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CHICAGO (August 2025) — With an economic impact of over $1.2M in 2024, the Chicago Latino Theater Alliance (CLATA) proudly announces the 8th edition of Destinos: Chicago International Latino Theater Festival. Running October 1 to November 2, 2025, this year’s festival features more than a dozen theatrical productions—including world premieres, national debuts, and international collaborations—across 13 theaters and cultural venues citywide and in Northwest Indiana.
“We are living in a time when art is being censored, our voices are being silenced, and families are being torn apart,” said Jorge Valdivia, Executive Director of CLATA. “Now more than ever, telling our stories is an act of resistance and resilience. It is how we remember, how we fight, and how we heal.” Destinos, at its core, is Chicago's vibrant Latine theater community, amplifying our stories and creating much needed visibility.” As one of the country’s leading festivals celebrating Latino theater, Destinos elevates Latine voices through a rich tapestry of stories that explore love, identity, resilience, and transformation. Destinos started as a way to support, cultivate and celebrate Chicago’s local talent—in the process the five-week festival attracted artists and fans from across the U.S. and Latin America.
Festival Lineup Highlights Additional shows will be added weekly throughout the festival
WEEK 1
October 1 - 11
Teatro Inovarte (Chicago) – Contra Ritmo (World Premiere)
A musical blending mariachi, ballet, ancestral spirits, and queer love at Aguijón Theater. TICKETS.
October 2 - 26
Colectivo El Pozo – Dulcci (World Premiere)
A timely bilingual drama about identity, immigration, and community, at Rivendell Theatre.TICKETS.
October 3 - 19
Subtext Studio Theater Company – Saving Myself (World Premiere)
A comedy exploring abstinence-only education through the eyes of four young Latinas, at UrbanTheater. TICKETS.
October 3 - 4
Jesús I. Valles – (Un)Documents (Midwest Premiere)
A poetic solo performance by El Paso Native, Jésus I. Valles, on identity, undocumented status, sacrifice, and queerness, at the National Museum of Mexican Art.
WEEK 2
October 9
Teatro Zona Rosa – La Jaula de Oro (World Premiere)
A drag-infused political dramedy about LGBTQ+ immigration and resistance, at Center on Halsted.
October 10
DAMA Productions – Chisme
A one-night-only queer Latine variety show celebrating community, gossip, and glamour, at Center on Halsted.
WEEK 3
October 17 - November 15
Concrete Content – No Trailer (World Premiere)
A devised, immersive sketch show using fake movie trailers to reimagine Latine futures.
October 15
Raíces to Roots – Unpacking Home (World Premiere)
A music, dance and poetry performance exploring belonging through ancestral memory, in partnership with Indiana University Northwest and the School of the Arts. [TICKETS]
WEEK 4
October 20
Physical Festival Festival – Scratch Night: Destinos Edition
An incubator of original visual and physical theater by Latine artists in Chicago, at The Athenaeum Center for Art & Culture.
October 22 - November 9
Visión Latino Theatre Company – Las Borinqueñas (Midwest Premiere)
This is the story of the controversial experiments behind today’s birth control pill and the brave Puerto Rican women who risked everything for the chance to live free, at Chicago Dramatists.
October 25
Raíces to Roots – Unpacking Home (Chicago Premiere)
A music, dance and poetry performance exploring belonging through ancestral memory, at The Athenaeum Center for Art & Culture.
October 26
Isabel Quintero – La Osa Menor (Under the Light of My Father’s Poems)
A musical storytelling journey based on a daughter’s rediscovery of her father’s poetry, at The Athenaeum Center for Art & Culture.
WEEK 5
October 28 - November 16
Repertorio Latino Theater Company – No hay ladrón que por bien no venga. TICKETS.
A thief and his wife come crashing into the lives of multiple unfaithful couples, exposing their lies and creating a wild farce of misunderstandings at Citlalin Gallery.
October 29
Nestor Gomez – 80 Minutes Around the World
A storytelling showcase curated by Nestor Gomez of immigrant narratives from across the globe, at Chicago Shakespeare Theater on Navy Pier. Individual storytellers TBA.
October 30 - November 2
Flor de un día (Argentina) – Nada del Amor Me Produce Envidia (North American Premiere)
A solo musical drama inspired by 1930s Argentine cancionistas, at The Virginia Wadsworth Wirtz Center Chicago.
October 31 - December 14
Aguijón Theater – UZ: El Pueblo (North American Premiere)
A dark comedy of divine intervention and existential chaos from renowned Uruguayan playwright Guillermo Calderón, at Aguijón Theater.
A Festival Rooted in Community and Culture
CLATA’s Destinos Festival has become a national platform for Latine artists to present groundbreaking work that reflects the complexity of our stories. At its core, Destinos is powered by Chicago’s own Latine theater companies and artists, whose creative force continues to shape the city’s cultural landscape. From movement-driven experimental work to deeply rooted historical dramas, to queer joy and political urgency, this year’s festival presents performances in Spanish, English, and Spanglish (often with English supertitles), and welcomes audiences of all backgrounds.
Tickets & Info Festival Dates: October 1 – November 2, 2025
Venues:
Aguijón Theater (Belmont Cragin)
Athenaeum Center for Thought and Culture (Lakeview)
Center on Halsted (Lakeview)
Chicago Dramatists (River West)
Chicago Shakespeare Theater (Streeterville)
Citlalin Gallery (Pilsen)
Indiana University Northwest, Arts & Sciences Building (Gary, IN)
National Museum of Mexican Art (Pilsen)
Urban Theater (Humboldt Park)
Rivendell Theatre (Edgewater)
Wirtz Center Chicago, Northwestern University (Streeterville)
and more
Social Media: @latinotheater (Facebook & Instagram)