Additional Events

Within the framework of the celebration of the 40th International Hispanic Theatre Festival of Miami, the Festival pays a posthumous tribute to its founder, artistic director, and producer, Mario Ernesto Sánchez, awarding him the Lifetime Dedication to the Performing Arts Award, a distinction created in 1989 to recognize exceptional careers that have enriched the development of the performing arts.

This 40th edition represents the consolidation of the dream that Mario Ernesto passionately drove for four decades, relying from its beginnings on the support of Olga Garay to carry forward his life project. His greatest wish was to see the Festival reach this milestone anniversary transformed into one of the most prestigious Hispanic theater encounters in the United States and a permanent bridge between the cultures of Ibero-America.

Actor, director, producer, playwright, and cultural manager, Mario Ernesto Sánchez dedicated his life to promoting Hispanic theater both within and outside the United States. As a performer, he starred in numerous plays from the universal repertoire and participated in more than forty film productions, sharing credits with renowned international cinema figures, in addition to developing a consistent and outstanding career in television.

Under his leadership, the productions of Teatro Avante—a theater company created by him in 1978, co-founded with Teresa María Rojas and Alina Interián, then named RAS Community Theatre—represented the United States in recognized national and international festivals and stages, strengthening cultural exchange and projecting Hispanic theater internationally. Furthermore, he was invited as a cultural representative of the United States to numerous festivals and artistic encounters in Latin America and Europe, in addition to serving as a panelist and evaluator for major organizations dedicated to the development of the arts.

His extraordinary work was recognized with the Distinguished Career Award from the Florida Theatre Conference for his contribution to the development of theater; the Ollantay Award from the Latin American Center for Creation and Theater Research (CELCIT) in 1994; the prestigious Federico García Lorca Award, presented in Fuente Vaqueros, Spain, in 1995, for his invaluable contribution to the development of Hispanic theater in America; the Kusillo Award, received in La Paz, Bolivia, in 2004; the Atahualpa del Cioppo Award, granted to the IHTF by the Ibero-American Festival of Cádiz (2009); among many other recognitions.

Notably, he was also a member of the Board of Directors of the Adrienne Arsht Performing Arts Center Trust (PACT).

The legacy of Mario Ernesto Sánchez transcends the stage. It lives on in the artists with whom he worked, in the institutions he helped strengthen, in the Festival he always envisioned and tirelessly built into an international benchmark, and in the audience that, for forty years, has found in theater a space for gathering, reflection, and celebration of our cultural identity. This recognition honors not only a life dedicated to art, but also the enduring vision that will continue to illuminate the future of Hispanic theater.

Miami-born and internationally acclaimed, Alexander Mijares has established himself as one of South Florida’s most vibrant artistic talents — a self-taught painter and sculptor whose work speaks in a language of color that is layered, luminous, and unapologetically loud.

His palette is drawn from the Latin culture that raised him: the saturated warmth of Havana, the ceremony of Spanish tradition, and the restless energy of Miami itself. Color, for Mijares, is never decoration — it is memory, heritage, and feeling made visible.

His signature stained-glass style was born on the road. Traveling the world, he found himself returning to the great cathedrals — standing beneath centuries-old glass as light fractured into color across stone. That sense of the sacred became the foundation of his work: bold leaded lines, jewel-toned fields, and compositions that seem to glow from within.

He creates with his hands as much as his eye. From canvas to large-scale sculpture, Mijares shapes material directly — carving, layering, and building forms that carry the same brilliance as his paintings. Each piece is an act of devotion.

That resonance reaches far beyond the gallery. Mijares has created custom original works for — and been collected by — leading names in music, film, and sport, from Pharrell, Gloria & Emilio Estefan, and Luis Fonsi to J Balvin, Maluma, Bad Bunny, Tori Kelly, Justin Bieber, LeBron James, and Ray Allen. In 2014 he collaborated with Pitbull during the World Cup, painting the iHeart Radio Station Studios.

His originals also live in luxury homes, condominiums, and commercial interiors across Miami, Brickell, Coral Gables, Coconut Grove, and Wynwood.

“One of the Top 10 Most Influential Artists of his generation.”

— FORBES & ELITE DAILY