On September 26, Hostos officially welcomed back its stars from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe this summer. The 10 Hostos student-actors who performed the play “Gender of Attraction” shared their incredible stories in the Black Box Theater in front of a packed house that included Hostos President David Gómez, students, faculty, administrators and staff. The playwright, Chris Rivera, was also in attendance and spoke about his experience working with the Hostos Repertory Company.

The student-actors—Julian Adams, Destiny Allen, Krystal López Durand, Omar González, Frank López, Thalia López, Jairo Pena, Anna Marie Ríos, Thanna Son, Reynaldo Martínez, as well as the Director of the Repertory Company, Ángel Morales, and faculty member, Rafael Mejia—were celebrated at a special reception that followed the trip debriefing in the C-Building Lobby. President Gómez, who attended the Festival Fringe with his wife, and Senior Vice President of Administration and Finance, Esther Rodríguez-Chardavoyne, thanked the performers personally for being incredible Hostos ambassadors on the world stage. 

Hostos was extremely proud to be the only community college from North America invited to perform at the Fringe’s International Collegiate Theatre Festival. To showcase their acting skills and network with other international artists at the largest arts festival in the world had a huge impact on each student. It opened their eyes to new people and cultures and instilled a new confidence they will carry with them forever.

This life-changing experience would not have been possible without an incredible amount of planning and donations from our generous supporters. Approximately $47,000 was raised for these students at the 50th Anniversary Hostos Foundation Scholarship Benefit on April 19 to cover the expenses associated with the trip. It truly took a village to send our students to the world stage.

Read more about this incredible acting adventure from the students themselves in the Spring Issue of “Caiman” magazine.