GALA Hispanic Theatre

GALA was founded in 1976 when Argentine-born Hugo Medrano, who saw a great need for a legitimate Spanish-speaking theater to fill a cultural void. Then, he and his then soon-to-be wife, Rebecca Read, along with a group of artists, founded GALA Theatre. With their very first play, La Fiaca by Argentine Ricardo Talesnik, Hugo and company confirmed what they already suspected: Washington was ripe and ready for a Hispanic theater. In its first three decades, GALA became what many consider the country’s leading Spanish-language theater, winning a loyal following and scores of awards. As GALA took its place in the Tivoli in 2005, it was the beginning of the next act. Creating a National Center for Latino Performing Arts was a huge undertaking. With its expanded facility, GALA diversified its programs to include film, concerts, dance, presentation by other arts groups, and provided opportunities for outstanding Hispanic artists from across the nation and abroad. They have attracted local, national, and international audiences and visitors as GALA attains an increasingly national profile. As of 2016, GALA entered its fifth decade and has produced nearly 250 plays in Spanish and English and provided a diverse program of theater (from classical to contemporary), poetry, music, and dance to a wide audience. GALA has cultivated relationships with actors in all Latin America and Spain, while providing a cultural focal point for the growing Hispanic community in Washington, DC.

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