Cecile Alvarez, only SEA honoree in NYC’s La MaMa theater
FOR her work as global citizen that spans nearly half a century, Cecile Guidote-Alvarez is among the seven outstanding honorees and the only one from Southeast Asia (SEA) at the Remake a World Gala at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club in New York City (NYC) on November 10.
Guidote-Alvarez is being honored “for her work as founder of the Philippine Educational Theater
Association and her lifetime commitment of ‘cultural care giving’ by providing free arts training to street children, the disabled and Indigenous youth.”
It has also been cited how she continues her advocacies as she serves as president of the Global Social Change Network of International Theatre Institute and director of the EarthSavers Dreams Ensemble that has been honored as Unesco Artist for Peace.
La MaMa marks its 61st anniversary season this year as a creative home for experimental artists.
Founded in 1961 by theatre legend Ellen Stewart, La MaMa has been the only original Off-OffBroadway venue still in operation. She has established La MaMa as a “haven for underrepresented artists to experiment with new work, without the pressures of commercial success.”
The Remake a World Gala is a celebration of La MaMa’s global community: the artists and audiences that have long been part of its “One World Vision.”
La MaMa has supported more than 5,000 productions, featuring 150,000 artists from 70 nations.
Though she lost her husband, former senator Heherson Alvarez, in the early days of the pandemic, she continues to dedicate herself in the pursuit of a free and just society with focus on the arts.