As part of its 2026 Spring Puppet Forum Series, the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry at the University of Connecticut is pleased to host a “Mexican Puppetry:  Lormiga Títeres” with Ailin Ruiz and Sarina Pedroza of the celebrated puppet company Lormiga Títeres on Wednesday, Feb. 18 at 7 p.m. in the Ballard Institute Theater, located at 1 Royce Circle, Storrs, CT. This forum will also be broadcast via Ballard Institute Facebook Live.

This event, moderated by Ballard Institute director John Bell, will take place in conjunction with the Ballard Institute’s current exhibition Somos Uno: Mexican and Mexican American Puppetry, and is co-sponsored by UConn’s Puerto Rican and Latin American Cultural Center (PRLACC) and El Instituto, the Institute of Latina/o, Caribbean, and Latin American Studies.

Lormiga Títeres is a non-profit puppet company headed by directors and dramaturgs Ailin Ruiz and Sarina Pedroza. The organization’s objective is to support “full and happy childhoods,” and their work incorporates the production and performance of puppet shows and puppet films as well as publishing materials through their press Editorial L. Their community programming includes Theater at School, Theater Saturdays, research into Sonora’s puppet history, and online programs such as Cuentos para Contar Estrellas (Stories for Counting Stars). Lormiga Títeres curates the Puppet Slam México, sponsored by Green Feather Foundation, Arroyo Arts Collective, and the Puppet Slam Network. The company has performed in festivals across Mexico and represented Mexico internationally. Their work is represented in Somos Uno: Mexican and Mexican American Puppetry by image frames from their stop-motion animation films, La Casa de mi Abuela (My Grandmother’s House), Como una Niña (Like a Child), and Olivia y el Don Extraordinario (Olivia and the Extraordinary Gift).

Admission to this event is free (donations greatly appreciated!), and refreshments will be served. For more information or if you require accommodation to attend a forum, please contact Ballard Institute staff at 860.486.8580 or bimp@uconn.edu.