Meet the Romaguera family, the protagonists of Repertorio’s first production of the 2014-2015 season, Aire frío. The play follows the story of the strong willed pillar of the family, the anxious Luz Marina Romaguera, in her desperate 20 year struggle to find two things in life; a husband and an electric fan to keep her sane from the heat of 1950s Havana.

Repertorio will be premiering this groundbreaking play on Saturday, September 13th at 8PM, in addition to a special performance that Sunday at 2PM with a post-show panel discussion jointly with The Cuban Cultural Center of New York.

For tickets and more information, visit www.repertorio.org/aire or call (212) 225-9999

Zulema Clares
Country of Origin: Cuba
Role: Luz Marina Romaguera

Zulema Clares is one of the Latino stage’s most recognizable faces, performing in an impressive number of productions at any given time as well as having garnered various important awards and recognitions. A graduate of Cuba’s National Arts School, her film and stage credits are many. At Repertorio, she is (currently) in “The House of Bernarda Alba,” “In the Time of the Butterflies,” “The Shoemaker’s Prodigious Wife,” “Blind Date” and “Love in the Time of Cholera,” among others. This year alone, she will be in two of Repertorio’s four new productions, including “Aire frío” and the golden-age play “El loco por fuerza” by Félix Lope de Vega. Ironically, this will be the first time Clares will portray a Cuban character at Repertorio.

Ana Margarita Martínez-Casado
Country of Origin: Cuba
Role: Ana Romaguera

Ana Margarita Martínez-Casado is a prolific actress on both the stage and screen. Born in Camaguey, Cuba to a family of four generations of actors, singers and artists, she started a singing and acting career young, performing in various Zarzuelas in Cuba from the age of seventeen. Martínez-Casado famously portrayed the character of Juana Peña in the groundbreaking series, ¿Que pasa USA?, one of the first and only bilingual sit-coms that won her a regional Emmy. Among her many projects, performances and awards, Martínez-Casado has been in over thirty productions in Repertorio Español since 1973.

Frank Robles
Country of Origin: Puerto Rico
Role: Angel Romaguera

A pioneer of Latino theater in New York City, Frank Robles is a co-founder of INTAR Theater and has won many awards, including a New York State Achievement Award for contribution to the arts in 1974, as well as an award from the Institute of Culture of Puerto Rico. He has worked in countless productions in both English and Spanish, including “Crossover Dreams” alongside Ruben Blades. He has been seen in many productions in Repertorio Español, including “Bodas de sangre,” “La celestina,” and currently in “La gringa.”

Sandor Juan
Country of Origin: Cuba
Role: Enrique Romaguera

Sandor Juan began acting at age fifteen in a Telemundo series called, “De Padres a Hijos.” Mr. Juan also made his film debut appearing alongside Marisa Tomei in “The Perez Family,” a film directed by Mira Nair. In 2001 he enrolled at “New World School of the Arts” where he studied modern American Theater and the Hagen technique. He also attends Bobby Moresco’s workshop “The Actor’s Gym.” Other credits include the TV shows “Burn Notice” and “The Tonight Show” with Conan O’Brien. Mr. Juan’s theatre credits include “Matacumbe,” Jean Anouilh’s “The Traveler Without Luggage,” and Nilo Cruz’s ‘The Color of desire.” He made his premiere at Repertorio Español in “Probation” and would go on to act in the hit-comedy “La nena se casa” by Carlos Ferrari.

Pablo Andrade
Country of Origin: Venezuela
Role: Oscar Romaguera

Pablo Andrade has most recently received two HOLA awards for his performances in the plays “Noche tan linda” at the Puerto Rican Travelling Theater and “El loco por fuerza” in Repertorio Español. He was also invited to the prestigious John F. Kennedy Center of Performing Arts’ Cultural Visitors Program for Actors. Other credits in New York include “Por gusto” (Repertorio Español), “Cuentos de guerra para dormir en paz” (Corezon), “Balm in Gilead” (HB Playwrights Foundation), “Agravios de fortuna” (TEBA), among others.

Erick Gonzalez
Country of Origin: Puerto Rico
Role: Luis Romaguera

Erick Gonzalez in a remarkably dynamic actor whose credits in New York City alone are an impressive collection of both English and Spanish language productions. This will be his second production at Repertorio, the first being the role of Feliciano in Félix Lope de Vega’s Golden Age era play, El loco por fuerza, also directed by Leyma López. The list of stages, theatres and companies he has appeared in include The West End Theatre, the Premiere Stages, the Frog and Peache Theatre Co., the NY Shakespeare Exhange, Hip to Hip Theatre Company, the Wild Project and many more.

Idalmis García
Country of Origin: Cuba
Role: Laura

Idalmis García graduated from the University of Havana with a degree in Art History, working extensively in theatre, film and television both in Cuba and the United States. Her credits are many, and include a wide array of international productions in Cuba, New York, and Germany. She was most recently seen in the HOLA award winning production, “Noche tan linda” by Pablo García- Gamez at the Puerto Rican Travelling Theater.

Annia Bu
Country of Origin: Cuba
Role: Laura

Annia Bu received her B.F.A in Acting from Cuba’s Instituto Superior de Arte. Her film credits in both Cuba and the United States are many and include “Los dioses rotos” (2008), “El cuerno de la abundancia” (2009), and “Larga distancia” 2010. She has taken many awards from various distinguished international film festivals in the United States, Brazil and Cuba. This will be Bu’s second production at Repertorio, the first being El loco por fuerza by Félix Lope de Vega.

Mario Mattei
Country of Origin: Puerto Rico
Role: Vendedor, Miranda, Don Benigno y Pepe

Mario Mattei is a native of Puerto Rico and a graduate of the University of Puerto Rico, having studied drama there. As a student, he came into contact with director Dean Zayas, a pioneer and instrumental figure in the theatrical movement in Puerto Rico. A master of both the stage and the screen, Mattei openly prefers theater and considers it to be a demanding and challenging, though rewarding, vehicle for dramatic expression.

Mattei is a hallmark of Repertorio’s company of actors, holding roles in productions like “El Quijote” and “Crónica de una muerte anunciada,” both directed by Jorge Alí Triana, “La fiesta del chivo” and Carmen Rivera’s groundbreaking play “La gringa” which still continues to sell out theaters to this day.

There is a common trap that all too often ensnares those who are about to watch a play by Federico García Lorca. They walk in expecting to see the dark Andalusian home of Bernarda Alba, women with peinetas and mantillas neurotically fanning themselves with elaborate abanicos as they fight against Iberian machismo. Perhaps in the background a soft flamenco plays, Lorca ever mindful of the folk culture of the gitanos (Roma) that surrounded him. For many, this is García Lorca’s world – 1930s southern Spain and, in many aspects, it was.

With Andrés Zambrano’s production of García Lorca’s poetic comedy, “La zapatera prodigiosa” there will be neither peinetas nor mantillas. Flamenco will be traded for songs like “Júrame,” “Perdón” and “Piensa en mi,” all performed live. Premiering February 7th, “La zapatera prodigiosa” will be a sharp departure from the stereotypically romanticized world of García Lorca. Rather, Zambrano’s production will shed this nostalgic air, leaving the playwright’s message naked and unshielded from the eyes of the viewers to chew and digest.

Adding to this dynamic is a hallmark of Repertorio’s stage – the inclusion of accomplished actors from across the world. Check out just a few of the amazing actors who will be taking roles in this highly anticipated play, actors who hail from a variety of countries including Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Argentina, among others.

Zulema Clares
Country of Origin: Cuba

Zulema Clares is one of Repertorio’s most acclaimed actresses, currently in other popular shows like Cita a ciegas, El amor en los tiempos de cólera and En el tiempo de las mariposas.

Born in Cuba, Clares holds a degree in Theater Techniques and Choral Direction from Cuba’s National Arts School. One of the original co-founders of the Argos Theater of Cuba, she rapidly became one of the biggest and most acclaimed names of the Cuban stage for her broad range of works. While teaching at Cuba’s National Arts School, she made her debut as a theatrical director in 2001 with her production “Thanks Grandma,” which she also wrote. Clares’ talents are not limited to the stage, however. Her extensive film credits including leading roles in “The Nights of Constantinople,” “Three Times Two,” and “Long Distance.”

Clares is currently one of the most acclaimed actresses of the Latino stage here in the United States. Aside from winning the Best Actress Award at the 2001 Camaguey Theater Festival in Cuba, she has consecutively swept the HOLA Awards since 2009.

Gerardo Gudiño
Country of Origin: Argentina

Gerardo Gudiño is one of Repertorio’s most recognizable faces, playing the prolific role of Don Quijote in Jorge Alí Triana’s El Quijote as well as numerous other roles in some of Repertorio’s bestselling productions.

Gudiño holds a degree in theater studies from the National University of Córdoba, Argentina as well as a Masters in Neurolinguistic Programming, having studied under several of the most prestigious and recognized acting professors in both Argentina and France. His theatrical skills are broad and include semiotics, direction, clowning, anthropological theater and dance theater. Other training includes extensive direction of productions and an intense 22 month training period at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute in New York.

Gudiño first arrived to Repertorio in 2000 as Assistant Director for the renowned Artistic Director of the theater, René Buch, eventually going on to become part of Repertorio’s company of actors.

Mario Mattei
Country of Origin: Puerto Rico

Mario Mattei is a native of Puerto Rico and a graduate of the University of Puerto Rico, having studied drama there. As a student, he came into contact with director Dean Zayas, a pioneer and instrumental figure in the theatrical movement in Puerto Rico. A master of both the stage and the screen, Mattei openly prefers theater and considers it to be a demanding and challenging, though rewarding, vehicle for dramatic expression.

Mattei is a hallmark of Repertorio’s company of actors, holding roles in productions like “El Quijote” and “Crónica de una muerte anunciada,” both directed by Jorge Alí Triana, “La fiesta del chivo” and Carmen Rivera’s groundbreaking play “La gringa” which still continues to sell out theaters to this day.

Mariana Buoninconti
Country of Origin: Argentina

Mariana Buoninconti is one of the most accomplished actresses in Repertorio’s company of actors, having started acting in Buenos Aires at the age of 15. Since then, she has studied with some of the most renowned names of the Argentine and Latino stages, including Leondro Rosati, Alicia Bruzzo, Eduardo Pardo and Elena Duarte

Having started acting at such a young age, she was part of the cast of the Narizopas Theater which performed musical comedies for children, as well as the Puppet Theatre in Buenos Aires and across the entirety of Argentina. She also performed in the musical comedy “Waku Waku” at the prestigious Metropolitan Theater in Buenos Aires, going on to tour most of the northern half of the South American country.

Her past stage credits are broad and include “The Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee Williams, “Fear and Misery in the Third Reich” by Bertolt Brech and “A View from the Bridge” by Arthur Miller. In the United States, she has been no stranger to some of the biggest productions of both the American and Hispanic-American stages, including “The Adventures of Don Quixote” in Miami, “The Wizard of Oz,” “The Imaginary Invalid,” “Positive Woman,” and “Soufflé de Rosas” in New York, among countless Repertorio productions.

Jerry Soto
Country of Origin: Puerto Rico

Another graduate of the University of Puerto Rico, Jerry Soto is a true galán of Repertorio. Soto has had extensive artistic experience across the globe – not just in New York and Puerto Rico but also in Ecuador as parto of the Malayerba Theatre Group and in Peru as part of the Yuyachkani Theater Group. A regular in the New York Latino theater scene, he has performed in many of the theaters that make up said community, including the Teatro Círculo.

He is also a regular of the big and small screen, having participated in the mock TV news program “Noticreo” which won the 2008 Latin Emmy for Best Magazine, the film “The Argentine” by Steven Soderbergh and is also a regular host of the weekly TV show “WWE Experience.”

Edna Lee Figueroa
Country of Origin: Puerto Rico

Edna Lee Figueroa has two decades of life on the stage under her belt, associated with some of the most recognizable stages of Latino theater, including Teatro Círculo and Boundless Theater Company. The ACE award actress is a graduate of the University of Puerto Rico, as well as having received a masters in Arts Administration from Turabo University, also in Puerto Rico.

Edna Lee currently resides in New York, but has travelled the world with her art including Puerto Rico and Bogotá, Colombia. She has built an impressive career, is a member of both SAG and HOLA, spent two years at the Burning Coal Theatre Company of North Carolina and has been credited in over 40 productions on stage, film, television and radio. She had a performing role in the film “Maldeamores” produced by Benicio Del Toro, which in turn was premiered in the TriBeCa Film Festival.

You can read more about Edna Lee at her website, www.ednaleefigueroa.com

*Not listed, Pietro González

“La zapatera prodigiosa” will premiere at Repertorio Español on Friday, February 7th at 8pm.
SCHEDULE, TICKETS AND INFORMATION: http://www.repertorio.org/zapatera or call 1-212-225-9999