GALA Announces A Benefit to Benefit Puerto Rico

A restaging of last year's hilarious hit Hecho en Puelto Rico, on March 16 at 8 pm, and a new piece, Macho Menos on March 17 at 8 pm. Hecho en Puelto Rico has been updated to address the impact of Hurricane María on the island. Macho Menos explores with caustic humor issues of domestic violence. Performed only in Spanish, the two shows will be presented at GALA Theatre, 3333 14th Street, NW.

A post-performance discussion with the artist will follow each evening's presentation In Hecho en Puerto Rico, a student prepares to graduate and leave Puerto Rico to escape the economic and human crisis faced by Puerto Ricans. As he arranges to leave, the young man unearths his cultural roots through the lives of such noted men and women in the island's history as José de Diego, Julia de Burgos,Eugenio María de Hostos, and Roberto Clemente. With great comic flair, Vázquez reveals both the promise and pain of migration to the mainland from the island and the painful losses incurred by hurricane María.Macho Menos looks at the societal issue of domestic violence from the perspective of a child, a mother, and an abusive father. In this satiric piece, Vázquez speaks to a critical national problem today and its consequences for a family.Ángel Vázquez, a former member of Los Juanes del Pueblo, is one of Puerto Rico's leading writers and television and film performers.

He co-created and performed in GALA's hit show Puerto Rico En...Cantado in 2003, and last year performed his solo piece, Hecho en Puelto Rico, to sold out houses at GALA. Vázquez has tourned to Chicago, Orlando, New York, and Texas. His other theater credits include The Sound of Music,Cofresí, Macho Menos, Puerto Rico Fuá, A View from the Bridge, and Quién Mató a Héctor Lavoe? He has appeared in several telenovelas, including General Hospital and Señora Tentación, and has performed in such television comediesas Politiqueando and Mi familia. Mr. Vázquez also has appeared in the films Assassins, Princess Protection Program, Vasos de Papel, and El Beso y Luisa Capetillo, among others.

General admission tickets to Hecho en Puelto Rico and Macho Menos are $30 for each presentation. Tickets for groups of 10 or more are $25 each. FOR TICKETS, CALL (202) 234-7174 or visit www.galatheatre.org.Parking is available at a discount price of $4 in the Giant Food garage behind the theater on Park Road, NWwith validation in GALA lobby. GALA Theatre is one block north of the Columbia Heights metro station on the Green and Yellow lines.

GALA is a Partner of the National Performance Network/Visual Artists Network (NPN/VAN). This project ismade possible in part by support from the NPN/VAN Artist Engagement Fund. Major contributors include the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts (a federal agency). For more information visit www.npnweb.org

GALA is celebrating its 43rd season of presenting the range of Hispanic theatre, music, dance, spoken word,poetry and the visual arts from Latin America, Spain, the Caribbean, and the United States. GALA is supported in part by the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities, the National Endowment for the Arts, the D.C.Mayor's Office on Latino Affairs, private foundations, corporations and individuals. GALA is a member of Theatre Communications Group, the National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures, and the National Performance Network.GALA is an acronym (Grupo de Artistas LatinoAmericanos) and should be written in all capital letters. The name of our venue is GALA Theatre. Please refrain from using any other terms.