The 2026 National Latine Playwrights Award & Festival
ATC celebrated the 2026 NLPA Winner Evelina Fernández for her winning play, Blow Away the Clouds, with the 2026 National Latine Playwrights Award & Festival at Tempe Center for the Arts on Thursday, September 17, 2026. The festival, led by NLPA Program Director and ATC Playwright-in-Residence Elaine Romero, invited the community to experience a staged reading of Blow Away the Clouds, an awards presentation honoring Fernández, and a special reception featuring food, music, and drinks.
Set in 1930s Arizona, Blow Away the Clouds is a vibrant play with music that brings together storytelling, song, and live music. The reading will feature a cast of five accompanied by a live guitarist. Written primarily in English with Spanish woven throughout, the play offers a powerful new work rooted in Arizona history and Latine culture.
Fernández, who was raised in Arizona and maintains strong ties to the Phoenix community, is a celebrated playwright and co-founder of Latino Theater Company in Los Angeles. The production was directed by José Luis Valenzuela, Fernández’s husband and longtime artistic collaborator.
Blow Away the Clouds Cast
Blow Away the Clouds Creative Team
Sponsored By
Arizona Community Foundation
Phoenix IDA
Supported by
Tempe Center for the Arts
Thank you to our Partners …
Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Arizona-Mexico Commission
Consulate General of México in Phoenix
Xico
In 2024, Arizona Theatre Company launched the National Latine Award & Festival to offer NLPA winners a public reading at an annual festival in addition to the cast prize and workshop they previously received.
Take a Look Back at Past National Latine Playwrights Award & Festivals …
2025
2024
Videos by Ben Walls Films.
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