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iD Studio Theater Marks 25 Years with Stories from The Bronx and Harlem
- Damian Ali
- 2 hours ago
- 3 min read
Image courtesy of ID Studio Theater NYC
Bronx-based iD Studio Theater marks its 25th anniversary this March with a diverse lineup of performances at its home in the South Bronx. As a key participant in TeatroFest NYC 2026, the organization celebrates two and a half decades of bringing bilingual stories to life for immigrant communities.
Under the leadership of Sándie Luna and Germán Jaramillo, the theater continues its mission of turning local lived experiences into professional stage productions.
The anniversary season began earlier in March with ¡Arsenio!, a bilingual production inspired by the life and legacy of Afro-Cuban composer Arsenio Rodríguez, whose music helped shape salsa and Latin jazz in New York. The final performance of ¡Arsenio! took place on March 15.
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Sándie Luna and Jonathan Hare with director Germán Jaramillo and playwright Camilo Vergara. Credit: ID Studio Theater.
Later this month, iD will present Petra from March 27 to April 19. This immersive production takes audiences through all three levels of the theater. Written by Camilo Vergara and performed by Sándie Luna and Jonathan Hare, the play is based on research into the former Spofford Juvenile Detention Center.
The story follows a woman who returns to New York for her father’s funeral and finds herself working at a detention facility, forcing her to confront the realities of institutional silence and memory. She is unaware of how the emotional toll will unravel her sense of identity and strain her relationship with her romantic partner.
Scene from Hotel de Vagabundos. Image Courtesy of ID Studio Theater
The season concludes with Hotel de Vagabundos, running from April 24 to April 26. Written by Manuel Zapata Olivella and directed by Germán Jaramillo (The Strategy of the Snail), the play is set in a 1940s Harlem boarding house. The story follows a group of immigrants who unite to fight a false accusation and racial injustice that threatens a fellow resident’s life.
The production features cast members Gilberto Gabriel, Frank Rodríguez, and Michael William. Based on the author’s own time in New York, the play was translated by Everett Dixon and adapted by Germán Jaramillo and Linn Cary Mehta. The creative team includes music by Pablo Mayor, videography by Nicole Fernandez, and assistant director Ximena Zuluaga.
Image courtesy ID Studio Theater
Since 2001, iD Studio Theater has created more than twenty-five original works and partnered with organizations like the Hispanic Federation to reach schools and community centers. Their work has traveled as far as Senegal, but the heart of their mission remains in the Bronx. Joining the Alliance of Teatros Latinos NY for TeatroFest allows the company to stand alongside other major city institutions, such as Repertorio Español and Pregones Puerto Rican Traveling Theater.
“TeatroFest provides an extraordinary opportunity to celebrate ID Studio’s twenty-fifth anniversary alongside leading Spanish-speaking theaters of New York,” said Germán Jaramillo.
“Through the Alliance of Teatros Latinos NY, TeatroFest asserts Latine theater as a cultural powerhouse shaping how stories and communities are imagined in New York City,” added Sándie Luna.
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