Portland, OR (February 25 2022) – Portland Opera is excited to announce that Portland Opera to Go returns this month with A Journey of Faith/Un Camino de Fe by Hector Armienta. For over two decades, Portland Opera to Go (or POGO) has shared inclusive arts experiences with students, educators and community members around the region. POGO will present performances in venues around the state including school gyms, libraries, cafeterias, classrooms and community centers. In addition to in-person performances, a digital version of A Journey of Faith / Un Camino de Fe will be available to educators.
Based on a true story, A Journey of Faith / Un Camino de Fe is a story within a story. It opens with a young Latina high school girl struggling with a writing assignment for a competition. Convinced that her family history is not interesting enough to tell, she is confronted by her older brother, who recounts through a series of flashbacks the emotional and difficult challenges her family faced as immigrants in the United States. Plagued by the Coyote (an immigrant smuggler), the opera’s antagonist, the family grapples with poverty, rejection and disillusionment, at times finding its only support in the father’s vision and faith. Thanks to her brother’s inspiring stories, the girl’s pride in her family and heritage is revived.
In a typical year, POGO company members travel over 5,000 miles, to connect with approximately 13,000 K-12 students. Performances happen in school gyms, libraries, cafeterias, classrooms, and community centers—all with full costumes and portable scenery. Integrated in-class workshops and teacher’s guides, highlighting curricular connections aligned to state curriculum standards, are available each year. To date, the program has shared opera with more than 285,000 student and community audience members living in Oregon, southwest Washington, northern California, western Idaho, and northern Nevada; with a focus on schools with barriers to accessing the arts.
Educators interested in bringing Portland Opera to Go to their students digitally can contact Alexis Hamilton, Portland Opera’s Manager of Education and Community Engagement by emailing ahamilton@Portlandopera.org.
A Journey of Faith / Un Camino de Fe Cast & Creative Team
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Composed by |
Hector Armienta |
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Ricardo
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Marcos Ochoa
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Maricela, Ricardo's youngest sister |
Emilia Barrera |
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Jorge, their father |
Frank Convit |
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Carmela, their mother |
Jessica Blau |
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Elisa, Ricardo's younger sister |
Mariana Ramirez |
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Don Juan Coyote III |
Zachary Lenox |
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Collaborative pianist/Music director |
Rebecca Stager |
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Director |
Liane Schirmer |
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Tour Manager |
Stephen K. Gardner |
Portland Opera to Go is generously supported by U.S. Bank, BNSF Foundation, EAI Information Systems, Kinder Morgan Foundation, Oregon Arts Commission, PGE Foundation, Rose E. Tucker Charitable Trust, The Standard, Schnitzer Steel Industries, John and Carol Steele, The Wheeler Foundation, Winderlea Vineyard & Winery, with additional support from the James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation, Regional Arts & Culture Council, and the Arts Education & Access Fund.