Cuenca International Theater Festival kicks off tomorrow with an El Centro parade; it includes indoor and outdoor performances for 12 days

The ninth edition of Cuenca’s Festival Escenarios del Mundo, or International Theater Festival, begins Wednesday, September 16, with a parade through the historic district and the performance of the Mexican comedy, “Más pequeños que el Guggenheim” at 8 p.m. at the Pumapungo Theater.

The parade begins at 6 p.m. at Santo Domingo Plaza, heading east to Parque Calderon, then down Benigno Malo to Calle Larga, where it continues to the Pumapungo Theater.

Theater groups participating in the festival are from Paraguay, Chile, Mexico, Colombia, Spain, the United States, Brazil and Ecuador.

The festival runs through Monday, September 28 and features 36 performances. In addition to Pumapungo, performances will held in the Sucre Theater and at various area high schools. There will also be outdoor performances in Parque de la Madre, the Broken Bridge, and Parque Calderon.

Outdoor performances begin Saturday September 19 in Parque de la Madre with children’s plays at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. followed by works at the Broken Bridge with dance and circus troupes. At 8:30 p.m., the musical group Swing Original Monks performs in the former Colegio Borja, behind Pumapungo Theater.

Indoor performances at the Pumapungo and Sucre Theaters begin at 8 p.m. nightly. Entry is $3 and $5, depending on the performance

Financial support for the festival, which covers travel expenses for the participants, comes from the Municipality of Cuenca, the Ecuador Ministry of Culture, the governments of Paraguay and Chile, and the New York Foundation for Support of Arts Education.

For more information about the theater festival go to the website, www.escenariosdelmundo.com, or Facebook page.