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CONTACT:
| Angelica Aragon Collaborates With Los Angeles, CA? The California State University, Los Angeles Teatro Universitario en Español will present AGUILA REAL (ROYAL EAGLE) by contemporary Mexican playwright Hugo Argüelles, at the Japan America Theatre from Thursday, March 16 to Saturday, March 18, directed by Roberto D'Amico and Alejandra Flores. The play is the story of Isabel de Moctezuma (Tecuixpo), a major figure of the Mexican conquest. Background: In 1992, in the remains of the ancient Aztec capital discovered under the cathedral in downtown Mexico City, the body and last will and testament of the princess Tecuixpo (cotton flower)-later christened Isabel by the Spanish-was found. This excavation revealed a figure of historic importance, a remarkable woman whose spiritual strength was the equal of the worldly power of Hernan Cortes, the Spanish conqueror of Mexico, whom Isabel continued to defy throughout her lifetime. Shortly after this discovery, the Mexican playwright Hugo Arguelles turned Isabel's story into the drama Aguila Real. The production: In Cal State L.A.'s Teatro Universitario production, Mexican actress Angelica Aragon plays Isabel de Moctezuma. Aragon, has had international successes in the Mexican soaps Mirada de Mujer and Canaveral de Pasiones. Roberto D'Amico, actor and director of international fame, is co-director of the production and plays the part of Hernan Cortes. Alejandra Flores, actress and director with the Bilingual Foundation of the Arts and host of Channel 22's FORO 22, co-directs the play with D'Amico. Gema Sandoval, artistic director of Danza Floricanto/USA and award-winning choreographer, creates the dances in the play. Danza Floricanto/USA, the oldest folklorico company in Los Angeles, will work side by side with the Cal State L.A. Teatro Universitario en Español in both the dance and choral numbers. Related Symposium: Cal State L.A. will host a related symposium on the works of Hugo Argüelles on Friday, March 17, 5 p.m. at the Japan America Theatre, 244 South San Pedro Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012 . The symposium is sponsored by the California Council for the Humanities. Support: This production has been made possible with the generous support of the Cal State L.A. School of Arts and Letters, the Department of Modern Languages and Literature, Department of Theater Arts and Dance, the Economic Opportunity Program, Associated Students, Inc., and the Office of Admissions and University Outreach. Location: The Japan America Theatre is located at 244 So. San Pedro Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012. Information: For more information, call Gema Sandoval-(562) 695-3546 or the Cal State L.A. Department of Modern Languages and Literatures-(323) 343-4230. For tickets, call the Japan America Theatre at (213) 680-3700.
BIOGRAPHIES Aragon studied theater at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts (LAMDA) and has had leading roles in over twelve theater productions. She received Mexico's national award for Best Performance as a dramatic actress for her work in A Fool for Love, by Sam Shepard, and three awards for Best Performance as a comedic actress for her roles in The Lady of the Camellias translated into Spanish by Lillian Garreth-Groag . Roberto D'Amico?Noted actor and director Roberto D'Amico has a master's degree in theater from Cardiff University in Great Britain and a degree in theater from the Lucino Visconti workshop at the University of Rome. He has acted and directed throughout Europe, South America, Canada and Mexico. Since 1980 he has lived in Mexico, where he has worked in approximately 20 plays. Among them are: The Four Seasons and Love Letters in Blue Paper, both by Arnold Wesker; Zabila's Lesson and The Road to Mecca by South African playwright Athol Fugard, and Young Ladies' Orchestra by Jean Anouilh. D'Amico has also staged several successful national and international productions, most notable of which are Requiem for an Empire, in which he played the role of Maximilian of Austria for four consecutive years; Historias de Romances y Corridos (Stories of Ballads and Love Songs), a play he toured throughout Mexico, Canada and the United States; and Good Morning Mother, Good Night Father!, which earned him an Emmy from the American National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Recently, he directed the English comedy The Opposite Sex. He has also worked on several Mexican television soap operas, including Imperio de Cristal, (Crystal Empire), El Vuelo del Aguila (The Eagle's Flight) and La Antorcha Encendida (The Lit Torch). D'Amico teaches annual seminars on European Theater Masters, with an emphasis on Shakespeare, Molière and Goldoni, at the National Pedagogical University in Mexico. He has received numerous awards including the invitation to participate in the Conference of the International Shakespeare Association and the United Nations. Danza Floricanto/USA?Founded in 1975, Danza Floricanto/USA, formerly Floricanto Dance Theatre, is the oldest existing professional Mexican folk dance troupe in Los Angeles, preserving and validating Mexican culture as a cultural expression of the Chicano people, and creating awareness and appreciation for the culture through live performance. Recipient of the 1994 Lester Horton Dance Award for Staging of Traditional Dance, Danza Floricanto/USA recently celebrated its 20th anniversary. Under the artistic direction of Gema Sandoval, the company of professional dancers, singers and musicians presents authentically staged, fully researched, and colorfully costumed dances representing the folkloric traditions of seventeen different regions of Mexico. Danza Floricanto/USA has toured in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, and Mexico. Gema Sandoval?Gema Sandoval, founder, artistic director and choreographer of Danza Floricanto/USA, has been involved in Mexican folk dance for over 25 years. She has studied under some of the most established authorities in Mexican folklore and continues to do research in Mexico. She is the recipient of many awards, both local and national, including the 1995 Lester Horton Award for her significant contributions in the field of folk dance. She has choreographed suites from more than 17 regions of Mexico and two full evening works on the Chicano experience, and is currently working on two more to be premiered during Floricanto's 25th anniversary celebration. Alejandra Flores?Alejandra Flores is well known for her work in theater, television and film in Mexico as well as the United States. In Mexico, she has worked with such noted directors as Luis Tavira, Luis Mandoki and Jose Caballero. Her film work includes Oliver Stone's Salvador, and A Walk in the Clouds, directed by Like Water for Chocolate's Alfonso Arau. She won critical acclaim for her direction of Vicente Leñero's The Night of Hernan Cortes and Too Many Tamales, produced by the Bilingual Foundation of the Arts. Flores is a television producer and hostess for KWHY-Channel 22's FORO 22.
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