve the cultural needs of the diverse and rapidly growing Hispanic community that the Queens neighborhood offered. The mission of Thalia is “to celebrate and promote the vibrancy and diversity of Spanish and Latin American culture and heritage with unique productions of theatre, music and dance”. They not only do this through their productions but they are currently running a bilingual workshop for kids and free outdoor festivals featuring Spanish and Latinx heritage.
Theater: Teatro Ecas
Location: Providence, Rhode Island
Website: https://www.teatroecas.org
Teatro Ecas is a Spanish-speaking theater company in Providence, Rhode Island, and was founded in 1997. Their push to start this theater was because they felt like Spanish-speaking people were not being represented enough in the theater. They believe that Spanish theater will help youth understand the roots and history of their culture through performances, plays, and story-telling. They also have educational programs for Latino youth that include acting, dancing, participating in plays, voice lessons, etc. They produce shows in Spanish, that are representative of Spanish cultures and history.
