Monday night at the Jeff Awards proved to be huge for Latino theater in Chicago! Altogether, Latino theater groups and artists walked away with an historic ten Jeff Awards.
Aguijón Theater took home 2 awards for their work on 'La Gran Tirana'. Ana Santos-Sánchez won as Performer in a Principal Role - Play, and Augusto Yanacopulos won for Artistic Specialization - Properties Design.
UrbanTheater Company won 1 award for Flaco Navaja in the Short Run Production - Solo Performer category for his amazing performance in 'Evolution of a Sonero'.
Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre also took home 3 Jeffs for the piece 'Refuge': Satya Jnani Chávez - Original Music in a Play, Adolfo Romero - Artistic Specialization - Puppet Design, and Ensemble in a Play.
The Chicago Latino Theater Alliance was proud to receive 3 Non-Equity Jeff Awards for our work on Sergio Blanco's "Tebas Land". To the entire team that made "Tebas Land" possible, we thank you for your hard work, dedication, and passion. Spanish language theater has always been an integral part of Chicago's Arts and Culture, it is time it is recognized as such.
The Jeff Awards also honored our late founding Executive Director, Myrna Salazar with the Lifetime Achievement Award for her contributions to the theater industry and her advocacy for Latino artists. We’re honored to share her vision to bring Latino theater to new heights. Her advocacy led to the Jeff Awards introducing a Short Run category which opened the doors for smaller theater companies to qualify for a Jeff Award. This was also the first time ever, in the 49 years of the Jeffs, that world languages were eligible to be adjudicated in the city's top theater awards system.
We are grateful to have had Aguijón Theater, Repertorio Latino, Teatro Tariakuri, UrbanTheater Company, and Visión Latino Theater Company and many of the collaborators that support our mission present to celebrate this momentous evening. Their many years of artistic excellence have impacted Chicago beyond what an award can convey. CLATA remains committed to creating a spotlight for Chicago Latino theater and playwrights to further amplify our stories on Chicago stages.