Esperanza Arts Center

Nichos Reading and Talk Back
2024-04-07 18:00 - 20:00 (America/New_York) | The Drake, 302 S Hicks St, Philadelphia, PA, 19102, United States
Lectura y Conversación de Nichos

Entradas: Gratis
Domingo, 7 de abril a las 6pm
The Drake – 302 S Hicks St, Philadelphia, PA 19102

Poética, política, chistosa y dolorosa. Únase a nosotros para escuchar la versión final de la obra estreno mundial, Nichos. Basada en entrevistas con la comunidad migrante en Philadelphia y sus familias en México, Nichos sigue tres historias entrelazadas a través de la historia y el tiempo de México. Celebrando las complejidades, el color y la magia del país.

Nichos Reading and Talk Back

Tickets: Free
Sunday, April 7th at 6pm
The Drake – 302 S Hicks St, Philadelphia, PA 19102

Poetic, political, humorous, and painful. Join us to listen to our final version of the world premiere play, Nichos. Based on interviews with the migrant community in Philly and their families in Mexico, Nichos follows three intertwined stories throughout Mexico’s history and time. Celebrating the country’s complexities, color, and magic.

Nichos has been supported by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage.

Poesía en Movimiento Bailando con Maria
2024-03-23 15:00 - 17:00
Poesía en Movimiento Bailando con Maria
WORLD PREMIERE

Philadelphia Ballet II

Saturday, March 23, 2024
3:00pm

TEATRO ESPERANZA
General Admission: $15, Adults
Children, Students & Seniors FREE

Living in Mexico, young Maria wants to carve her own path in life. Her parents dream of her becoming a doctor or a soccer player, but dance is the only passion that lives in Maria’s heart. Join Maria as her dreams take her across stages in Latin America where she performs cultural dances from Mexican folk dance, flamenco, tango, salsa, and more.

Choreographed by Philadelphia Ballet II Director, Eddy Tovar, and narrated by Kela Cordova.

Part of VOCES Series 23/24

Stand Up! Latina Comics
2024-03-15 19:30 - 21:30
Stand Up! Latina Comics
with Che Guerrero
Performance in SPANISH

Friday, March 15, 2024
7:30pm

TEATRO ESPERANZA
General Admission: $15, Adults
Students & Seniors FREE

Comedian, playwright, and writer Che Guerrero returns to the Esperanza Theater to present an evening of comedy featuring top Latina comedians, such as Laura Bolívar, Natalia de los Santos, and Audrey Mora. Join us for a night full of laughter!

Part of VOCES Series 23/24

LatinX Composers – Astral Artists
2024-02-16 18:30 - 20:30
LatinX Composers – Astral Artists
Daniel de Jesus WORLD PREMIERE

Friday, February 16, 2024
6:30pm

TEATRO ESPERANZA
General Admission: $15, Adults
Students & Seniors FREE

Astral Artist’s roster of emerging virtuosos returns to the Teatro with chamber music by Latin American composers, including the world premiere of a new work by Daniel de Jesus.

Program
Daniel de Jesús – Interview *World Premiere* (3 Solo Movements)
Steven Gerber – Three Folk Song Transformations (Trio)
Germán Darío Pérez (Colombia) Ancestro – Bambuco (Piano Solo)
Remo Pignoni (Argentina) Por el sur – Huella (Piano Solo)
Moisés Moleiro (Venezuela) Joropo (Piano Solo)
Alberto Ginastera (Argentina) – Pameana Op. 16 (Violin/Piano Duo)
Astor Piazzolla (Argentina) – Le Grand Tango (Cello/Piano Duo)

Performers
Katie Hyun, violin
Luiz Fernando Venturelli, cello
Priscila Navarro, piano

Retrato: Suzzette Ortiz
2024-01-27 19:30 - 21:30
Retrato: Suzzette Ortiz
EAC 2023/2024 Artist In Residence

Saturday, January 27, 2024
7:30pm

TEATRO ESPERANZA
General Admission: $15, Adults
Students & Seniors FREE

Multifaceted composer and performer, Suzzette Ortiz, curates and performs a kaleidoscopic retrospective of her work spanning Classical, Latin, Choral Music, and Jazz featuring young performers and internationally celebrated musicians.

Part of VOCES Series 23/24

Little Mass for Christmas
2023-12-16 19:30 - 21:30
Little Mass for Christmas – WORLD PREMIERE
Vivaldi – Gloria in D Major, RV 589
Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia
Saturday, December 16, 2023
7:30pm

TEATRO ESPERANZA
General Admission: $15, Adults
Students & Seniors FREE
Composer Evan Williams conducts the world premiere of his Baroque and Medieval-inspired “A Little Mass for Christmas.” Countertenor Reginald Mobley leads a chorus of voices in this intimate interpretation of ancient text and musical tradition and features alongside soprano Sage DeAgro-Ruopp as soloist in Vivaldi’s Gloria in D Major, RV 589.
This performance is part of “Recomposing the Past: An African American Perspective” and has been supported by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage

Christmas in the Barrio
2023-12-09 19:00 - 21:00
Christmas in the Barrio
Community Holiday Celebration

Saturday, December 9, 2023
7:00pm

TEATRO ESPERANZA
General Admission: FREE

A North Philly tradition, Esperanza’s annual Christmas celebration for the community returns to Teatro Esperanza! Join us for an evening of Christmas caroling, traditional Latino music and dance, festive food, face-painting, and fun activities for the entire family.

SALVATION ARMY TOY DRIVE!
Bring a new, unwrapped toy to bless a family this Christmas.

Galeria Esperanza Grand Opening
2023-12-08 17:00 - 20:00
Join us to celebrate the unveiling of Galería Esperanza, the newest addition to the Esperanza Arts Center.
This gallery brings Latin arts and culture closer to our community.
Get an exclusive first look at “Sueño de Reyes” by the renowned Puerto Rican artist, Tato González.

Friday, Dec 8, 2023 | 5-8 PM | Esperanza
Immerse yourself in Puerto Rican music, enjoy refreshments, and join us in celebrating our rich cultural traditions.
This event is free and open to everyone!

Register HERE

Latina Children’s Stories
2023-11-18 15:00 - 17:00
Latina Children’s Stories
Storytime with Stephanie Brown

Saturday, November 18, 2023
3:00pm

TEATRO ESPERANZA
General Admission: $5, Adults
Children & Seniors FREE

Bring the whole family for games, balloons, storytime, and other fun activities! Philadelphia-based children’s author, Dr. Stephanie Brown, reads stories for children featuring female characters and writers from Latin America.

Part of VOCES Series 23/24

¡Conexiones! Puerto Rico
2023-10-27 19:30 - 21:00
¡Conexiones! Puerto Rico
Orchestra 2001: Roberto Sierra WORLD PREMIERE

Friday, October 27, 2023
7:30pm

TEATRO ESPERANZA
General Admission: $15
Students & Seniors FREE

Orchestra 2001 continues its annual ¡Conexiones! series at Esperanza Arts Center this season featuring contemporary classical music from Puerto Rico. The concert will include the world premiere of Latin Grammy-winning composer Roberto Sierra’s “Canciones de amor” based on poetry of Julia de Burgos; and works by composer and multi-instrumentalist Angélica Negrón.

Part of VOCES Series 23/24

Nichos Community Workshop
2023-09-18 18:00 - 19:30, 2023-09-04 17:00 - 19:30 | Juntos, 600 Washington Ave, Unit 18UA, Philadelphia, PA, 19147, United States
We invite you to participate in an exciting day of creating masks, music and dance, and exploring the cultural roots that strengthen the Mexican identity.
FREE Event for ALL ages
Food will be provided.

To register & for more information:
WhatsApp or Call Tanaquil Marquez 301-312-3792

Arte en las Calles
2023-09-16 18:00 - 21:30
OPERA IN THE PARK
6:00pm – 9:30pm, Saturday, September 16, 2023
Esperanza Parking Lot (entrance on 4th & Bristol Street)
Bring the whole family for an evening of live performances, Latin music, food trucks, and opera on the big screen at Esperanza!
6:00 Local business fair with face painting, balloon art, and more
7:00 Live performances by Magdaliz and Her Latin Ensemble Crisol, soprano Ethel Trujillo, pianist Ting Ting Wong, and others
7:30 Outdoor movie screening of Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel (Spanish and English subtitles)
In Opera Ithaca’s 90-minute adaptation of Engelbert Humperdinck’s classic, two children lost in the woods are captured by a celebrity chef witch, who hosts the kids on her cooking show as both the guest stars…and the main ingredients.
Public Transportation: Esperanza is located along SEPTA Bus Line 47.
Parking: Free parking available
Free and open to the public.

Registration encouraged but not required.
Arte en las Calles – Opera in the Park is a collaboration between Esperanza Arts Center and Opera Philadelphia.

Fitness to Fly Community Celebration
2023-06-22 15:00 - 20:00
Esperanza Arts Center, Wawa & The Philadelphia Eagles present

Fitness to Fly Community Celebration
Wawa Welcome America Festival – Arte en las Calles

Thursday, June 22, 2023, 3:00pm-8:00pm
Esperanza Parking Lot + Gymnasium

FREE ADMISSION

Celebrate wellness and summer fun at Esperanza Arts Center!

Join the Philadelphia Eagles for fitness clinics, exercise sessions and dance instruction. Wawa nutritionists will share healthy eating tips, and a Wawa smoothie and snack truck will provide free snacks, refreshments, and body fuel all afternoon – including Popcorn for the People which supports jobs for individuals with autism.

Step outside into Esperanza’s parking lot for live salsa music and dancing with Lia Montalvo Y Su Orquesta, Latin food, face-painting, balloons, and a Night Market featuring local businesses and services, hosted by Rumba 106.1 FM.

Stories from the Caribbean
2023-06-10 10:30 - 12:30
Storytime and Activities with Dr. Stephanie Brown
Bring the whole family for games, balloons, storytime, and other fun activities, as Philadelphia-based children’s author, Stephanie Brown, reads her new book and other stories for children by writers from the Caribbean.
Performances will be presented at limited capacity in the Teatro. Social distancing and masks recommended throughout the event regardless of vaccination status. For Esperanza’s current COVID safety policies and restrictions, visit https://www.esperanza.us/esperanza-visitor/.

Cinderella/Cenicienta
2023-05-13 13:00 - 15:00
International Ballet Exchange and partners Esperanza Arts Center and Taller Puertorriqueño present the world premiere of a new ballet by Christina Castro-Tauser, Cinderella/Cenicienta, a delightful new take on the charming fairy tale favorite.
One performance only: Saturday, May 13, 1pm, at Teatro Esperanza (4261 N. 5th Street, Philadelphia, 19140). Family fun activities pre-show 11:45-12:45.
ALL TICKETS: $15. Free parking.

Piffaro
2023-05-12 19:30 - 21:30
Renaissance Music from South America
The written tradition of a melody without accompaniment 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.

Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers
2023-04-22 19:30 - 21:30
KYL/D returns to the Teatro stage with a program that spotlights performances by company dancer, Keila Perez-Vega – featuring a post-performance interactive salsa lesson led by Keila Perez-Vega.
Social distancing and masks welcome but not required. For Esperanza’s current COVID safety policies and restrictions, visit https://www.esperanza.us/esperanza-visitor/.
Tickets
In Person
Livestream

Landfall
2023-03-24 19:30 - 21:30
Screening and Conversation
Through shard-like glimpses of everyday life in post-Hurricane María Puerto Rico, LANDFALL is a cautionary tale for our times. Set against the backdrop of protests that toppled the US colony’s governor in 2019, the film offers a prismatic portrait of collective trauma and resistance. Featuring intimate encounters with Puerto Ricans as well as the newcomers flooding the island, LANDFALL reflects on a question of contemporary global relevance: when the world falls apart, who do we become?
Post-screening conversation and talkback with Associate Producer/Narrator, Lale Namerrow Pastor.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1RAKj25efs
Performances will be presented at limited capacity in the Teatro. Social distancing and masks recommended throughout the event regardless of vaccination status. For Esperanza’s current COVID safety policies and restrictions, visit https://www.esperanza.us/esperanza-visitor/.

Eastern University Theatre Department Presents Working, A Musical
2023-03-19 15:00 - 17:00
Eastern University’s Theatre department is proud to present Working, a musical based on the book by Studs Terkel, adapted by Stephen Schwartz and Nina Faso. The musical features songs from Craig Carnelia, Micki Grant, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Mary Rodgers and Susan Birkenhead, Stephen Schwartz, and James Taylor.
Studs Terkel explains that Working is about a search “for daily meaning as well as daily bread, for recognition as well as cash . . . for a sort of life rather than a Monday through Friday sort of dying. Perhaps immortality too, is part of the quest. To be remembered was the wish, spoken and unspoken, of the heroes and heroines of this book.”
That book is now a musical with monologues created from interviews with local community members including Sergeant Santiago, a Philadelphia police officer and part-time English professor at Esperanza College. Sergeant Santiago has worked the streets for over a decade and his passion for the Kensington and Esperanza community shines through even the darkest night shift.
The cast and crew created a localized version of the musical featuring a cast of 17 undergraduate students who bring to life the difficult, honest, and hilarious facets of working in America over the last several decades. A five-person pit band composed of students and local musicians makes for a highly entertaining afternoon of theatre.
Working is a family-friendly musical.
In person tickets are $5 for general admission and free for seniors students. You may also live-stream this performance by purchasing tickets here.

Stand Up!
2023-02-17 19:30 - 21:30
Latino Comedians Rojo Perez, with Che Guerrero, Laura Bolivar, and Jesse Pedraza
Friday, February 17, 2023, 7:30pm-9:00pm
TEATRO ESPERANZA
$10, General Admission
Students & Seniors FREE
Pay As You Wish Livestream
Esperanza Arts Center Artist-In-Residence comedian, playwright, and Tik-Tok sensation, Che Guerrero hosts an evening of bilingual stand-up comedy featuring Rojo Perez, with Laura Bolivar and Jesse Pedraza.
Social distancing is recommended and masks are welcome throughout the event regardless of vaccination status. For Esperanza’s current COVID safety policies and restrictions, visit https://www.esperanza.us/esperanza-visitor/.
Tickets
In Person
Livestream

The Perfect Latino
2023-01-28 19:30 - 21:30
Javier Ávila
Award-winning Poet, Actor, and Educator, Javier Ávila, returns to Esperanza Arts Center with his new one-man show, The Perfect Latino, which blends comedy and poetry to explore the American Latino experience. The show draws on the arts, education, and entertainment to deliver a message about diversity, inclusion, race, and representation.
Performances will be presented at limited capacity in the Teatro. Social distancing and masks recommended throughout the event regardless of vaccination status. For Esperanza’s current COVID safety policies and restrictions, visit https://www.esperanza.us/esperanza-visitor/.

C4 Trio
2023-01-22 16:00 - 20:00
TEATRO ESPERANZA
4pm Sunday, January 22, 2023
Esperanza Arts Center partner, Casa de Venezuela welcomes three-time Latin Grammy-winning ensemble C4 Trio – considered the best cuatro performers in the world – back to Philadelphia.
TICKETS
12 and over
$35.00 Presale (before 1/1/23)
$40.00 After 1/1/23
$50.00 Day of the Performance
Under 12
$20.00

Philadelphia Lullaby Project Celebration Concert
2022-12-20 18:00 - 20:00
Free Admission
An evening of songs and stories from Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute program that pairs new parents and caregivers with professional musicians to write a lullaby for their child. The concert features acclaimed Philadelphia musicians with guest performances by family participants.
Refreshments after the concert.
Free parking available
Directions, and public transport details are HERE
Lead support provided by the William Penn Foundation

Christmas in the Barrio
2022-12-16 19:30 - 21:30
Community Holiday Celebration
A North Philly tradition, Esperanza’s annual Christmas celebration for the community returns to Teatro Esperanza! Join us for an evening of Christmas caroling, traditional Latino music and dance, festive food, face-painting, and fun activities for the entire family.
Performances will be presented at limited capacity in the Teatro. Social distancing and masks recommended throughout the event regardless of vaccination status. For Esperanza’s current COVID safety policies and restrictions, visit https://www.esperanza.us/esperanza-visitor/.
Tickets
In Person
Livestream

A Winter’s Dream
2022-12-10 19:00 - 21:00
From an enchanted winter forest to the glowing Northern Lights, take a magical journey through a world of dance in A Winter’s Dream, created and choreographed by Christina Castro-Tauser. International Ballet Exchange invites audiences of all ages to the beautiful Teatro Esperanza (4261 N. 5th Street, Philadelphia 19140), on Saturday, December 10. Two shows only: 1 and 7pm. All tickets $25. Free parking. Seating is limited, so purchase early.

A Winter’s Dream
2022-12-10 13:00 - 15:00
From an enchanted winter forest to the glowing Northern Lights, take a magical journey through a world of dance in A Winter’s Dream, created and choreographed by Christina Castro-Tauser. International Ballet Exchange invites audiences of all ages to Teatro Esperanza on Saturday, December 10. Two shows only: 1 and 7pm. All tickets $25. Free parking. Seating is limited, so purchase early.

Miguel Zenón
2022-12-08 19:30 - 21:30
Latin Jazz
Described as a composer who is “reestablishing the artistic, cultural, and social tradition of jazz while creating an entirely new jazz language for the 21st century,” multiple Grammy nominee, MacArthur Genius, and Guggenheim Fellow, Jazz saxophonist and composer, Miguel Zenón, will lead a performance of classic and original Latin Jazz with his ensemble.
Performances will be presented at limited capacity in the Teatro. Social distancing and masks recommended throughout the event regardless of vaccination status. For Esperanza’s current COVID safety policies and restrictions, visit https://www.esperanza.us/esperanza-visitor/.

Música en tus Manos
2022-12-03 19:30 - 21:30
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 chamber music by Latino composers’ Ernesto Lecuona, Astor Piazzolla, María Grever, Consuelo Velázquez, Samuel Zyman, Charles Abramovic, and a world premiere by Daniel de Jesús.
Performers:
Mimi Stillman, flute
Celina Velez, violin
Gabriel Cabezas, cello
Charles Abramovic, piano
Gabriel Globus-Hoenich, percussion

And featuring a side-by-side performance with students from Esperanza Academy and AMLA!
Performances will be presented at limited capacity in the Teatro. Social distancing is recommended and masks are welcome throughout the event regardless of vaccination status. For Esperanza’s current COVID safety policies and restrictions, visit https://www.esperanza.us/esperanza-visitor/.

LatinX Composers/Astral Artists
2022-11-18 19:30 - 21:30
Astral Artists
Astral Artist’s roster of emerging virtuosos will perform chamber music by Latin American composers, including the world premiere of a new work by Sergio Delgado Rodriguez.
Featured Astral Artists

Beomjae Kim, flute
Amer Hasan, clarinet
Byeol Kim, piano
Hao Yang, guitar

Performances will be presented at limited capacity in the Teatro. Social distancing and masks recommended throughout the event regardless of vaccination status. For Esperanza’s current COVID safety policies and restrictions, visit https://www.esperanza.us/esperanza-visitor/.
Tickets
In Person
Livestream
