The red rose.

'The Red Rose' narrates the meeting of Puerto Rican activist writer Jesús Colón and undercover FBI agent Mildred Blauvelt, and their subsequent face-off before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) in 1959. Blauvelt had gone undercover for seven years in the Brooklyn cell of the Communist Party, where she was simply known as comrade Sylvia. Arriving to New York in the winter of 1917, Colón went on to become the distinguished chronicler of the Puerto Rican migrant experience, and one of its enduring contemporary icons. The aesthetic focus of 'The Red Rose' is on the physicality of a work that eschews realistic conventions without doing away with a central narrative thread. Movement, gesture, and dialogue develop in tandem. It combines literary and popular sources, HUAC transcripts and recordings, Colón's private letters, his published articles and stories, press coverage of the Blauvelt episode, and a treasure trove of songs. Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics

The production was premiered on November 14, 2005 at Pregones Theater, The Bronx, New York. The sold-out premiere run in 2005-2006 featured international recording artist Danny Rivera. The production won multiple HOLA and ACE Awards including Outstanding Musical and Direction. The original cast recording CD was independently released in March 2006. The production also had a special run at the newly renovated Teatro de la Universidad in Puerto Rico and at the 2007 NY Latino International Theater Festival. Founded in 1979 and based in The Bronx, New York City, Pregones Theater (http://www.pregones.org) has performed in more than 400 cities and 13 countries. The company enjoys citywide recognition for their lasting contributions to the performing arts field and are recipients of numerous distinctions including current Leading National Ensemble Theatre Designation from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the Andrew W. Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics

Mellon Foundation, Primary Cultural Institution Designation from the New York State Council on the Arts, the New York State Governor's Arts Award, the Culture & Humanities Award from the Center for Puerto Rican Studies, numerous artist and production awards, as well as invitations to appear at international festivals and events. Over the years Pregones has developed a style that combines theater, music and movement, oral and written traditions, and a signature urban sensibility. The ensemble draws from popular Puerto Rican artistic expressions and literature to create and stage its work. Today, Pregones has grown to be one of the leading Puerto Rican/Latino theater theaters in the United States. From migrations to indigenous mythologies to subway stories, the company's repertoire covers a growing sample of Latino experiences and identities. Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics