Lucía Castillo Wins 2026 National Theater Award for a Lifetime Devoted to Dominican Theater
The Ministry of Culture honors Lucía Castillo, one of the longest-serving figures on the Dominican stage, for her career and her work as a teacher.
Key points
- Lucía Castillo receives the 2026 National Award for the Performing Arts in the Theater category.
- She was born in Santo Domingo on December 13, 1928.
- In 1952 she graduated as a declamation teacher from the Conservatorio Nacional de Música.
- The jury was convened by the Ministry of Culture on October 29, 2026.
The 2026 National Award for the Performing Arts in the Theater category has been given to Lucía Castillo, according to Acento. The recognition, the outlet reports, is not explained solely by the characters she played or the plays she appeared in, but also by her work in the classroom, the training of actors, the teaching of declamation, and the transmission of a professional ethic.
Castillo was born in Santo Domingo on December 13, 1928, at a time when Dominican theater still lacked the infrastructure, schools, and professional companies that exist today. According to biographical information published about her career, she trained as a radio and theater actress in 1949 and, in 1952, graduated as a declamation teacher from the Conservatorio Nacional de Música after six years of study.
Her generation joined the Compañía Nacional de Teatro, which traces its origins to the Teatro Escuela de Arte Nacional, founded on May 19, 1946, under the direction of Spaniard Emilio Aparicio. That process coincided with the institutionalization of Dominican theater.
The jury was convened on October 29, 2026, by the Ministry of Culture, through Vice Minister of Creativity and Popular Participation Amaury Sánchez. It was made up of actresses Lidia Ariza and Karina Noble; actors Augusto Feria and Giovanni Jerez; José Rafael Sosa; filmmaker Guillermo Molina Mueses; and José Emilio Bencosme, president of the Dominican Theater Workers' Union.