New York Spanish Language Theater Founder Mourned

Cuban emigré Gilberto Zaldivar has died at the age of 75 in New York.  After leaving Cuba in 1961 over disagreements with the direction the Cuban Revolution took, he started a business career in accounting.  In Cuba, he had been active in the Teatro Arlequin and eventually  left Diners Club in New York  to pursue his interests in theater at first in English but formed Repertorio Espanol www.repertorio.org in 1968 in conjunction with another Cuban, Rene Buch.

The theater has operated for many years at the Gramercy Arts Theater on East 27th.  I have attended many performances there over the years, including works by Calderon de la Barca, Nelson Rodrigues,  and others. More recently, they have taken Spanish language theater on the road to schools and other venues in the New York City metro area.  Besides comedies and dramas, they Repertorio Espanol has occasionally ventured into musicals and dance performances, such as the flamenco dancer Pilar Rioja.

Zaldivar's death is a loss for culture in the New York City metro area.   -30-

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Tags: Off-Broadway Theater , Teatro En EE.UU. , Repertorio Espanol , Gilberto Zaldivar , Rene Buch , Calderon De La Barca , Spanish Language Theater , Pilar Rioja , Flamenco