Reinitas
Reinitas
Sofía Rei
Sofía Rei
There is a bar on the Nebraska plains that serves as a portal to another world—a gateway back to the tropics, where meatpacking workers go to rest. “I built it to look like home,” explained Berta Quintero, the owner of Reinita’s Bar. These days, the bar is mostly empty. In 2025, the U.S. government launched an unprecedented campaign of mass deportations, throwing immigrant communities into panic. Families went into hiding, schools saw a sharp rise in absenteeism, and mothers handed over custody of their children in case they were forced to leave. These are among the stories that NPR’s Jasmine Garsd has covered in recent months. While reporting from Fremont, Nebraska—a meatpacking town gripped by fear—Garsd discovered Reinita’s Bar.
The bilingual multimedia performance project Reinitas tells the stories of three generations of women behind the bar: Reinita, a grandmother from Guatemala who worked in the factories; Berta, her daughter and the bar’s owner; and Kaylee, the granddaughter, a Harvard-bound law student. Sofía Rei and Jasmine Garsd, both immigrants themselves, felt compelled to move beyond their respective mediums to tell stories that resonate with the urgent realities of this moment. For too long, immigration coverage in the U.S. has fixated on the border. Today, however, immigrant communities that were once considered relatively safe are under attack. By focusing on Nebraska, the creators aim to illuminate a different, yet deeply timely, chapter of the immigration story.
Multimedia Performance, Music, Performing Arts, Socially-Engaged Performance
2026
About Sofía Rei
Brooklyn, NY
Hailing from Buenos Aires, Argentina, Sofía Rei is an internationally acclaimed vocalist, composer, and producer whose career spans decades. She is a leading figure in the avant-garde music scene, celebrated for her innovative explorations of South American folklore, jazz, world music, and electronic soundscapes. Rei has released six albums under her own name and collaborated with renowned artists including John Zorn, Bobby McFerrin, and Susana Baca. Her work has earned multiple accolades, including six Independent Music Awards and a Grammy nomination for a collaborative project with jazz pianist Geoffrey Keezer. She and her band have performed twice on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert series. A passionate advocate for South American music and culture, Rei is also a full-time professor at New York University’s Clive Davis Institute, where she has created courses such as New Perspectives in Latin American Music and The Creative Voice , the latter focusing on live looping and vocal improvisation. Rei’s projects have received grants from prestigious institutions including New Music USA, the New York Foundation for the Arts, Chamber Music America, NALAC, and the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation. Her work continues to bridge cultural traditions and contemporary innovation, offering audiences a rich, genre-defying musical experience.
Hailing from Buenos Aires, Argentina, Sofía Rei is an internationally acclaimed vocalist, composer, and producer whose career spans decades. She is a leading figure in the avant-garde music scene, celebrated for her innovative explorations of South American folklore, jazz, world music, and electronic soundscapes. Rei has released six albums under her own name and collaborated with renowned artists including John Zorn, Bobby McFerrin, and Susana Baca. Her work has earned multiple accolades, including six Independent Music Awards and a Grammy nomination for a collaborative project with jazz pianist Geoffrey Keezer. She and her band have performed twice on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert series. A passionate advocate for South American music and culture, Rei is also a full-time professor at New York University’s Clive Davis Institute, where she has created courses such as New Perspectives in Latin American Music and The Creative Voice , the latter focusing on live looping and vocal improvisation. Rei’s projects have received grants from prestigious institutions including New Music USA, the New York Foundation for the Arts, Chamber Music America, NALAC, and the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation. Her work continues to bridge cultural traditions and contemporary innovation, offering audiences a rich, genre-defying musical experience.