Behind the Beat of Latin Lover: LPAC's Creative Homecoming

LaGuardia Performing Arts Center has long been a place where emerging artists take their first steps and find the support they need to grow. This October, that tradition continues as LPAC brings back Latin Lover, a staged reading that combines story, music, and a homegrown team of alumni artists. Written by Ecuadorian artist and LaGuardia alum Ed Jr. Cardenas, Latin Lover follows Raul and Mirasol as they navigate generational burdens and cultural expectations to the pulse of live salsa music. More than a performance, the project represents years of development and collaboration between LPAC and the alumni artists who first found their footing on its stage. 

LPAC has played a pivotal role in making Latin Lover possible. From the earliest workshops to this staged reading, the center has been both a funder and an incubator, providing financial support, mentorship, and a platform for experimentation. Through its guidance, the team secured vital grants such as funding from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and was connected to The Bechdel Project, which offered new perspectives and opportunities to refine the work. LPAC also gave the production technical resources, rehearsal space, press support, and access to a network of critics and collaborators who helped shape the play’s trajectory. 

That support extends beyond logistics. LPAC has always been committed to elevating alumni voices and distinctive theatrical visions, and Latin Lover exemplifies this mission by staging the work in development, LPAC invites audiences to be part of the process, to see a play as it takes shape and to offer feedback that will influence its future. 

Alongside Cardenas, the project’s leadership includes director Randy Arbujo and producer Una Bharat, both LaGuardia graduates who bring their own expertise and history with LPAC to the table. Arbujo’s movement-driven approach and Bharat’s experienced production skills help deepen the play's collaborative energy. Together, this team exemplifies what can happen when artists are nurtured by an institution that invests in their long-term growth. 

For patrons, attending Latin Lover is an invitation to witness the kind of theater LPAC was designed to foster. Something that is community-based, artist-driven, and deeply connected to the stories that shape New York City. This isn’t a polished commercial production arriving from elsewhere; it’s a piece built in the neighborhood, by alumni who are now returning to share their art with the community that raised them. 

The workshop will take place October 9 and 10 at 7:30 PM and October 11 at 3:00 PM in LPAC’s Little Theater at LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City. Tickets are $10 plus a $2 convenience fee and are free for CUNY students, faculty, and staff with a valid CUNY ID. For more information or to reserve seats, visit lpac.nyc. 

In presenting Latin Lover, LPAC reaffirms its role as a partner in creation providing artists the financial backing, developmental resources, and community connections they need to tell their 

stories fully. It’s a collaboration that benefits everyone: the artists, who see their visions realized; the audiences, who experience a work in its most alive and evolving form; and the institution itself, which continues to fulfill its mission of nurturing the next generation of theater-makers. 

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