Writing in Sand, a multidisciplinary stage production directed by Carlos Caballero, featuring actress Mabel Roch, choreographer and dancer Lucia Aratanha, musician Inez Barlatier, and the writing of Griselda Ortíz, opens a dialogue that explores themes of displacement, immigration, trauma, personal crisis, and assimilation as a mirror of Miami itself. Three female performers – one Cuban, one Brazilian and one Haitian, each also representing a different artistic discipline – come together to explore these individual themes, as well as the relationships between the various ethnic and artistic communities in Miami.
Writing in Sand is a work of performance that specifically explores Miami as a place and mind-set, with all of its issues of migration, assimilation and the process of creating and maintaining a cultural legacy. Using music, acting and dance, three immigrant women artists unpack their personal baggage, reveal their truths and experiences, and weave together a tapestry from the threads of their similar and disparate realities as immigrants, and as artists living and working in Miami.
Writing in Sand utilizes the individual autobiographical experiences of each performer to explore the universal reality of migrant women artists in Miami, a city of immigrants in which everybody has baggage to unpack. This riveting performance relies on poignant stories based on the artists’ real lives, as well as humor, music, dance, and personal anecdotes to compose a moving portrait of Miami, a city in which – though the sea may wash away our stories daily – we persevere and continue writing in sand.
This project is made possible with support from the Knight Arts Foundation, and presented as part of FUNDarte’s Miami On Stage: Knight New Works series, dedicated to the presentation of original new works by Miami-based artists.
About the Artists
Carlos Caballero is an actor and theater director with an extensive history in international theater, film, television, and multimedia performance. Caballero studied Art History at the University of Havana, and graduated from the Institute of Fine Arts of Havana (ISA) with a degree in Theater and Acting. He has also participated in workshops with theater artists such as Eugenio Barba, and Carmelina de la Rocca from Odin Theatre. Caballero has worked as an actor in theater since 1985, most notably as a company member with Teatro El Publico and La Ventana in Cuba. With these companies, he performed in over 20 plays including works by Shakespeare, Garcia Lorca, and Cocteau, among others, touring his work to the leading festivals in Spain and Latin America. Caballero has been based in Miami since 2000, where he received the Best New Actor award from the Miami New Times and the Nuevo Herald for his work with Grupo de Teatro La Mateodora in the play “Cuentas Pendientes,” and a Spanish-language adaption of “A Streetcar Named Desire” with Teatro Miami. He has also worked with Gold Coast Theater in more than 80 performances dedicated to teaching children about environmental issues. In 2001, Caballero wrote and directed a children’s play titled “The Witch of the Year” which was presented through the Miami-Dade Public Library System and in public schools across Miami. In 2002, Caballero directed the widely acclaimed play “Sueño Americano” by José Eduardo Pardo, which received a Best New Work award from the Miami Herald. In addition to his acting and performance work, Caballero recently collaborated as an acting coach with Jose Manuel Dominguez and Lucia Aratanha on their theater production of “Hilo” in 2010. He directed a performance work by Elizabeth Doud called “Sipping Fury from a Teacup” in 2011, commissioned by FUNDarte’s Miami On Stage series. In collaboration with Doud, he also recently developed, premiered and toured “If you’re going to pull a knife, USAlo/Si Vas a Sacar un Cuchillo, USAlo,” an experimental bilingual work based on texts by Brecht, and commissioned by Miami Light Project and FUNDarte. This work was directed by Teatro El Publico’s Carlos Diaz as part of an international collaboration involving artists in both the US and Cuba. Caballero also has extensive experience in film and television, having worked in Italy, Spain, Brazil, Panama, Peru, and Mexico. He recently appeared as a protagonist in the film “Verde Verde” by Enrique Pineda Barnet, released in Cuba in 2012. Caballero was most recently seen in a Spanish adapatation of Albert Camus’ “Caligula” presented as part of FUNDarte’s Out in the Tropics Festival in Miami Beach, FL in June of 2012.
Mabel Roch is a theater actress who has also worked extensively in films and television, establishing herself as a powerful and versatile world-class performer. Ms. Roch graduated from The Escuela Nacional De Arte/National College of the Arts In Havana, Cuba in 1981. In Cuba, Ms Roch worked as a member of several theater companies including Pinos Nuevos, Cubana De Acero and Teatro Estudio, under the direction of the world-renowned Raquel Revuelta. During this period, she performed in the following theatrical works: “Huelga” by Albio Paz, “Mirandolina” by Goldoni. “La Opinion Publica” by Aurel Baranga, and “Manteca” by Alberto Pedro, among others. Her Television performances in Cuba include The adventure series “El Tiempo Joven No Muere” and “Shiralad, ” along with several plays adapted for Television, inlcuding “Zoologico De Cristal” (a Spanish adaptation of “The Glass Menagerie”). Ms Roch also worked in several Cuban Soap Operas, including “El Pedraplen”, “Antonia,” “Tiempo De Maquina” & “Mi Prima Raquel” among others. Her Cuban film credits include: “Doble Crimen A Bordo,” and “Esta Larga Tarea De Aprender A Morir,” as well as “Un Hombre De Exito,” directed By Humberto Solas; the short film “Momentos De Tina,” as well as the feature “Mujer Transparente,” both directed By Mayra Vilasis; and “Amores,” directed By Kwesi Dickson. In 1994 Ms Roch Emigrated To The U.S. and has since performed in several theatrical works, including: “La Noche” by Abilio Estevez, “La Chunga” by Mario Vargas Llosa, “Chejovianas” by Dany Jacomino, “Amaneci Como Con Ganas De Morirme” by Indira Paez, “Cartas De Amor A Stalin” by Juan Mayorga, “Contigo Pan Y Cebolla” by Hector Quintero, and “Cercania” By Rolando Diaz.
Lucia Aratanha is a performing artist and director with over 35 years experience in the field of dance and theater. She began her career in her native Brazil, where she worked extensively with well-known choreographers and directors. After relocating to Miami, she became active in the local arts community, and continued to perform while developing movement training for dancers and actors. She has applied her years of technical, choreographic, and theatrical experience to providing directorial support for dozens of original works by artists such as Heather Maloney, Jose Manuel Dominguez, Elizabeth Doud, Jennylin Duany, Giovanni Luquini, and Gary Lund. In multiple productions, Aratanha had the honor of collaborating with playwright and New Theatre director Ricky J. Martinez and experimental filmaker Dinorah de Jesus Rodriguez. Her own theatrical and choreographic work has been presented by Miami Light Project, The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, and FundArte, among others, and she was commissioned through MLP’s Here and Now Festival in 2007. Since its founding, Lucia has been a core team member at Inkub8, which is a laboratory studio for creating new works in the contemporary, emerging and hybrid forms. For the last three years, she has been a teaching artist for Karen Peterson & Dancers’ YEP Program, and for VSA Florida. Both organizations dedicated to bring the arts to sudents with disabilities. Currently, Lucia is a staff teacher at Kalos Music and Art School.
Inez Barlatier is a Haitian multifaceted performing artist. Her career in the arts began at age 12 under the guidance of her father, Jan Sebon, an international performing musician and visual artist for over thirty years. Today at age 23, Inez performs as a singer-songwriter, rhythm guitarist, recording artist, percussionist, dancer, actress and a hand drum instructor. She has performed nationally in the U.S. and in Haiti with Kazoots, Jan Sebon & Kazak International, Venus Rising: Women’s Drum & Dance Ensemble and One Drum. Along with eleven plus years of live music performances, Inez has also collaborated with visual artists and filmmakers; recently with Vincent Moon. She has been featured on National Public Radio, Channel 10 News, Channel 2 News, The Miami Herald, Tom Tom Magazine, The Miami New Times, The Sun Sentinel and America’s Got Talent in front of celebrity judges Sharon Stone, Morgan Pierce and David Hasselhoff
Griselda Ortíz is a writer and dramaturge from Cuba who worked as director of dubbing and subtitling, as well as assistant director, screenwriter, and style editor in the Cuban film industry for many years before her arrival in the U.S. where she currently works in dubbing and subtitling for film, translation, and as a freelance screenwriter and television producer.