GALA Hispanic Theatre continues its 50th anniversary season, The Golden Season, with the DC premiere of The Other Side Story by Puerto Rican artist Ángel Vázquez. Directed by Ernesto Concepción, this hilarious one-man musical explores the island’s history, the Puerto Rican migration to the continental United States that began in the late 19th century, and debunks preconceived ideas about Nuyoricans. This limited-engagement program runs December 12–14, 2025, offering audiences a rare chance to experience a fresh, funny, and deeply human perspective on finding home between two worlds.
Blending humor, music, and nostalgia, the show follows Sixto, a young man who arrives in New York City in 2020 with his own ideas about Puerto Rican identity — only to uncover the untold stories of the community’s vibrant past. Performed in Spanish and Spanglish, The Other Side Story reimagines the Puerto Rican experience in New York with bold humor and soulful storytelling that will resonate with audiences.
Through Vázquez’s magnetic performance and original music, The Other Side Story shines a light on the overlooked narratives that shaped Puerto Rican life in New York long before West Side Story hit Broadway. With wit, rhythm, and emotion, the play invites audiences to reflect on heritage, belonging, and the power of storytelling to reclaim one’s cultural identity.
“The importance of performing The Other Side Story in front of diverse audiences — Boricuas, Latinos, and North Americans — is much more than to offer a theater experience, it is to stimulate a cultural dialogue long overdue,” states Vázquez. “To perform this play today…for you, in a time of censorship, xenophobia, and erosion of our education system, is an act of resistance. It is telling the world, through art, ‘We are here, we exist, and we tell our own stories.”
Performances of The Other Side Story are in Spanish and Spanglish, December 12 and December 13 at 8 pm, and December 14 at 2 pm at GALA Hispanic Theater, 3333 14th St NW, Washington, DC. General admission tickets are $30 each. For more information and to purchase tickets, go online or call (202) 234-7174. GALA has 4 wheelchair-accessible spaces and an elevator to transport people from the entrance to the lobby and to the house.
ABOUT THE PRODUCTION
The show is written and performed by Ángel Vázquez, who also created the musical concept, developed the lyrics, and conducted the historical research for the show at the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College of New York (CUNY).
The Other Side Story includes music arrangements, recorded music, and sound effects by Carlos Tato Santiago. Original Lighting Design is by Carmín Boisolie and Projections Design is by Juan Martínez. Lighting and Projections Programmer is Arthur Khon, Costumes Design is by Milagros Tita Núñez, Choreography is by Marcelino Alcalá, and image branding is by Lalo Rodríguez. The production also includes a wooden piece by artisan Edwin Báez and the song “Angelito de mi amor” by Josefina Sellas. Stage Manager is Delbis Cardona, Technical Director is Anson Stevie, Assistant Production Manager is Amanda Leyva, and Company Administrator is Lorena Suárez.
ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT & DIRECTOR
Ángel Vázquez (Creator and Performer), a former member of Los Juanes del Pueblo, is one of Puerto Rico’s leading writers and television and film performers who co-created and appeared in GALA’s Puerto Rico En…Cantado. He has performed at GALA to sold-out houses with the one-man shows Hecho en Puelto Rico, Puerto Rico… WEPA!, and Macho Menos. Other theater credits include The Sound of Music, Cofresí, Puerto Rico Fuá, A View from the Bridge, Amor en el caserío, and Quién mató a Héctor Lavoe? He has appeared in several telenovelas, including “General Hospital” with Ricky Martin and “Señora tentación” with Lucía Méndez, and in television comedies such as “Politiqueando” and “Anda pa’l cara.” His film credits include “Assassins,” “Princess Protection Program,” “Vasos de papel,” and “El beso y Luisa Capetillo,” among others. Most recently, Mr. Vázquez was awarded a Best Lead Actor Award for his role in the film “Finding Pá.” He is the first resident artis at the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College (NY) and became the third Puerto Rican lead actor to perform at The Lincoln Center for the Arts in NYC with his one-man show Hecho en Puelto Rico.
Ernesto Concepción (Director) is a Puerto Rican theater, TV, and film actor. He has appeared at GALA in House on the Lagoon, El rufián Castrucho, and Puerto Rico … Encantado! Other credits include The Addams Family (Gómez) by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, Next to Normal (Dan) by Brian Yorkey, Vigil (Kemp) by Morris Panych, and El pequeño poni (Jaime) by Paco Becerra for the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture’s 55th International Theatre Festival. Concepción has also represented Puerto Rico in important international festivals, including the European Community one, through his role in La última tentación de Cristo, a play by Nikos Kazanzakis. He is the son of late renowned actor Ernesto Concepción and actress Elsie Moreau, and presently leads Teatro Bohío Puertorriqueño, a company founded by his parents in the 1970s.
