Argos MacCallum TEATRO PARAGUAS
“When we started, we’d realized, ‘Wait a second, there’s really no Spanish or Spanish-speaking theater here.’ With 400 years of history, there really ought to be. So we made it our mission not only to present bilingual theater but to present theater by New Mexico playwrights. And now we’ve developed very close ties with the Mexican immigrant community too,” Argos MacCallum says. Teatro Paraguas programs include Latinx plays in English, bilingual presentations of poetry and cuentos (folk tales), children’s theater, and the works of New Mexican playwrights. It also rents its theater space to other organizations, such as f lamenco companies.
MacCallum says when he founded the organization in 2012, audience members had some reluctance to travel to the Southside or even Midtown. “I still remember one of the ladies from the Eastside when she first came down. She said, I just can’t believe how far down the road this place is. But that same lady kept coming back,” he says.
He says that reaction is shifting thanks to Southside city councilors vocally representing the area and the city of Santa Fe’s economic development efforts. “There’s some real economic muscle starting to develop. And the climate refugees from California and elsewhere — we’ve seen an influx of new people down here. It’s funny. People are always talking about Santa Fe’s three cultures. Well, there are a lot more than just three now. There are immigrants from all over,” he says.
3205 Calle Marie, Suite B I 505-424-1601 I teatroparaguasnm.org