Though the International Hispanic Theatre Festival has been beset by economic and logistical troubles, you wouldn't know it from the art onstage. The award-winning, three-week celebration of Spanish-language and Hispanic theater kicked off its 24th year last week with top-notch productions from Colombia, Mexico and Miami.

The festival, which runs through July 26, opened at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts' Carnival Studio Theater with Carta de una desconocida (Letter from a Stranger), adapted and directed by Manuel Orjuela. Good adaptations have artistic (not simply logistical) reasons for existing, and the Spanish-language Carta, presented by the theater company Asociación Los Ojos del Hermano Eterno of Bogotá is a powerful example.

Orjuela converted a novel by Austrian Stefan Zweig into a monologue. In the form of a letter, a woman recounts her life-long love for a man who never returned her affections. The monologue's coup, however, is that it's performed by five actresses -- Patricia Tamayo, Ana María Medina, Carolina Cuervo, Maia Landaburu and Carolina Ramírez -- each representing a specific age and a distinct expression of love, from innocence to rage and desolation.

Originally conceived as teatro domicilio (theater staged in homes, restaurants or bars), the play retains its unconventional relationship with the audience. House lights were up for the entire performance, and the actresses sashayed and sometimes stomped up and down aisles, periodically aiming a poignant line at one specific audience member as if he were the aloof man in question. Orjuela's innovative adaptation and fluid direction of these five talented actresses rendered a moving portrait of love and solitude.

A very different adaptation premiered at Miami Dade College's Wolfson campus, when Prometeo Theatre presented Cuban playwright (and festival regular) Raquel Carrió's adaptation of William Shakespeare's Othello. Otelo, presented in Spanish with English supertitles, was directed by Lilliam Vega and performed by the first graduating class of Prometeo's Spanish-language professional theater conservatory.

The elaborate and visually captivating production underscored the budding program's ambition and talent. Gustavo Mejía was compelling as the manipulative, vengeful Yago. Maria Eugenia Rodríguez brought sensuality to the character of Desdémona, Otelo's chaste and dutiful wife.

Vega, along with lighting designer Carlos Cedano and the set-and-costume design team of Jorge Noa and Pedro Balmaseda, were nothing short of inspired as they confronted the challenge of working with an 11-member cast on Prometeo's tiny stage. Through resourceful use of props, an elevated stage and sculpted lighting, the team managed to artfully frame the play's numerous scenes.

The adaptation preserves the play's themes of ambition, revenge and racism, but Carrió gave a little too much attention (and stage time) to Yago's plotting. As a result, though Luis Nalerio capably portrayed Otelo, his passion for Desdémona and his ultimate betrayal felt like somewhat of an afterthought.

Back at the Arsht on Saturday, members of Mexico City's La Máquina de Teatro dipped into Mexico's epic history in Nezahualcóyotl, a physically and intellectually challenging one-act steeped in anthropology, history, character and movement.

Written and directed by Juliana Faesler and the company, the play explores the myth and legacy of 15th century poet and ruler Nezahualcóyotl, resulting in a cross-section of poetry, legend, monologue, movement and history. This physically demanding piece gravitated from ritualistic movements and dance to character-driven monologues which revealed the lives of Mexicans from the 15th century to 2009.

Vividly masked in body and face paints, and donning earth-toned costumes, Clarissa Malheiros, Diana Fidelia, Roldán Ramírez, Natyeli Flores and Horacio Gonzáles García Rojas were physical dynamos, twirling, hopping and lifting each other nonstop.

Nezahualcóyotl is a tribute to Mexico's rich history and, in particular, the poet-ruler who was by all accounts a decent politician. It is also a deeply sardonic look at the corruption, crime and poverty Nezahualcóyotl's descendants continue to endure, as well as the national and global origins of their suffering.

The International Hispanic Theatre Festival continues this week and next at the Arsht Center's Carnival Studio Theater and at Prometeo with companies from Spain, Mexico, Los Angeles and Miami.

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