Juan Valenzuela to stage world premiere of Pedro Pietri’s Last Request at Teatro Latea

Juan Valenzuela, director of the new production, said the world premiere of Last Request, a play by the late New York–Puerto Rican poet Pedro Pietri, will run April 9–26, 2026 at Teatro Latea as part of Teatro Fest 2026. "The last request, una obra premier mundial de Pedro Pietri," Valenzuela said, adding that "mucha gente no sabe que Pedro Pietri escribió teatro."

Valenzuela told the Diálogo Abierto host Javier E. Gómez that he first met Pietri in 1974 in San Francisco and that Pietri "tenía dominio del escenario" and a strong theatrical presence. He said Pietri gave him the Last Request script shortly before Pietri’s death and that Valenzuela kept the play for about 25 years before mounting it now. "Me la dio y era como un pan que acababa de salir del horno," Valenzuela said of receiving the script.

Valenzuela described the play’s setup and principal dramatic tensions: a mysterious corpse appears in an apartment building lobby, then the discovery of the dead person’s cash provokes shifts in behavior among three couples — a young pair, an older pair and a pair of blind characters. The director emphasized themes of mortality, love, avarice and desire as central to Pietri’s text. "Para mí lo que él quería decir es que la humanidad enfrentándose con la muerte puede expresar amor, avaricia, deseo, sexualidad," he said.

The production credits include producers Gloria Celaya and Mirta Vida and a cast that the host said includes actor Frank Pérez, who was unable to join the interview due to a technical problem. Valenzuela pointed listeners to Teatro Latea’s social channels and to teatrolatea.org for ticket and schedule information.

The premiere dates and the festival placement were presented by Valenzuela on air; for more details and performance times, the production’s official web and social pages are the listed sources. The segment closed with the host thanking Valenzuela and noting the play’s anticipated run during Teatro Fest 2026.