Rosario Vargas

Rosario Vargas was born in Cartagena, Colombia and is a dedicated theater educator, director and researcher. She is the founder and co-artistic director of Aguijón Theater Company. Rosario is a graduate of the National School of Dramatic Art in Bogotá, Colombia and has a degree in Architecture from the Jorge Tadeo Lozano University in Cartagena, Colombia. Rosario’s extensive professional experience includes many productions as an actress, director, and producer, both in Chicago and abroad.

Among her numerous credits as director for Aguijón are: Brutality, by Gustavo Ott, Until Mortgage Do Us Part, by Teresa DovalPage, Ceviche in Pittsburgh, by José Castro Urioste, The Empty Chalices, by Judy Veramendi, Lust According to Ramiro, by Dino Armas , The Weeping Woman’s Daughter, by Teresa DovalPage, Genesis Was Tomorrow, by Jorge Diaz, Tribute to Sor Juana Inés de La Cruz, Adaptation by Rosario Vargas, inspired by Rosario Castellanos’ The Eternal Feminine. Some of the highlights of her long-acting career for Aguijón Theater include: Cintas de seda, by Norge Espinosa, presented as part of the V Chicago International Latin Theater Festival, Destinos. This production was also part of the XI International Theater Festival (FITE-RD 2023), in Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic; Kiev, by Sergio Blanco; Exquisite Agony, by Nilo Cruz, The House of Bernarda Alba and Blood Wedding, by Federico García Lorca; Orchids in the Moonlight, by Carlos Fuentes. Her monologues include: Undressing, by Griselda Gámbaro; Kinsey Report, by Rosario Castellanos; Las penas saben nadar, by Abelardo Estorino; This last one received with praise by critics and one of the public’s favorites in Chicago and Buenos Aires, Argentina, where it was presented in 2013, as part of the IX Meeting of Theater and Territory, of the General Sarmiento University; Johnny Tenorio, by Carlos Morton; The Passion of Antígona Pérez, by Luis Rafael Sánchez; Even the Sparrows Leave Their Nest, by Raúl Dorantes; and A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams, for the Writers Theatre.

Rosario feels great pride and satisfaction for having managed to carry out two important initiatives at Aguijón Theater; The bilingual theater workshop for teens, Nuestra Cultura, created in 2007 in partnership with After School Matters, and today directed by Marcela Muñoz, and the creation in 2014, of the biennial playwriting competition, Chicago International Hispanic Playwriting Competition, today (Aguijón Theater International Playwriting Competition of Chicago) with the collaboration of the Cervantes Institute of Chicago and the National Museum of Mexican Art.

Recently, the League of Chicago Theaters honored Rosario with the Fall 2023 Artistic Excellence Award. Rosario received a 2022 Jeff Award nomination for Best Performer in a Leading Role in Norge Espinosa’s Cintas de Seda. In 2003, the National Museum of Mexican Arts in Chicago recognized her work by awarding her the Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz prize. She was recognized in 2015 in “Who’s Who in Hispanic Chicago” by Negocios Now, a national publication covering Latino entrepreneurs and business leaders in Illinois. In 2017, AARP Illinois and Crain’s Custom Media named her one of the 50@50+ Illinois Honorees in Arts and Culture. The University of Cartagena TEUC Studio Theater Group, from the University of Cartagena, Colombia, paid tribute to her brilliant career with the 2018 Theater Season Homenaje a Rosario Vargas.

Rosario has been active in theater in Chicago for over 38 years. For these achievements and so many satisfactions, Rosario feels deep gratitude and gratitude towards her loved ones, her many collaborators and friends who have encouraged her to dream big!