Bilingual Foundation of the Arts Honors Founder

The Bilingual Foundation of the Arts will name its home theater in Lincoln Heights after its founder and president, Carmen Zapata. A ribbon-cutting ceremony hosted by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, will take place at 2 p.m. on Nov. 13 to celebrate the opening of the newly-named venue: The Carmen Zapata Theatre.

The event precedes one of the final performances of Bilingual Foundation of the Arts’ highly-acclaimed and sold-out production of “Don Quijote: La /ltima Aventura” which opened on Sept. 30. The event concludes with the live theater performance of “Don Quijote” in Spanish at 3 p.m.

The event will aid the theater’s fund-raising efforts and support its education and artistic programs.

The naming of the Carmen Zapata Theatre pays tribute to Bilingual Foundation of the Arts’ co-founder and president, and recognizes her many accomplishments in the theater and entertainment industry.

Zapata has established herself as one of the pioneering Hispanic actresses of American theater, with multiple contributions to television, film, the local community and the 32-year-old theater company she established. In 2003, she was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Bilingual Foundation of the Arts was founded in 1973 by Zapata, Margarita Galban and Estela Scarlata, and is the only full-time professional bilingual theater on the West Coast.

The mission of Bilingual Foundation of the Arts is to serve communities by presenting classic Spanish-language drama and contemporary plays to English- and Spanish-speaking audiences, thereby bringing awareness of the Hispanic/Latino culture.

Through this mission, Bilingual Foundation of the Arts also provides in-school education programs and instructional opportunities. The organization has served as a training ground for prominent performers such as Lupe Ontiveros, Andy Garcia, Elizabeth Pe“a and Suzanna Guzman.

Tickets to the event are $100 each. For more information or to purchase tickets call Bilingual Foundation of the Arts at 323-225-4044.