Dominican family shares post-9/11 story through theater

The cast of Vamonos is only Hispanic actors, and the set of the play helps immerse the viewer into the Soundview apartment scene that Vamonos takes place in.

News 12 Staff

May 16, 2023, 10:01 PM

Updated 437 days ago

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A Bronx Dominican family is sharing the story of their lives after 9/11 through a play called Vamonos.  
For every New Yorker, Sept. 11 is a time they’ll never forget. For the Torres family, it forced them to understand their American and Dominican identities on a deeper level.  
“We heard a lot of stories, but we didn’t necessarily hear the specificity of what a Dominican family was going through,” said Julissa Contreras, one of the playwrights for Vamonos.  
Contreras wrote this play from the eyes of her family growing up in Soundview in the Bronx, and wants people to remember how the tragic Sept. 11 terrorist attacks shifted the way we interact.  
“I want people to know how to show empathy, I want people to understand what it means to struggle through family challenges but still allow for love to push them forward,” said Contreras.  
The cast of Vamonos is only Hispanic actors, and the set of the play helps immerse the viewer into the Soundview apartment scene that Vamonos takes place in.  
The play lives at the Intar Theater in Hell’s Kitchen, one of the oldest Latin theaters in the country, and is a bilingual play that gives a voice to many Spanish-speaking and bilingual families in our city.  
Vamonos will be on Wednesdays and Sundays now through June 4.


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