Open Call Workshop - Coro de azúcar

Join an experimental vocal chorus led by Xenia Rubinos and Natalia Lassalle-Morillo! Emerging from a collaborative workshop developed in the ruins of Teatro de Aguirre in Salinas, this evolving choral project traces the histories and resonances connecting the sugar plantations of Puerto Rico to the refineries of New York City, and the laboring hands that linked them. Through voice, improvisation, listening, writing, and collective sound-making, participants will collaborate in the creation of an original choral composition that explores how memory is carried, embodied, and transmitted across place and time.

This open call workshop consists of guided embodiment exercises and vocal improvisations experimenting with texts, prompts and visual scores. Through this workshop, we intend to form an ensemble that will work alongside Xenia and Natalia in a series of collaborative sessions shaped by the sounds, texts, and materials generated throughout the process.

The call is open to people of Puerto Rican descent based in New York City. No previous musical or vocal experience is required. We welcome participants interested in collective voice, experimentation, performance, and collaborative creation. Selected participants should be available for five in-person rehearsals and a public presentation in October 2026 in New York City.

This performance is part of a multidisciplinary project about the sugar industry in Puerto Rico and New York directed by Natalia Lassalle-Morillo, and commissioned through the Historias initiative by The Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural & Educational Center. The workshop has limited capacity. If interested, please fill out the google form here.