On Saturday, March 31, 2007 the Underground Railroad Freedom Center hosted a world premiere of "Mariel"
On the historic Mariel boatlift from Cuba in 1980, when Fidel Castro allowed 125,000 people to leave the country, two teenagers — Iatalina, an intelligent girl, and Jorge, a boy looking for a second chance — meet as strangers and form a fast friendship as they dream of a bright future in America. But once they arrive in Florida, both must accept not only what they’ve left behind, but also find a way to form their own identities independent of others’ expectations. An exciting world premiere, Mariel explores a little-known story in the history of immigration, dives into the riches of Cuban and Afro-Cuban culture and pulsates with the island’s vibrant musical forms, from mambo and bolero to rumba and rock. The production features music by Grammy-nominated composer John Forster and a book by internationally acclaimed storyteller and writer David Gonzalez, and the A.G. and Margaret Lafley Touring Company.
