Acclaimed playwright’s U.S. premiere canceled after immigration authorities deny crew visas

Nicole Acevedo for NBC News reports that veteran actress and playwright Conchi León had been looking forward to bringing a piece of her native Yucatán, México to the United States since March, but immigration authorities quashed her hopes a week before she was set to put on her play “La Tía Mariela” (Aunt Mariela) at the National Museum for Mexican Art in Chicago.

Mexico’s Once Once Producciones had been working with León and the play’s cast to present the U.S. premiere of “La Tía Mariela”  as part of Chicago’s third International Latino Theater Festival.

“We built a new set design for this production, so it could be more travel friendly. We’ve been rehearsing for a long time with our band and the cast, we even turned down gigs to commit to this,” León told NBC News in Spanish.

Days before “La Tía Mariela” was set to premiere in Chicago, organizers of the Latino theater festival announced the play’s cancellation because the “U.S. Department of Citizenship Immigration Services (USCIS), under the current administration, has officially denied granting touring visas for the cast and crew.”

We are sad to announce that we have had to cancel the performance of La Tia Mariela due to circumstances beyond our control. We appreciate your continued support for Latino theater, and we apologize for this inconvenience.https://t.co/J3nD2DBGCx pic.twitter.com/kdDLFX951x

— Mexican Art Museum (@ExploreNMMA) September 24, 2019

KJ