Pregones Puerto Rican Traveling Theater
Program: Arts in Health
Area of Work: Arts
Grant Purpose: Abrazo: The Embrace for Mental Health
Overview:
Pregones Theater was founded in 1979 when a group of artists led by Rosalba Rolón set out to create new works in the style of Caribbean and Latin American “colectivos” or performing ensembles. Pregones soon established as a Bronx resident company with a home season. Spurred by stage and film icon, Miriam Colón, Puerto Rican Traveling Theater (PRTT) was founded in 1967 as one of the first bilingual theater companies in all the U.S. It is credited for nurturing hundreds of Latinx theater artists, legitimating creative connections throughout the Spanish-speaking world, and pioneering lasting models for community engagement. Merged in 2014, Pregones/PRTT continues to empower underrepresented artists and audiences to claim their rightful place at the front of the American theater.
The Covid pandemic’s fast advance exacerbated existing social and economic inequities across the globe and was everywhere disruptive of daily life. In New York City, its impact was deeply felt by immigrants and people of color with tangible ties and obligations overseas, oversize responsibility as essential workers, and little or no financial safety net. Many Pregones/PRTT artists and patrons —youth, adults, and seniors alike— voiced concerns about shame, depression, and anxiety going through the roof.
The challenge is succinctly framed by Mental Health America: “The Latinx/Hispanic community is made up of diverse individuals oftentimes set apart by their country of origin or ancestral history. For the Latinx/Hispanic community, mental health and mental illness are often stigmatized topics resulting in prolonged suffering in silence. This silence compounds the range of experiences that may lead to mental health conditions including immigration, acculturation, trauma, and generational conflicts. Additionally, the Latinx/Hispanic community faces unique institutional and systemic barriers that may impede access to mental health services, resulting in reduced help-seeking behaviors.”
Grant:
Purpose: To support the development of Abrazo: The Embrace for Mental Health.
This new interactive theater project seeks to raise community awareness of the post-COVID mental health crises and to empower local New York City participants to seek and to access existing mental health services.
Impact:
Abrazo/Embrace addresses the complex and mounting mental health crises in communities of color historically served by Pregones/PRTT. Each phase of the project models and nurtures a distinct set of culturally competent, reciprocal relationships among artists, providers, and community participants. To date, Abrazo/Embrace has engaged 3,500 direct participants and immediate circle beneficiaries including youth, adults, and seniors primarily identifying as Latinx.
In 2023, Pregones/Puerto Rican Traveling Theater (Pregones/PRTT) co-developed a new forum theater play BURNED in dialogue with local community members and organizations and enlisted mental health providers to assist with direct services and referrals on-site during its 10-performance run (group-matched and general audiences, all free admission).
