The Esperanza Arts Center (EAC) has announced its 2022-2023 season. This year the EAC will present its annual VOCES series highlighting the artists and traditions of the Latin Caribbean, with a rich array of family and community events throughout the year. The 2022-2023 season also marks the official launch of EAC’s new Arte en las Calles (Street Art) series, bringing the power of art beyond four walls with outdoor events in the Hunting Park neighborhood, featuring performances from a strong lineup of local Latin artists.
“We are excited to once again offer a full season of affordable, pay-as-you-go events and performances both for and reflective of the community we serve, following two years of primarily recorded productions and live presentations I am especially excited to showcase the artists and traditions of the Latin Caribbean and to launch the first full season of our new outdoor neighborhood series, Arte en las Calles after piloting the program with some great events this spring and last summer, including Wawa Welcome America’s first Latino event. The 22/23 will also mark our first foray into the world of comedy with a school/neighborhood residency and several shows directed and curated by Artist- In-Residence, comedian Che Guerrero. You won it, I don’t want to lose it.” – Bill Rhoads, Senior Vice President, Esperanza Arts Center.
“The Esperanza Center for the Arts continues to fulfill the purpose for which it was established just four years ago – to be a premier center for the Latino performing arts in Philadelphia,” Rev. Luis Cortés, Jr. CEO of Esperanza. “I am always inspired by the unique artistic collaborations and how the center is a place to share our culture and stories, build with each other and equip the next generation of artists. Every night is unforgettable. Come to experience and support hope as it blossoms on stage.”
EAC’s season opener and first Arte en las Calles event of the new year will take place on September 10 – a free season opener in partnership with Opera Philadelphia featuring performances by local Latino artists, Latino food, local business market and activities for all. family. Our opener will kick off a multifaceted season that includes several world premieres; and performances by the Philadelphia Ballet, Orchestra 2001, Astral Artists, Dolce Suono, Javier Ávila, Piffaro, Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers, and Guggenheim Fellow and MacArthur Genius Latin jazz sensation Miguel Zenón.
Esperanza Arts Center 2022/2023 Season Calendar
9/10/2022, 5:30 p.m
street art
Opera in the Park, with Opera Philadelphia
LOCATION: Esperanza Parking Lot (Bristol Street entrance, between 3rd and 5th)
Bring the whole family for an evening of Latin food, face painting, local business market, bilingual comedy with Che Guerrero, Live Latin Jazz, and an outdoor high-definition performance of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro with Spanish subtitles.
9/30/22, 7:30 p.m
From near
Philadelphia Ballet
EAC opens our season 22/23 with an evening of intimate performances and conversations with Philadelphia Ballet’s principal Latin dancers.
10/7/22, 7:30 p.m
In Person and Broadcast Live
The YOU series
iConnections! Cuba
Orchestra 2001
The 2001 Orchestra continues its annual iConexiones! series at Esperanza Arts Center this season featuring orchestral and chamber music by Cuban composers and the world premiere of a new work.
11/18/22, 7:30 p.m
In Person and Broadcast Live
LatinX Composers/Astral
Astral Artists
Astral Artist’s roster of young virtuosos will perform chamber music by Latin American composers, including the world premiere of a new work by Sergio Delgado Rodriguez.
12/3/22, 7:30 p.m
Music in your hands
Sweet sound
Hailed as “an adventurous ensemble” (The New York Times) and “One of the most dynamic groups in the US” (The Huffington Post), the Dolce Suono ensemble will present a program of baroque masterpieces by Latin composers.
12/8/22, 7:30 p.m
The YOU series
Miguel Zeno
Latin jazz
Described as a composer who is “re-establishing the artistic, cultural and social tradition of jazz by creating an entirely new jazz language for the 21st century,” the multiple Grammy nominee, MacArthur Genius and Guggenheim Fellow, saxophonist and composer of jazz, Miguel Zenón. will lead a show of classic and original Latin Jazz with his ensemble.
12/16/22, 7:30 p.m
In Person and Broadcast Live
Christmas in the Barrio
Community Holiday Party
A North Philly tradition, Esperanza’s annual community Christmas celebration returns to Teatro Esperanza with an evening of Christmas carols, traditional Latin music and dance, festive food, face painting and fun activities for the whole family.
28.01.23, 19:30
The YOU series
Perfect Latino
Javier Avila
Award-winning poet, actor and educator Javier Ávila returns to Esperanza Arts Center with his new one-man show, The Perfect Latino, which combines comedy and poetry to explore the Latino American experience. The show draws on the arts, education and entertainment to deliver a message about diversity, inclusion, race and representation.
17.02.23, 19:30
In Person and Broadcast Live
The YOU series
Get up!
Bilingual comedy with Che Guerrero
Esperanza Arts Center Artist-In-Residence Dominican-American comedian, playwright and Tik-Tok sensation Che Guerrero hosts an evening of bilingual stand-up comedy featuring up-and-coming Latino comedians.
24.03.23, 19:30
The YOU series
Falling to the ground
Show and Talk
Through everyday footage of everyday life in post-Hurricane María Puerto Rico, LANDFALL is a cautionary tale for our time. Set against the backdrop of the protests that toppled the governor of the American colony in 2019, the film offers a prismatic portrait of collective trauma and resistance. Featuring intimate encounters with Puerto Ricans as well as newcomers flooding the island, LANDFALL reflects on an issue of contemporary global importance: when the world falls apart, who do we become?
Post-show talk and conversation with Associate Producer/Narrator, Lale Namerrow Pastor.
4/22/23, 7:30 p.m
In Person and Broadcast Live
Kun-Yang Lin / The Dancers
Keila Perez-Vega
KYL/D returns to the Teatro stage with a program spotlighting the performances and choreography of the company’s ballerina, Keila Perez-Vega.
5/12/23, 7:30 p.m
Piffaro
Renaissance music from South America
The written tradition of an unaccompanied melody goes back centuries. Piffaro and AMLA will explore and perform sacred and secular music from 16th and 17th century Peru, Paraguay and Bolivia for singers, winds and plucked strings.
6/10/23, 10:30am
The YOU series
Stories from the Caribbean
History and Activities with Dr. Stephanie Brown
Enjoy a morning of games, balloons, stories and other fun activities as Philadelphia-based children’s author Stephanie Brown reads her new book and other children’s stories by Caribbean writers.
Moderated audience conversations with the artists follow all performances.
The shows will be presented with limited capacity in the Theater. Social distancing and masks recommended throughout the event, regardless of vaccination status. For Esperanza’s current COVID safety policies and restrictions, visit https://cloud.broadwayworld.com/rec/ticketclick.cfm?fromlink=2193711®id=3&articlelink=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.esperanza.us? utm_source=BWWm_medium=&ut referral&utm_campaign=article&utm_content=bottombuybutton1/esperanza-visitor/.
Esperanza Arts Center. Guided by our core values of trust, excellence and integrity, Esperanza Arts Center (EAC) will touch the lives of and foster positive social change in the Hunting Park neighborhood and Latino community through the arts. The EAC will be the center for Latino arts and culture in the Philadelphia region – presenting music, dance, theater, cinema and visual art from Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as a wide spectrum of traditions from around the world.
Che Guerrero – EAC Artist-In-Residence
Dominican-American comedian, playwright and Tik-Tok sensation Che Guerrero has spent 16 years tackling race, politics and family through stand-up comedy. Che’s style is rooted in his experiences growing up undocumented. A revolutionary voice in the modern comedy scene, his sense of humor and command of the stage is the result of obstacles often unseen by the average American. He has been a contributing writer to MTV and has appeared on several national media outlets, including AXS TV’s Gotham Comedy Live among a roster of world-renowned comedians. In 2018 he was on 50 Central on BET as part of their Artist Spotlight series. He also performed at the NXNE Comedy Film and Music Festival as well as The Laughing Skull Comedy Festival. Che is a staple on the New York comedy circuit. He has been featured in Time Out NY’s Joke of the Week, which showcased his consummate professionalism as a joke writer and a familiar face in the city’s comedy clubs. He was also asked to perform at the Hoboken Comedy Festival three years in a row alongside some of the most prolific local comedians in the industry. His album “Thank You, It’s My Time” is in constant rotation on Sirius XM radio. His 5-star rated podcast American Immigrant can be heard on iTunes and stitcher.
Esperanza is a national community-based social benefit organization founded in 1987 by Reverend Luis Cortés Jr., and the Hispanic Clergy of Philadelphia and Vicinity with the biblical mandate to serve and advocate for “the least of these” (Matthew 25: 40). . Beginning with a local initiative, with targeted programs to address the unmet needs of North Philadelphia’s Hispanic community, Rev. Cortés is now sought out by national and international leaders alike on issues of economic and workforce development, housing, immigration and education. Under his leadership, Esperanza has grown from a small 20-person operation to a $52 million organization with more than 500 employees. For more information, please visit www.esperanza.us.
