“Hope, Courage & Resilience” is the theme as Teatro Milagro, or Milagro Theatre, heads into its monumental 40th season, kicking off nine months of productions and community events.
Founded by José González and Dañel Malán in 1985, Milagro is a revered Latino theater believed to be the only Latino theater in the Pacific Northwest, with its home at 525 SE Stark St. in Portland.
Milagro seeks to uplift Latino culture and heritage through theater, education and community activities, keeping creativity and artists at the forefront — a vital and unique effort in a city where Latino or Hispanic people represent 10.3% of the population and a state where Latino or Hispanic people are the largest ethnic or racial minority group, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Season 40
Season 40 at Milagro runs from September 2023 through May 2024, with five productions primarily directed towards young people and focusing on mental health. The programming emphasizes social justice and building community.
The first play of the season is “Worry Dolls” from Sept. 15-24, written by Maya Malán-González. Malán-González also wrote “Huelga,” a play about the farmworkers' movement in 1962 that will be onstage at Milagro in January. Malán-González, a playwright and actress in her own right, is the daughter of the theater's founders and a lifelong member of Milagro.
A tradition from Guatemala, worry dolls are little dolls people put under their pillows to take away worries while sleeping. The characters in “Worry Dolls” are two girls, each with their struggles. Worry dolls appear as puppets in the play.
“The main point of this short play for youth is to destigmatize therapy. It can be something you do in normal life,” Dañel Malán, who serves as artistic director for the play, said.
She wants to shift the narrative around the idea people are broken. After the performance, young audience members can make worry dolls with pipe cleaners.
Every year, Milagro creates a Día De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) performance and an altar to honor deceased loved ones. The 28th Day of the Dead performance will take place from Oct. 13 to Nov. 5.
Day of the Dead has its roots in Indigenous Mexican culture. Observers remember deceased loved ones on Nov. 2 with altars filled with offerings and mementos. These are typically marigolds, photos and food.
“This year, 2023, the production is about Las Adelitas, the women warriors of the Mexican revolution and last year was a throwback to earlier years — a folkloric peña style program with folkloric music, dance, irreverent monologues, calaveras and skits,” José González said.
Workshops for building sugar skulls and paper flowers for decorating altars will be offered as well as a loteria game night. Games created by Milagro’s Latino Artist Fund fund recipient Sofia Carpenter-Rodriguez will be available for purchase.
“Day of the Dead can take any direction it wants,” José González said.
The actors and writers work on a deadline in the studio with six weeks of rehearsal. They play with ideas based on improvisation, finding rhythm and cues and devising a play.
He remembers a Day of the Dead play in 2008 about migrant farm workers during the recession. In 2001, when so many people died on 9/11, the production focused on children who had lost parents.
“Day of the Dead is a meditation on death and can take many forms,” González said. “We take what’s happening currently and put it in the context of our understanding of death.”
History
José González and Dañel Malán’s dedication to theater led the couple to create Milagro, which became a nonprofit organization in 1986. José González and Dañel Malán have numerous awards and accomplishments.
Most recently, in 2019, José González earned The Stewart H. Holbrook Literary Legacy Award for significant contributions to Oregon’s literary community. Dañel Malán has managed and performed with the pan-Latino dance troupe Milagro Bailadores.
Beyond the arts, they have both been involved with their community. José González serves on the Central Eastside Together board. Dañel Malán serves as a commissioner for Multnomah County on the Metropolitan Exposition and Recreation Commission.
The Milagro group founded the Ancient Greek Theatre Festival in Portland, producing Greek plays for seven years, starting with “Oedipus Rex.” In 1989, they created the first Hispanic Cultural Festival, which featured plays for adults and children, music, dance and bilingual poetry. A dichotomy was formed: Hispanic plays in the spring and Greek in the fall.
When Milagro began to focus only on producing Hispanic theater and arts in 1992, they moved on from the Northwest Service Center, where they had been performing. They wandered around Portland with cast and crew, performing anywhere from a large room to a legitimate theater. Their home base was González and Malán’s kitchen, living room and backyard.
During this time, José González received an “Outstanding Contribution to the Hispanic Community” award from IMAGE of Washington County and the Northwest Area Foundation gave them a grant. They hired more people and bought computers. With a growing organization, they needed a home.
One day in 1995, Dañel Malán happened to drive by the building on Stark Street with a “For Rent” sign outside and stopped to take a look. She saw the potential, especially when the owner said they could rent the ballroom for $50 more each month.
“Ballroom is the key word because that means it’s an occupancy for the public setting,” José González said. “We called the (city) and asked for a specialist to come down. We called the fire marshall and asked them to come as well and take a look at it and tell us what they thought. Could we do a theater here or not? Well, both of them came in, they checked it out. The first thing the occupancy specialist said was, ‘There’s just not enough places for small theaters in this town.’”
In seven weeks, they built the risers and installed seating given to them by a Salem theater that replaced seats in their third balcony.
“We bought all our volunteers a screwdriver and a wrench,” José Gonzalez said. “We got a truck, and we sent them down to Salem and said grab everything you can.”
The theater was ready in time for the first Día de los Muertos Festival.
Milagro purchased the building on Stark Street in 1997. In addition to the original theater space, it has a cafe and gallery. For running the show, there is office space, a rehearsal studio, a scene shop and costume/prop storage for mainstage shows and the touring group. Donated art covers the walls throughout the building.
A room with large windows and lots of airflow is called the Zocalo. Milagro holds Tertulias in the Zocalo throughout the year. Artists show how they create their work at these free informal gatherings, which are all about art and conversation.
The building is accessible to people with disabilities, including the entrance, which is big enough for wheelchairs. Three front row seats in the theater can be removed to make room for wheelchairs. Audience members may choose these seats when they purchase tickets. Renovated bathrooms are ADA-accessible.
Milagro has grown beyond the theater on Stark Street to serve the Latino community. Dañel Malán created Teatro Milagro, a touring arts education program. They offer residencies to underserved communities nationwide and workshops and performances at schools. They present plays in Spanish and English. Dañel Malán has also created K-12 and college curricula, presenting at workshops and conferences nationwide.
“I am most proud of receiving my Master’s in education in 2016, which allowed me the opportunity to conduct a unique case study in bilingual arts integration,” she said. “Over a three-year period, I was able to document that our bilingual arts education programs improve reading comprehension outcomes by 50%.”
Supporting artists is another priority at Milagro. Sixteen Oregon Latino artists will benefit this year from the Latino Artist Fund with $12,000 in small grants ranging from $500 to $2000. The funded projects include films, poetry books and visual arts. Many of these artists will present their work in the tertulia series.
Highlights include a $1,600 grant for Maria Osterroth as she begins her 17th annual Portland Latin American Film Festival this month.
A Peruvian artist, Gabriela Vidal Alvarado, is creating a book of photographs and poetry depicting her journey with Down Syndrome. A $1,200 grant will help translate and market the book and shipping copies to Peru.
A $300 grant will help with production costs for a film project that actress, producer and writer Bunnie Rivera is working on about homeless Latino youth. The film is called “This Land Is.”
Funding
Ticket sales, contracts for activities and rentals pay for only about one-third of the costs to run Milagro. The other two-thirds come from benefactors and donations from organizations and individuals.
“That's why we are so appreciative of those institutions and individuals who are making contributions to us because they’re helping us do this,” José González said, referring to the months of work and expense behind the scenes that go into creating a show.
A display of 80 colorful tiles fills a wall at Milagro, titled “Angels Make Milagros One Tile at a Time … Make Yours.” Another display of 44 tiles is nearby. These individual designs represent contributions to Milagro.
Another display has the names of close to 200 names of businesses and individuals who have donated to Milagro in one year. The amounts range from $50 up to $100,000 and more.
Multiple foundations and government entities contribute. The City of Portland, Oregon Arts Commission and National Endowment for the Arts have made a difference. Standard Insurance is a corporate funder. The Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians are on the list along with the Oregon Heritage Association.
“We look for organizations interested in supporting arts and culture,” José González said. “With that in mind, we approach them with a project in mind.”
José González said they are continuously trying to improve the customer experience with the space. Renovations in the Zocalo, from shades and lighting to windows, added to approximately a quarter of a million dollars. To make the bathrooms ADA accessible cost close to $80,000. Soon, they hope to create a permanent sound system for the Zocalo instead of trucking in speakers and a mixer for each event.
“The arts community continues to struggle,” José González said. “Every day we have to figure out how do we stay ahead of the game, how do we keep that edge.”
He still feels they are recovering after being shut down at the start of the pandemic.
“About this season, I’m hopeful,” he said. “I budget conservatively because you can’t predict a resurgence of COVID or other calamities.”
Art for all
Milagro has rush tickets for $6 for those who can’t afford to pay full price. These are available the same day as the show, cash only and are not advertised. Art for All offers $5 for Oregon Trail cardholders.
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