Abraham Lule is a New York–based Mexican designer. His work stands out for its purposeful imperfections and storytelling, infusing each piece with a crafted flair that resists ever-growing digital trends in both design and dance. Together with his husband, he runs Momen, a dance project for pre-professional and professional dancers in New York with a focus on the historical impact of dance in modern civilizations.

Alexia Acebo is a first-generation Cuban-American performer, choreographer, and educator originally from Tampa, based in NYC. Performance credits include the national tours of Wicked and Chicago, West Side Story, On Your Feet!, and Broadway at Music Circus. She’s incredibly proud to be back at Café con Rumba, creating and celebrating alongside this community of Latin artists. Sofia y Valentina, han creado algo tan especial. Gracias por dejarme ser parte de esto. @alexiaacebocarter

Brando Ortiz (he/him) is an Ecuadorian choreographer, dancer, and educator from Queens, New York, with a BBA in Business Management and a BFA in Dance. Currently, he is on faculty at Steps on Broadway, Broadway Dance Center, and several competition studios. Most recently, Brando was an Associate Choreographer under Alex Mitchell for Jay Armstrong Johnson’s I Put a Spell on You. Last year, Brando taught internationally at The Winter Intensive in Sofia, Bulgaria. His company, Ortizta Dance, recently presented three sold-out shows of their full-length work on track? at Triskelion Arts in Brooklyn, New York, this past August.

Estefanía Forero Yacamán, originally from Bogotá, Colombia, is a dance artist, performer, choreographer, teacher, and the artistic director of Third Gravity Dance Company. She recently earned her BFA in Dance with a minor in Fashion Design from Montclair State University. She has had the pleasure of performing works by choreographers including Maleek Washington, Omar Román de Jesús, Stefanie Batten Bland, Michelle Manzanales, Cameron McKinney, Meredith Rainey, Maxine Steinman, Jessica Dimauro Marks, and Xián Martínez Miguel. Some of her main choreographic works include Hysm, Agua Ardiente, Aubade, and Eleven Stars. As a performer and choreographer, her work reflects a dialogue between her origins and current artistic environment, drawing on different art forms and shared human experience. She seeks to create meaningful connections with audiences and collaborators through her artistry and choreography.

Israel Harris is a Jewish, Hispanic, Latino American born in Mixco, Guatemala, and raised in Bellevue, WA. He is a Brooklyn-based freelance dancer, choreographer, and instructor. Israel graduated from NYU Tisch School of the Arts and trained abroad with Judith-Sanchez Ruiz, Meg Stuart, Leila McMillan, Shahar Binyamini, and Ohad Naharin. He has performed feature roles in works by Wayne McGregor and Ronald K. Brown/EVIDENCE, danced in works by Lar Lubovitch, Ori Flomin, Luca Renzi, Mike Tyus, Akira Uchida, and Valeria Gonzales/VALLETO Dance, performed with Eryc Taylor Dance, DanceAction, and the Isadora Duncan Dance Foundation, and assisted Sidra Bell with the Second Avenue Dance Company in 2019. Israel is a company member with Seán Curran Company and Drye/Marinaro Dance Company.

Laura Espitia (she/her) is a New York–based dance artist originally from Bogotá, Colombia. She earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from New World School of the Arts in Miami, Florida. In addition to her freelance dance career and her work as a member of LaHa Dance Group, she has also been pursuing her studies to become a New York City–licensed dental hygienist. Thank you, Sofia & Valentina, for such a beautiful opportunity to be a part of CCR ’26! And a big shoutout to my inspiring cast of fierce, powerful, and untamed Latine women! ¡ASÍ SOMOS, CARAMBA! 🇨🇴

Lorena Reis Farmand is a first-generation Brazilian American from Boca Raton, Florida. She is thrilled to bring her Brazilian heritage to Café con Rumba, especially as this is her first time choreographing for the show. Lorena has presented choreography at Arts on Site NYC and was recently chosen to participate in Dance Lab’s Broadway Choreography Intensive. She is a cohort artist in Jen Jancuska’s BringAbout residency and has been in several pre-production spaces for musicals for varying regional theatres. Some performing credits include The Thorn (national tour), Elf (regional theatre), and Disney+. Thanks to Café con Rumba for the opportunity to share! @lorena_reisfarmand

Sara Rodriguez is a dancer, actor, and singer based in New York. Coming from a background in ballet and contemporary dance, she now works primarily in musical theatre and on screen. Sara is also a fervent advocate for gender justice and utilizing a feminist lens to address the challenges we face in our communities, our country, and the world at large. As an emerging choreographer, she is eager to infuse movement and storytelling into this narrative framework and spark deeper thought and conversation around sustainable changemaking. www.sararodriguez.site

Sashalie Rios & Dianne Cano are proud former residents of the 305—Miami—where they graduated from New World School of the Arts College with a focus in modern dance. Since moving to NYC, they have worked professionally in concert, theatre, and commercial spaces. Former collaborators include LaHa Dance Group, Luam, Shani Talmor, Michael McCrary, and more. Most recently, they celebrated the opening of their movement showcase and look forward to many more years of dance and storytelling through that. A many-time collaborative duo, they are thrilled to be presenting work at Café con Rumba once again. They’d like to thank their families for inspiring this work and their cats Spooky, Ladle, & Disco for forgiving their long rehearsal hours. ¡Pa’tras ni para coger impulso!

Facundo Agustín is an Argentine actor, singer, and dancer, and a recent winner of the Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Supporting Performer in a Musical for his work in Botiquín de Boleros (GALA Theatre), for which he also received the BroadwayWorld Regional DC Award for Best Actor in a Musical. His credits include In the Heights (Bristol Riverside Theatre and Connecticut Stage Company), Mummy in the Closet, Evita’s Return (GALA Theatre), On Your Feet! (Second Broadway National Tour and Engeman Theatre), Hamlet in Harlem, and A Tango Dancing Cinderella (Teatro SEA), among others. In his native Argentina, he appeared in Smokey Joe’s Café, Pasión Bohemia, and Yiya, un té musical, among others, and performed with renowned artist Valeria Lynch at Teatro Gran Rex. As part of Micro Theater New York, Facundo directed En el país del encierro todo es mágico. He also directed and performed in No me arrepiento at Festival UNI2, earning a 2022 ATI Award for Outstanding Actor in Musical Theatre. Facundo also works as a musical theatre teacher for children and teenagers, as a vocal coach, and teaches Spanish to children in partnership with New York Public Libraries.