Two Latino theater companies in Dallas score $340,000 in grants

A pair of Dallas theater companies learned Wednesday they would receive a combined $340,000 in grant funds from the newly created National Latinx Theater Initiative.

Cara Mía Theatre Co. will receive $110,000 over the next two years for a total of $220,000, with Teatro Dallas receiving $60,000 over the next two years for a total of $120,000.

“With support like this over the next two years, we’re able to focus on creating new plays, our national festival, touring and programs for schools,” said David Lozano, the executive artistic director of Cara Mía. “This award just isn’t a life raft. It feels more like a yacht.”

“The grant funds are transformative, allowing Teatro Dallas to support much needed staff positions, including our new artistic executive director for two years as we continue to grow,” said Sara Cardona, development director for Teatro Dallas. “This has a direct impact on our capacity and allows for expansion of our programs and bilingual audience development as well.”

Cara Mía, which began in 1996, and Teatro Dallas, founded in 1985, make their home in Dallas’ Latino Cultural Center, on Live Oak St., in the shadow of downtown. According to recent figures from the city of Dallas, 41.7% of the city’s residents identify as Hispanic.

Such largesse comes at a dire time, with theater companies across the country struggling to overcome the devastating effects of the pandemic. Performing arts have taken the hardest hit.

“Right now, we’re in the process of raising money to execute our season,” Lozano said. “And with these funds, it takes us leaps and bounds ahead. It reduces the amount we have to raise for the rest of the season, so that we can breathe more easily and enjoy our art-making.”

Cara Mía and Teatro Dallas are among 52 organizations in the U.S. and Puerto Rico and among four Texas groups to receive the money from the Los Angeles-based Latino Theater Company, which is sponsoring the initiative.

In a statement, Cara Mía addressed what arts organizations call the elephant in the room — the pandemic — by noting: “This program offers Latinx theater companies the chance to shift their focus from financial stability to portraying their culture through art. Grantees were chosen through a competitive peer review panel process and demonstrated financial need due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The National Latinx Theater Initiative is funded by the California Community Foundation, Ford Foundation, The Joyce Foundation, Mellon Foundation and Rockefeller Brothers Fund.