The Dominican Commissioner of Culture’s 5th Hispanic Theater Festival Is Dedicated to Ana Hilda García

The Dominican Commissioner of Culture’s 5th Hispanic Theater Festival Is Dedicated to Ana Hilda García
Punta Cana, April 22, 2015

The 5th Hispanic Theatre Festival of the Dominican Commissioner of Culture in the United States, which will be held from May 14 to June 21, will be dedicated to outstanding actor Ana Hilda García, said Carlos Sánchez, the Commissioner of Culture.

Ana Hilda García, who lives in Miami, is the creator of ‘The Dominican Puppet Theater’ children’s theater, which she founded in 1977, and “which makes her a pioneer woman in her country for creating the first puppet theater.”

“On the opening night of the festival, on Thursday, May 14 at 7 pm, we will pay a special tribute to Ana Hilda García for her extraordinary contributions to the Dominican theater,” said Sánchez. “In addition, we will present for the first time in the Commissioner’s playhouse, ‘Espigas maduras’, written by Dominican playwright Franklin Domínguez in 1958. The play is the first brave attempt to openly criticize the tyrant Trujillo.”

The Commissioner’s Hispanic Theater Festival is held annually by the Dominican Commissioner of Culture in the United States, an agency of the Ministry of Culture of the Dominican Republic, with the purpose of opening a space for cultural exchange among Spanish-speaking playwrights in the United States and Puerto Rico, and for disseminating the theater productions of these groups.

The festival is directed by noted actor and theater director Luis Felipe Rodríguez, who is assisted by actor Franklin Mateo.

The festival will award prizes to the Best Production of the order of $4,000 to the first place, $3,000 to the second place, and $2,000 to the third place. In this edition of the festival, in addition to the plaques of recognition, for the first time cash prizes will be awarded in the categories of Best Director $2,000; Best Actress $1,000, and Best Actor $1,000, and the winner of the Audience Award will receive a plaque or trophy.

All performances are to be held in the Andrés Francisco Requena events room of the Commissioner of Culture, which is located at 541 West 145th Street, 2nd. floor, near the corner with Broadway, in Manhattan.

Ana Hilda García, born in the Dominican Republic, is a veteran theater actress since 1953. Her career began in the Theater of Fine Arts and, until 1986, she was the leading actress of the National Theater.

In 1957, she won the “Ana” Award for the play “Un Sombrero Lleno de Lluvia” (A Hat Full of Rain). She is the only woman to have received this award. From 1976 to 1986 she was part of the cast of the following television shows: El Show del Medio Día and El Calientísimo del 9. Until 1986, she was the leading actress of the National Theatre.

She is the creator of ‘The Dominican Puppet Theater’ children’s theater, which she founded in 1977. Thus, an outdoors theater was built in the old Santo Domingo Zoo and up to six shows were presented every day.

In 1980, she played a major role in the soap opera “María José”. In 1982 she won the Thalia de Plata for Best Actress in “Los Soles Truncos”. After moving to Miami, in 1986 she won an award from the Association of Art Critics for Best Supporting Actress in “Abelard and Heloise”. She has won several ACCA awards, including for Best Actress, in 1988, 1994 and 1996. In 1996, her short story, “Mi Hijo” (My Son) won awards in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In 2000, she published her book of poems “Fluidos Tornados” (Fluid Tornados). Ana Hilda has not only triumphed in the theater, but also, starting on that year, she ventured into the art of photography by participating in various exhibitions in Miami, Florida, where she won both the first and the second prize in the painting exhibition “Liarte Internacional”, in 2003.

In 2004, she received broad recognition for her 50-year career in theater and television. In 2006, she released her book of poems “Levantaré mis alas” (I will raise my wings), and in 2008, jointly with poet and writer David Rivera, she published a new book “Dos Poetas y Una Flor” (Two Poets and a Flower). In 2009, she received the Mariona Masgrau Award in Bilbao, Spain, for being the first female puppeteer in the Dominican Republic. The aforementioned Puppet Theater opened in 2010 in Santo Domingo, in honor of this recognition. During her career in the Dominican theater she participated in more than 45 plays, among which are “Tartuffe” by Moliere; “Orinoco”, “Interioridades”, by Iván García; “La Hora del Regreso”, “Duarte, Fundador de la República”, “El Vuelo de la Paloma”, “Lisistrata Odia la Política”, by Franklin Domínguez; “Caligula”, by Yovanny Cruz, and “La Casa de Bernarda Alba”.

Ana Hilda stands out for her great ability to play countless characters and act in various theater genres in Miami. She has participated in comic plays, dramas, farces, and one-act farces.

Among the film productions in which she has worked, the following stands out: “The Cabine” of the Broken Bones Filmakers, Inc. 18 plays by theater companies from New York (Manhattan, Bronx and Brooklyn) will participate in the Commissioner’s 5th Hispanic Theater Festival, in addition to six plays from other states in the United States: Providence, Rhode Island, Florida, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and San Juan, Puerto Rico.

There are 4 plays by invited theater companies from other countries: Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia and Cuba, which do not participate in the competition. The jury of the Festival reserves the right to award any mention or recognition to the categories of director, actor, actress, stage, special effects, makeup, drama, costumes, etc., or to any outstanding theater element that the jury considers as deserving to be recognized.

Commissioner Sánchez said that the festival will make up room for the stage theater expression of Hispanics who reside and participate in cultural life in the United States and Puerto Rico.