MARCHING ONWARD

“Marching onward, marching onward, marching to that lovely tune”. These lyrics from the King of Ragtime, Scott Joplin (1868 – 1917), kept pulling me in as I sat to listen to the first concert of March Is Music at our Pregones Theater. Radio Pirata hit the stage with a rich repertoire of Puerto Rican rock, including a version of Lamento Borincano – an unofficial Puerto Rican national anthem. The next day, our first Piano Sundays featured Richarlita You, an inspiring classical and extraordinary pianist, crowned our first weekend and had us all rooting for what’s to come throughout the rest of March Is Music. Upcoming concerts hit our stage with Latin fusion, Jazz Funk, an expanded classical repertoire and more.

March Is Music, now in its 17th edition, is the brainchild of rich conversations between two members of our Artistic Team: Alvan Colón Lespier and Desmar Guevara. We had been showcasing music since we opened our first venue in 1985. This time around, the conversation led to creating a pilot series, an intentional spot in which we could highlight a sustained period of musical performances. We also wanted to share with our audience the expansion of our musical platform, as we had just acquired a beautiful Steinway, with the support of our then Borough President, Ruben Díaz, Jr.

Today, 17 years later, March Is Music is a steady feature in The Bronx, offering Bronxites and all visitors a broad range of musical experiences each year. We feature artists from around the globe, boosting the fun, curiosity and appreciation of our amazing audiences.

SPRING! SPRING! SPRING!

With our 21 Islands Short International Short Film Festival successful wrap, the amazing partnership with Revolución Latina and their production of BARBA, and March Is Music on its way, we are ‘marching onward’ towards an exciting Spring. The doors of our theaters –Pregones/Bronx and Puerto Rican Traveling Theater/Manhattan – will keep swinging!

March Is Music opens the Spring gates to performances by our colleagues of People’s Theater Project with their comedy Missing Socks and A Line of Coke, by Rachel Lynett, and our presenting partnership with Nuyorican Poets Café’s monthly Poetry Slam. As for our ensemble, we begins rehearsals of our upcoming production of The Desire of the Astronaut, at Puerto Rican Traveling Theater. Written by Alvan Colón Lespier and with musical compositions by Desmar Guevara –yes, the fellows who created March Is Music—the production is directed by Leyma López and choreographed by Veraalba Santa. Other members of the troupe have gone into ‘hiding’, working their magic for later in the season…more about that soon.

For now, we invite you all to walk with us, to enjoy our March offerings, as we keep on marching to that lovely tune.

BUT WAIT! THERE’S MORE!

PregonesPRTT is one of the participating theaters of TeatroFest 2024. Both March Is Music and People Theater’s Project are features of TeatroFest!

As a member of the Alliance of Latino Theaters NYC we are honored to partner with seven other Latino theaters in New York City, working jointly to offer a rich variety of productions throughout March and April. We are proud partners of Teatro Círculo, Teatro SEA, IATI, INTAR, Repertorio Español, Thalia Spanish Theater and Teatro LATEA.

Teatro Fest NYC 2024 is a citywide festival of live drama, dance, music, and conversations, featuring 23 productions and more than 140 in our distinguished venues! March 1 to April 30, 2024.