102 DEGREES FILM

 In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, Tampa City Ballet presents 7th Avenue & Ybor - 102 Degrees, a short film about the cycle of life, loss and love.

Directed by Natalia Marty

Choreographed by Paula Nunez, Elsa Valbuena in collaboration with the dancers

Music and SFX by Alonso Toro

Trailer Music and SFX Paul Lewis

In 1918, the cigar factory workers in Ybor City were among the hardest hit communities by the Spanish Flu in Florida. Living and working close together, they wore makeshift masks of gauze and attempted to sanitize their environment.

Despite their best efforts, half of the Ybor City cigar workers contracted the disease. This tragic history is part of a memory shared by many generations of Ybor families.

102 Degrees' narrative centers around the character of Teresa, a Tampa nurse who grew up in Ybor City. She is an essential frontline worker battling to save the lives and treat Covid-19 patients. Through her exposure to infected patients she contracts the disease. Teresa has a fevered dream taking her to a liminal space of remembering the stories she has heard of the 1918 Spanish Flu in Ybor City.

With the sound of a rooster's crow, 102 Degrees takes audiences on Teresa's transitory journey. In her delirious state Teresa's memories of history, love and loss illustrate the universal cycle of life.

Teresa falls victim to the disease, and dies at the Cuban Club, which served as a hospital for the sick in 1918. This becomes a point of departure for her mystical transition into a new state of being, a sacred journey through life to death.

102 Degrees is dedicated to all healthcare providers and essential workers risking their lives everyday to serve their community. It also recognizes the spirit of perseverance and generosity woven into the history of Ybor City.

Our empathy and consideration will mutually serve us all once again as we deal with our current pandemic.