The best of times is now.

• Author: Kiernan, James Patrick
• Position: THEATER - GALA Hispanic Theatre - Grupo de Artistas Latino Americanos

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Since its beginnings in 1976, GALA Hispanic Theatre has had two primary goals: to bring Spanish and Latin American theater to the attention of Spanish-speaking people in Washington, DC; and to make the English-speaking public aware of the richness and variety of Hispanic culture. A "theater with a different accent," it presents classic and contemporary plays in Spanish and English, plus an accompanying program of dance, music, poetry, spoken word, visual art and, more recently, film. Over the years, GALA, the acronym for "Grupo de Artistas Latino Americanos," has become what many consider the leading Spanish-language theater in the United States, winning a loyal following, scores of awards, and international recognition.

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Hugo and Rebecca Medrano are the founders of GALA and have been its driving forces for the past 34 years: he as producing artistic director, she as executive director. They have had dedicated and passionate help along the way, but it is their vision that has kept the theater on course. GALA has produced theater in many venues. (Once it even considered the possibility of using a circus tent!) And while a loyal audience followed it wherever it went, finding a permanent home was always one of GALA's major challenges. Finally, in 2003, development plans for Columbia Heights converged with the Medranos' ambitions for the theater. An essential part of the revitalization of this DC neighborhood--the restoration of the crumbling Tivoli Theater--became an opportunity for GALA, and the balcony area of the grand old movie theater was eventually refurbished to become GALA's new home.

The first and most essential part of the theater restoration was a four million dollar fundraising campaign. "We leased the mezzanine and a balcony of the original theater, and within that space, we created a whole proscenium theater, protecting and restoring as many of the Tivoli's original features as possible," says Hugo Medrano. GALA now has as its home a beautifully restored, 270-seat, state-of-the-art theater thanks to support from a wide range of government and private sector partners and individual contributors.

Of course, fundraising never ends for theaters, and GALA has continued to bring in funds for its productions and for a second renovation phase that includes the restoration of the Tivoli's historic dome. As Rebecca Medrano reflects, "At the Tivoli, we're finally in the right place at the right...