Repertorio Español was founded in 1968 to introduce the best of Latin American, Spanish and Hispanic-American theatre in distinctive, quality productions.
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Gilberto Zaldívar, Founding President and Producer Emeritus of the acclaimed Spanish-language theater company Repertorio Español of New York, passed yesterday Tuesday, October 6 at 5:30pm at his apartment in the Gramercy Neighborhood of Manhattan in New York. He was 75 years old and died due to complications of Lewy Body Disease. Mr. Zaldívar was diagnosed with the disease in 2001. He is survived by his sister Nancy Zaldívar, his life partner Robert Weber Federico and his friend and Repertorio’s co-founder, René Buch.
October 7, 2009
Gilberto Zaldívar co-founded the theater company Repertorio Español of New York along with René Buch in 1968 and worked as its Executive Producer until 2005 when he retired due to illness. Mr. Zaldívar was a tireless and passionate producer that quickly positioned Repertorio Español as the nation’s pre-eminent Spanish-language theater. Through almost four decades of utmost dedication, Mr. Zaldívar produced hundreds of plays by authors from dozens of Latin American countries; established an ensemble of hundreds of talented actors performing in Spanish; collaborated with directors from Cuba, Puerto Rico, Colombia, Argentina, México, Brazil and Spain; brought Pilar Rioja’s Spanish and Flamenco dance to New York audiences; toured throughout Latin America and Spain; raised millions of dollars for the theater he loved and employed hundreds of artists from all all Spanish-speaking countries.
Most importantly, Zaldívar is remembered as a generous and charismatic professional by those that worked with him. His efforts still mark the lives of thousands of students and adults that march through Repertorio Español’s doors every year to witness the magic of live Spanish-language theater and of works not produced elsewhere. -A full biography follows-
René Buch, Artistic Director of Repertorio Español, expressed that “Yesterday the arts world lost one of its greatest impresarios. A man who confronted the challenges and whose vision and passion brought the great wealth of Latin American and Spanish culture to the forefront of American theater. Gilberto was my most demanding critic, a passionate supporter and a friend of unprecedented loyalty. His passing leaves a void in my heart and the hearts of the entire Repertorio family.”
There will be a celebration of his life on Friday, October 9 from 2pm-10pm at Repertorio Español located at 138 East 27th Street in Manhattan, NY 10016 (between Lexington and Third Avenues).
In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that a donation be made to the Gilberto Zaldívar Memorial Endowment Fund to support Repertorio Español. Contributions can be made by sending a check to Repertorio Español: 138 East 27th Street New York, NY 10016 payable to the Gilberto Zaldívar Memorial Endowment Fund.
•HIGH RESOLUTION PHOTOS AND COPIES OF PAST PRESS ARTICLES about Gilberto Zaldívar and Repertorio Español may be downloaded at: http://www.repertorio.org/gz
•PHOTOS FOR GENERAL VIEWING may be found at: http://www.repertorio.org/gzphotos
•VIDEOS of past interviews with Gilberto Zaldívar may be viewed at: http://www.repertorio.org/gzvideo
•For more information about Repertorio Español – René Buch, Artistic Director; Robert Federico, Executive Director; José Antonio Cruz, Associate Producer -- visit http://www.repertorio.org.
•For more information about Lewy Body Disease, visit: http://www.lbda.org
FULL BIOGRAPHY – GILBERTO ZALDíVAR:
Gilberto Zaldívar was born in Deleyte, Cuba in 1934. His involvement with theatre began in Cuba as an avocation. While working for Goodrich Industrial Products, Mr. Zaldívar co-founded Teatro Arlequín, a 199-seat theatre in Havana presenting contemporary works. He moved to New York at age 27 in 1961 and began working in the corporate accounting field, rising to Manager of Accounts Payable for Diner's Club before committing himself to full-time work in the theatre.
In 1966 he joined Stella Holt and Frances Drucker at the Greenwich Mews Theatre, well known for its pioneering work in Black and minority theatre. In 1967, Mr. Zaldívar became co-producer with Ms. Drucker and, jointly, presented works by Langston Hughes, René Marques and Alice Childress, as well as Spanish-language productions of Federico García Lorca’s “Yerma” and Fernando de Rojas’ “La celestina.”
In 1968, Mr. Zaldívar joined forces with René Buch to form Repertorio Español. As Executive Producer of Repertorio Español, he brought the works of Spanish playwrights such as Federico García Lorca, Tirso de Molina and Calderón de La Barca; and contemporary Hispanic playwrights from the United States and Latin America such as Ernesto Caballero, Emilio Carballido, Isaac Chocrón, Nilo Cruz, Gabriel García Márquez, Jacobo Langsner, Eduardo Machado, Luis Rafael Sánchez and Mario Vargas Llosa to New York's audiences. Mr. Zaldívar produced the world premieres of plays such as “Café Con Leche,” “La gringa” and “La Cándida Eréndira”; the New York Premiere of García Lorca’s “El Publico” and the Spanish–language premiere of Nilo Cruz’s Pulitzer Prize Winning Drama “Anna In The Tropics.” His commitment to Repertorio and its mission led the way for the Company to develop into the finest Spanish-language theatre in the United States, and the only one working in a rotating repertory format.
In 1973, he introduced the renowned Spanish and Flamenco dancer, Pilar Rioja, to New York audiences and produced her shows in the United States for over 25 years. In 1980, Mr. Zaldívar brought musical theatre to Repertorio with a Spanish-language production of “The Fantasticks” which represented the United States on a tour to Latin America for the U.S. Information Agency. This program grew to include productions of Zarzuelas (Spanish operettas) and revues of the favorite songs of Puerto Rico, Cuba, México and Spain. He spearheaded Repertorio's extensive touring activities, which have included tours to Cuba, Central and South America and Spain, as well as cities throughout the United States.
Mr. Zaldívar's work has been recognized by audiences, critics and peers alike through awards including OBIE, Drama Desk, and the New York State Governor's Awards as well as numerous HOLA (Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors) and ACE (Association of Hispanic Theater Critics) Awards. Most recently, Mr. Zaldívar – along with René Buch – received TCG's (Theater Communications Group) 2008 Practitioner Award and an ENCORE Award from the Arts and Business Council of New York for Excellence in Arts Management in 2007.
In addition to his activities at Repertorio Español, Mr. Zaldívar served on advisory panels for the National Endowment for the Arts and the New York State Council on the Arts. He also served as a Board Member of the Alliance of Resident Theatres of New York, the Arts and Business Council, the Association of Hispanic Arts and Theatre Development Fund.
Some of Gilberto Zaldívar’s achievements for Repertorio Español during his tenure as Executive Producer from 1968 thru 2005 include:
• Produced over 250 original productions of classic and contemporary plays from Spain and Latin America as well as new plays by emerging Hispanic-American playwrights.
• Employed hundreds of actors including Ricardo Barber, Xonia Benguría, María Brennes, Miriam Colón, Beatriz Córdoba, Raúl Dávila, Vivia Deangelo, Brenda Feliciano, Lupita Ferrer, Francisco Gattorno, Ofelia González, Thelma Itier Sterling, Raúl Juliá, Nelson Landrieu, Selenis Leyva, Ana Margarita Martínez-Casado, Fanny Mikey, Carmen Montejo, Zully Montero, Ilka Tanya Payán, Denise Quiñones, Virginia Rambal, Marcelo Rodríguez, Rosalba Rolón, Mario Ernesto Sánchez, René Sánchez, Adria Santana, Yolanda Vádiz, Ana Gloria Vásquez, Tatiana Vecino, Teresa Yenque y China Zorrilla.
• Collaborated with dozens of directors and designers including Silvia Brito (Puerto Rico), Luz Castaños (Spain), Andrea D’odorico (Spain), Franklin Domínguez (Dominican Republic), Abelardo Estorino (Cuba), María Ferreira-Contessa (Cuba), Antúnes Filho (Brazil), María Cristina Fuste (Puerto Rico), Miguel Narros (Spain), Alejandro Samek (Argentina), Jorge Alí Triana (Colombia), Bob Troie (U.S.), Susana Tubert (Chile) and José Zayas (Puerto Rico).
• Positioned Repertorio Español as one of the few U.S. theatrical companies operating in a true rotating repertory format with an average of 350 performances of 15 different productions and audiences of over 50,000 every year.
• Developed the Company’s education program ¡Dignidad!, an innovative initiative that today serves over 20,000 students annually through weekday matinee performances and ancillary activities including study workshops in schools, and professional development sessions for teachers.
• Organized dozens of galas successfully raising millions of dollars to advance ¡Dignidad! and honoring luminaries such as fashion designer Carolina Herrera; singers Celia Cruz and Chucho Valdés; dancers José Manuel Carreño and Paloma Herrera and philanthropist Patricia Phelps de Cisneros.
• Spearheaded the Company’s major capital campaign which raised $4 million towards the organization’s endowment.
• Developed the Company’s Board of Directors to include a wide range of industries including banking, law, publishing, education, media, society, pharmaceuticals, government relations and consumer products.
• Increased and secured corporate support from the nation’s leading corporations and industries including AT&T, Altria, AXA, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Fannie Mae, MetLife, Merck, among others.
• Secured the Company’s resident theater (1972), the Gramercy Arts on East 27th Street in Manhattan and raised the necessary funds to renovate the space in 2000 and 2004, making it ADA Compliant.
• Coordinated a tour to Latin America (1980) with the auspices of the U.S. Information Agency making Repertorio the first cultural organization to represent the country while performing in Spanish.
• Brought the Company to Cuba (1998) becoming the first Cuban-American theater company to perform in the island.
• Inaugurated an infra-red translation system for non-Spanish speaking audiences (1991) making Repertorio’s work accessible to a wider audience.
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| Repertorio Español has been a leader in Spanish-language theatre for almost 40 years. |
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