written by Raquel Almazan

directed by Mei Ann Teo

produced by Aaron Simms and Raquel Almazan’s La Lucha Arts with Tiffany Vega

Live music by: Fernando Garcia

featuring: Sheila Tapia, Zuleyma Guevara, Colby Thompson, Monica Steuer, Brigitte Harris, Elise Santora, Jazzy Mason, Eric Aviles, and Jay Santiago

La Paloma Prisoner (The Staged Reading Series) combines women who have experienced the criminal justice system alongside performers to engage with audiences with the themes of mass incarceration. Panel discussion on Stopping Mass Incarceration to follow directly after the reading.

Funded by the Arthur J. Harris Social Justice Art Grant in association with Columbia University.

La Paloma Prisoner is a multidisciplinary play about the reclamation of identity by incarcerated women in the Colombian prison system. This new play centers on an incarcerated killer nicknamed “La Paloma” who transcendentally soars beyond physical and societal barriers to avenge the raped women of Bogota, leading the public to believe La Paloma may have magical avenger abilities. Based on the true story of a group of female inmates selected every year as beauty queen contestants at the Buen Pastor prison in Bogota, this new play interweaves the ritualistic journey of a parade of prisoners with Colombia’s social, political, and spiritual history. Claiming of this newfound power, the women redefine beauty, their own humanity, and their identity as criminals. La Paloma Prisoner revolutionizes not only the women’s lives, but prison society and the world beyond its walls.

La Paloma Prisoner (Colombia) is part of the LATIN IS AMERICA play cycle. This bi-lingual cycle of plays will ultimately have 33 parts, one for each of the countries and dependencies in Latin American.

Presented as a part of Poetic Theater Productions’ Poetic License 2016

Photo credit: Bobby Plasencia