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LatinUs Theater Company Debuts in Cleveland

A new theater group plans to introduce itself to the community in a big way on Saturday.

For the past month, about a dozen members of the newly formed LatinUs Theater Company have been creating big heads, or "cabezudos," to wear while performing at summer festivals.

“This is really traditional from Spain and all Latin America. At all summer festivals there’s always the big heads that characterize the people,” said LatinUs founder and executive director Monica Torres.

The non-profit began making the big heads with its first grant from Neighborhood Connections and Cuyahoga Arts and Culture. Actors will perform wearing six big heads in Cleveland on Saturday at Parade the Circle and La Placita, a monthly market in the Clark-Fulton neighborhood. 

“We’re this group of people that love the theatre and Hispanic/Latinos from different countries,” Torres said. “We were involved in some kind of theater already, but we want to have more freedom to really show what it means to have a good theater from a Hispanic group.”

The group is also working on a short play to perform in the fall at Cleveland State University.

Anyone who is interested in theater and speaks Spanish is welcome to join.

The long-term goal is to one day have their own theater space, Torres said.

Three of the big heads LatinUs created for summer performances. [photo courtesy: Monica Torres]

 

Carrie Wise is the deputy editor of arts and culture at Ideastream Public Media.