Timeline is a regular feature in each issue looking back to events and milestones that have helped us evolve into the community we are today.

March 26, 1998

Theater Works, Hartford’s own off-Broadway venue, released one of the most widely talked about Latin Romance pieces ever seen in Hartford theater. Jose Rivera, the playwright who penned Cloud Tectonics, relinquished control to  Rob Ruggiero, Artistic Director of Theater Works. For Rivera, his plays are like his children. However, the Puerto Rican-born, Long Island-raised Rivera admitted in an interview with Metroline that he was learning to let go.

“They [Rivera’s own children] accuse me of liking actors more than I like them,” Rivera explained of his decision not to travel to Connecticut from Los Angeles to see the production of Cloud Tectonics.

The production was marked by a blend of allegories and poetry which were used to tell the universal story of love. Rivera was known for his use of poetic language and magical imagery. Delilah Cotto, who played the role of Celestina Del Sol, said she was drawn to Rivera’s use of sensitivity, passion and romanticism in the piece. Cotto was also ecstatic to be able to speak Spanish on stage. She was moved particularly by one line in the play. “The lines ‘I always speak Spanish when I’m in love’ “...El amor de toda una vida.”

Cloud Tectonics attracted many from the Hispanic community who were encouraged to see their culture and heritage so richly and beautifully portrayed.