Arts & Culture

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 18 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ --

WHAT:
"De La Locura A La Esperanza (From Madness to Hope)." A theatre-dance-music performance about the 1980-1992 Salvadoran Civil War. In Spanish with English supertitles. Presented with accompanying exhibits.

WHO:
Conceived and directed by William Flores. Choreographed by Saul Mendez. Produced by Olin Theater Presenters and Saul Mendez Folkloric Ballet. Featuring over 30 performing artists.

WHERE:
Los Angeles Theatre Center, in the 280-sear Theatre 2, 514 S. Spring St., Los Angeles, CA 90013.

WHEN:
Friday, Oct. 23, 2009 at 8 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 24 at 8 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 25 at 8 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 30 at 8 p.m.
Sat. Oct. 31 at 6 p.m.
Sun. Nov. 1 at 3 p.m.

ADMISSION: $20. Students and seniors $15. Opening Night VIP tickets (includes reception), $50.

RESERVATIONS: (213) 489-0994 ext. 107.

ONLINE TICKETING: http://www.thelatc.org

"De La Locura A La Esperanza (From Madness to Hope)" was the name given to the report of the 1992 U.N. Truth Commission on El Salvador following 12 years of civil war by a brutal right wing military junta protecting the privileges of wealthy few against the mostly impoverished campesinos (peasants) living at subsistence level. Violence exploded in the country after right-wing assassins murdered left-leaning Archbishop Oscar Romero during Mass. In the conflict between the junta and the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front, more than 75,000 died, 10,000 disappeared, 500,000 were internally displaced, and 1.5 million fled the country. The Reagan Administration intervened on the side of the right-wing Salvadoran Army, spending more than four billion dollars in training and weapons support.

The U.N. brokered a peace accord between the warring factions, culminating in the cessation of hostilities in early 1992.

The new play by William Flores, "De La Locura A La Esperanza (From Madness to Hope)" commemorates the events of the difficult struggle as the people of El Salvador waged a fight for freedom against oppression. Flores, who also directs, has assembled a cast of over 30, including actors, dancers and singers, communicating a historical record of those turbulent times through dramatic scenes, songs and traditional folkloric dances.

The show is accompanied by visual exhibits from the Museo De La Palabra Y La Imagen including: From War to Peace (Images and documents about the Salvadoran Civil War); and The Legacy of Salarrue (Paintings, images, objects and manuscripts from the private collection of El Salvador's greatest painter and writer.

There will also be an installation by artist Claudia Bernardi: Shouts From The Invisible.

SOURCE Los Angeles Theatre Center