The second week of the 25th International Hispanic Theatre Festival began with a fascinating literary premise: What if Life is a Dream, 17th century Spanish playwright Pedro Calderón de la Barca’s masterpiece, took place in Macondo, the legendary village of Gabriel García Márquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude?

Oco Teatro Laboratório 1737265 from Brazil opened Os Sonhos de Segismundo (Los Sueños de Segismundo) with the image of several troubadours standing around a circle of light chanting: “Macondo is our home.” They have spent many years wandering the globe in search of a better life. When they return to Macondo with nothing but stories, they find their native city in ruins, but soon everyone’s fate changes.

Following the story line of Life is a Dream, the townspeople discover the king has a son, Segismundo, who the king secretly imprisoned since birth because astronomers predicted he would be an evil, bloodthirsty ruler. Suddenly, Segismundo represents the people’s hope for the future.

Written by Luis Alberto Alonso and Tiago Chaves and directed by Alonso, Os Sonhos is a literary interweaving that maintains its sense of cohesion by following the general story line of Life is a Dream. Elements of clowning, dance, mask and song intertwine in this vibrant and often humorous production.

The Arsht Center’s Carnival Studio Theater provided excellent acoustics for Tiago Chaves, whose live percussion guided the play’s alternately festive and dramatic tones. Diana Ramos as Clarin and Rafael Magalhaes’ Segismundo stood out for their physicality and expressiveness.

The play was performed in Portuguese with Spanish supertitles. On Wednesday night there was some lag time between the actor’s monologues and the supertitles, and at least one song was not translated at all, but overall this literary exploration made flesh was one worth witnessing.

On Friday, Uruguayan actress Nidia Telles of Compañia de Nidia Telles presented Gracias Por Todo (Thanks for Everything), a monologue written by Julio César Castro and performed in Spanish at Prometeo on Miami Dade College’s Wolfson Campus. This is Telles’ second appearance at the festival (she played Madame Curie in 2005).

Standing alone before an antique wardrobe with oval mirror at the center, Telles portrays the life of Graciela, an older, middle-class Uruguayan woman who must decide what to keep in her closet and what to throw away. Frequently returning to the refrain, “The mirror distorts,” she vehemently unpacks some of her life’s baggage (a distant father, unfaithful husband, gay son-in-law) along with her failed attempts to find solace in psychotherapy and religion. A veteran actress, Telles plays Graciela with energy and candor; however, I longed for a meatier text or direction by Carlos Aguilera that could bring out more of Graciela’s individuality and quirkiness — and Telles’ abundant resources.

As performed by Spain’s Albanta theater company, Flores Arrancadas a la Niebla (Flowers Plucked from the Fog), written by Arístides Vargas and presented by Cádiz, is a dialogue-intense exploration of the existential problem of exile. Two women, Aida (Angeles Rodríguez) and Raquel (Charo Sabio) are refugees fleeing an unnamed country at the end of a war. Raquel is a scientist; Aida is a self-proclaimed artist.

When the two strangers meet at a train station and Aida proposes that Raquel tell her a story, the play turns into an exercise in time travel fueled by metaphor and symbolism. As several dialogues unfold, the audience bears witness to what happened, what will happen, and what might have happened to these women. The result is a complex emotional portrait of what it means to be a refugee. Rodríguez and Sabio play their roles with admirable humor, honesty and stamina.

At 1 ½ hours without intermission, Flores felt a bit long. However, Pepe Bablé’s solid direction keeps the play on track, and the metaphors, especially of the orchid as a symbol of beauty, separateness and disintegration, lends cohesiveness.

At the end of a week packed with theater, Sunday’s outstanding performance of El Rey Que No Oia, Pero Escuchaba (The King Who Could Not Hear, But Listened) still managed to leave its mark. Written by Perla Szchumacher and directed by Adrian Blue and Alberto Lomnitz, El Rey is a fable about tolerance and understanding. A wise elder prince is heir to the throne, but members of the court fear their country will be ridiculed for having a deaf ruler, so they crown the younger, less competent brother.

El Rey was performed in Spanish and Mexican sign language by Seña y Verbo Teatro de Sordos, a professional theater company of deaf and hearing actors from Mexico. The five-member cast’s indelible facial expressions and vivid gestures were captivating. Hopefully, this is not the last Miami has seen of this excellent company.

The show was free and open to the public at Miami Dade College’s InterAmerican Campus. The company was one of two groups to celebrate International Children’s Day; Consejo Artistico de Puerto Rico performed in Miami Beach

The International Hispanic Theatre Festival continues through Aug. 1 with groups from Chile, Uruguay and Mexico performing this week.

To read more, view a slideshow, see a performance schedule or get ticket information, click here.