Latino Cultural Center is the new home of Cara Mia and Teatro Dallas.
(Photo : Pexels)

The Dallas City Council awarded Wednesday night the Latino Cultural Center as the new home of Cara Mia and Teatro Dallas. Meanwhile, they are ensuring a better future for the Lationo arts and are providing some much-needed muscle to the newly revised Cultural Plan and its mandate for equity in arts.

The executive artistic director of Cara Mia Theatre, David Lozano, said given the opportunity that they have right now is a huge deal and this could also be their turning point. Latino Cultural Center is the only municipal arts building in the U.S. that has two resident Latino theatre companies. 

In a report from The Dallas Morning News the decision was made after it was found that the Hispanic population in the city has increased by an estimated 42 percent. It is also expected that the Hispanic population may exceed 50 percent in the upcoming years. 

"My vision for Cara Mía is that we are a national destination for Latino theater and Cara Mía Theatre is the largest Latino theater company in Texas and the four surrounding states," Lozano told the Dallas council.

If this continues, this would not only help boost the economy and revenue of the city, but would also help the community understand more about Hispanic and Latino culture through performing arts and theatre.

Cara Mia has toured in several states through bilingual children's plays and serves more than 17,000 children every year. A resolution was passed after the recess with a 15-0 vote that gives approval for the Hispanic Theatre Companies to use the Latino Cultural Center.

The executive director of Teatro Dallas, Sara Cardona, said that the council's approval will provide each theatre company performing spaces. One with 296-seat main performance hall and the other box will be a new black box theatre with 125 seats that is to be completed in 2021. Meanwhile, Cara Mia pledges $100,000 to $500,000 for the completion of the construction of the black-box space.

Cara Mia began to perform in the center back in 1996 and Teatro Dallas in 1985, as part of their arrangement while waiting for the resident status in 2021. Luckily, their resident status was approved before 2019 ended. The resolution entails a five-year renewal agreement that will begin October 1, 2021, and will last on through September 30, 2026.

Councilman David Blewett said that this is a big day for Dallas, especially in Arts. Moreover, Cardona said that the approval of the council will give her company, and Cara Mia, a chance to expand their programs and give them more flexibility in staging. This will eventually help them become stable and grow in a way that they so desperately need. She also added that it can be remembered that they have been restricted because of space issues in the past.

Space has been the issue of the city's art organization, and the approval of the city to provide a center for the two theatre companies is perceived as a way to give remedy to the space issues. Cardona said: "There is now a contraction of Latino theater companies. Some of the major cities, such as Austin and Houston, are facing a very difficult problem with their growth and stability, even though the state has such a large, growing Latino population."