HONOR & FIDELITY AT THE HOLLYWOOD FRINGE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Tanya Perez
(917) 499-8351

Puerto Rico-themed One Woman Show headlines Hollywood Fringe

“Honor and Fidelity” features live classical guitar music and Korean War-era themes
Hollywood, CA, May 26, 2011—"Honor & Fidelity: The Ballad of a Borinqueneer," a multi-character solo show written and preformed by stage and screen veteran Tanya Perez, will headline the Hollywood Fringe Festival on Fringe Central’s Main Stage, June 10-25.

Honor and Fidelity is a story about a woman’s journey to find her cultural identity by unraveling the history of her family’s past. Set in modern day at the San Juan boarding gate in New York’s JFK airport, the one woman play is a moving story accented with both live music performed by classical guitarist Carlos Cuestas and recorded original music by Perez’s grandfather and Puerto Rican serviceman, “Borinqueneer” Gelin Colon.

“I started doing research into my family’s background,” says Perez, “and found an album that my grandfather produced that was full of all of these Puerto Rican love songs. It was a part of his life I never knew about. I found this whole love story between my grandparents.”

The Borinqueneers—the 65th Infantry Regiment of the United States Army—was an all-volunteer Puerto Rican regiment that participated in World War I, World War II, and the Korean War; whose motto was “Honor and Fidelity.” Perez’ grandfather was a member of the 65th and a POW from the Korean War, or so she thought.

“I found out that he wasn’t actually a POW, he was one of the men who refused to go on a mission where his unit was being used as a suicide team,” recalls Perez. “He was one of about 100 men who refused to go, and was imprisoned in Japan for about six months before the Puerto Rican government demanded that they be released and pardoned.”

The play was originally performed by Perez and directed by Lorca Peress to sold out audiences at both the Downtown Urban Theatre Festival at the historic Cherry Lane Theatre and Teatro La Tea’s ONE Festival in New York City.

Honor and Fidelity is filled with humor and pathos about love, devotion to one’s country, and what it means to be Puerto Rican.

Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at: www.hollywoodfringe.org.

For more information about Honor and Fidelity, visit www.honorandfidelityshow.com.

Show dates:
Friday, June 10 at 8pm
Friday, June 17 at 3:30pm
Saturday, June 18 at 2pm
Wednesday, June 22 at 6:30pm
Saturday, June 25 at 1:30pm

TANYA PEREZ is a working actress whose career has spanned over New York; Los Angeles; and equity stages and film and television screens in between. Some of her credits include: ‘The Judas Tree’ with MultiStages, ‘Sonia Flew’ at CATF and Laguna Playhouse, ‘Anna in the Tropics’ at Seattle Repratory and the Maltz Jupiter Theater, Staged Readings of ‘Yellow Eyes’ at Hartford Stage, and ’Sam’s Coming’ at New York Theatre Works. Her Film and Television credits include ‘Law & Order,’ ‘Mickey Mouse Club,’ ‘Take Out’ by Sean Baker (Independent Spirit Award Nominee, 2009), and Hal Hartley’s ‘The Girl from Monday’. Currently a member of sketch comedy group Straight Jacket Society, Perez’s solo performances have been produced by and performed at Om Yoga, Dixon Place, and chez LaRoe. ‘Honor & Fidelity’ has been featured at the Downtown Urban Theater Festival in the Cherry Lane Theatre and Teatro La Tea’s ONE festival. Her webseries, ‘Itty P & DJ Model T’s Dat’s a RAP!,’ is available online. www.ittypdjmodelt.com.

CARLOS CUESTAS was born in Bogota, Colombia in 1985. Always surrounded by music and the guitar, his first mentor was his father. At the age of fourteen he entered the Academia Folcklorica Luis A. Calvo under the tutelage of renowned guitarist and composer Gentil Montana. After migrating to America, Carlos took private lessons with Gabriel Garcia and Dr. Lars Frandsen. upon returning to Colombia, he entered the Academy of Superior Arts of Bogota ASAB and studied guitar, primarily with guitarist Guillermo Bocanegra. Since the fall of 2007, Carlos has been enrolled in Nyack College as a transfer student pursuing a Bachelors of Music with emphasis in performance. He is currently a recipient of a music scholarship and has been awarded with the Outstanding Performance Award. Carlos is a private student of renowned guitarist Maestro Jorge Caballero. He has performed as a soloist and as a member of chamber music ensembles in celebrated concert halls in Bogota and New York City, such as Alice Tully Hall and Avery Fisher Hall, among others.