EAST TO WEST: HOOD TO HOLLYWOOD to Pair Two Latino Solo Shows at Hudson Theatre

Two solo performers will share a Hollywood stage for two nights this September in East to West: Hood to Hollywood, a Hispanic Heritage Month double bill pairing Yelyna De León in Hollywood Chola, written by Josefina López, with the world premiere of Richard Velazquez's evening-length Dancing with Demons. Performances are Friday, September 18 and Saturday, September 19 at 7:30 p.m. at The Hudson Theatre (Guild Space) in Hollywood. Tickets are $18 at tinyurl.com/hoodtohollywood.

The evening asks a single question from two coasts: who gets to decide what a Latino is. De León answers it from a Hollywood studio lot. Velazquez answers it from a corner of the Lower East Side in the 1980s. Each show is followed by a ten-minute talkback with the artist.

HOLLYWOOD CHOLA

Written by Josefina López, the award-winning author of Real Women Have Curves, performed by Yelyna De León and directed by Lindsey Haley, Hollywood Chola is a one-woman show with music. Xochitl Guerrero, a Mexican-American actress repeatedly typecast in Hollywood, is ordered into anger management after an altercation with a studio security guard, setting off a reckoning with identity, industry, and the cost of staying true to yourself. The production runs approximately sixty minutes.

De León is a Los Angeles-based actress, filmmaker, and recording artist. Her screen credits include Snowfall, Shameless, Ray Donovan, Will & Grace, Bones, and Southland. Her film work includes A Better Life, the Oscar-nominated feature directed by Chris Weitz, Murder in the Woods opposite Danny Trejo, and 20 Pounds to Happiness, which she wrote, directed, and stars in. She holds a B.A. in Film/TV and Chicano Studies from UCLA and an MFA in Film/TV from USC.

Los Angeles Magazine called Hollywood Chola "a must see."

DANCING WITH DEMONS

Written and performed by Richard Velazquez, directed by Allan Wasserman, with dramaturgy by Christopher Moncayo-Torres, Dancing with Demons receives its first full presentation at the Hudson. The roughly sixty-minute evening is built from three pieces.

Just Another Demon opens on a Jehovah's Witness childhood on a Lower East Side surrounded by the drug trade, and the persona a boy builds to survive it. The piece aired nationally on the storytelling podcast RISK! in August 2026. Nancy, the award-winning centerpiece, returns to a dance floor where a teenager finds freedom for the first time; it won Best Solo Show, Best Drama, and Top of Festival at the 30 Minutes or Less Festival and received a 2026 NAMBA Award of Merit. Mindful Mijo closes the night, with Velazquez addressing the audience directly.

Velazquez is a Hollywood-based solo performer, playwright, and television producer with more than twenty-five years of credits on Discovery, National Geographic, Animal Planet, and History. He co-created and produced the documentary Off The Chain, which was cited by Justice Sonia Sotomayor during U.S. Supreme Court oral arguments. He trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York, is a certified mindfulness teacher, and serves on the board of The Young Shakespeareans.

PERFORMANCE DETAILS

Production: East to West: Hood to Hollywood
Dates: Friday, September 18 and Saturday, September 19, 2026
Curtain: 7:30 p.m.
Venue: The Hudson Theatre (Guild Space), 6539 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood, CA 90038
Tickets: $18 at tinyurl.com/hoodtohollywood
Running time: Two shows, each approximately 60 minutes, each followed by a 10-minute talkback with the artist
Running order: Dancing with Demons, followed by Hollywood Chola
Advisory: Contains mature themes including substance use, self-harm, religious trauma, and adult language. Recommended for audiences 18 and over.
Social: @richardvstory | @YelynadeLeon | @HollywoodChola

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