Ramona

“Saw you at church in the crowd with a big thing of flowers in your arms like an armor." 

Written by Carlos Alberto Valencia

Staged Reading Presentation:
Saturday, June 10, 2023 – 3:00 PM

Language: English

Directed by Fernando Vieira

Featuring Fernando Viera, Ray Rodríguez, Sean Griffin, and Marlon Fernando Reina

Location:
IATI Theater Studio
64 E. 4th St 2 Fl
New York, NY, 10003

Hashtag: #Cimientos2023

Tickets

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Synopsis

A swarm of insects is expected to descend upon a rural town near Lake Erie, New York, carrying a deadly virus. The insects breed in the ground and, once every ten years, take flight and descend across the region. Ramona, a transgender woman, is the proud owner of “Ramona’s Flowers,” a charming florist shop that is her home and at present, her refuge. Carl Sanchez, a Colombian guy’s guy, has lived in this rural town for nearly three years but has had difficulty connecting with the tightly knit community. Today, Ramona and Carl are pulled together under the grim, almost supernatural, specter of the deadly insect swarm, and are pushed to reimagine who they are at heart and calibrate their moral compass.

About the Playwright

Carlos Alberto Valencia, of Colombian origin, is an actor, playwright, and short fiction writer based in New York City. His plays have been part of reading events at Pregones/PRTT and INTAR, among others. His short fiction has been published by Latino Rebels in its anthology “Bolder” (NYC 2016) and by Punto de Vista Editores in its anthology “Los Bárbaros” (Madrid 2021) which features original works dedicated to Federico Garcia Lorca’s “Poeta en Nueva York.” Valencia studied acting with Catherine Gaffigan and the late William Esper and has received accolades including LATIN ACE and HOLA Awards. He earned a Bachelor of Arts from City College of New York under the tutelage of authors Lyn Di Iorio, Harold Aram Veeser, and Chet Kozlowski. Valencia has worked in communications and public health advocacy, currently serving as Program Coordinator for the NIH-funded Long COVID research study, RECOVER.