The Great Gathering of Latin-American Theater People: A Report on the 24th Iberian-American Theater Festival in Cadiz

Abstract

SPRING 2010 169 The Great Gathering of Latin-American Theater People: A Report on the 24th Iberian-American Theater Festival in Cadiz Hedda Kage AHerculean effort yields only a meager profit for festival organizers. This could be the final assessment of those eleven days at the end of October, including 27 invited productions fromArgentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, Mexico, Peru, Spain, and Uruguay. As a constant observer over the years could verify, this is hardly a surprising balance if one knows the requirements and conditions of artistic decisions. With all due respect to the commendable largess of this atmospherically unrivalled festival of meetings, there were quality snags from time to time. Diplomatic obligations, respect, friendships, a limited budget for travel expenses, and the yearly rhythm neutralize artistic rigor. The festival founded in 1985 in order to connect Latin America’s worlds of theater to the linguistic mother countries Spain and Portugal, and soon to celebrate its twenty-five years of existence in 2010, has most of all succeeded in building and stabilizing bridges over which hundreds of Latin American theater artists have made their way to Europe every year. Cadiz not only offers them the time and space in which to present their own productions , but also the chance to see and learn about the productions of others and, in the accompanying forums and workshops, to engage in exchanges focused on aesthetic positions in the theater and cultural realities. Together, these artists enjoy great hospitality in the common festival hotel, make guest appearances in additional cities of the Iberian Peninsula, and travel from here to other European countries.Ayear after the return of democracy toArgentina, consolidating Latin America’s theater worlds was first achieved in 1984 by Carlos Jiménez, who, born in Cordoba, fled to Venezuela to escape the military junta. The ex-Cordoban, who Venezuela thanks for the theater wonder “Rajatabla” and the Caracas Festival, invited theater people from practically 170 LATIN AMERICAN THEATRE REVIEW every Latin American brother nation to Cordoba to the first Latin-American Theater Festival. In 1985 the same idea was to be adopted in Cadiz by Juan Margolla, and, since twenty-four years, continued by Pepe Bablé: Every year in Cadiz, for a period of eleven days, a portion of the dream of a United States of Latin America, over which independence strategists have probably pondered for 200 years already, is expressed theatrically.” Not without reason was Cadiz declared the 2012 Iberian-American Capital of Culture, and so now it prepares in every area — complete with more architectural visibility — for this honorary year. The over 3000-year-old white city is cleaning up its last tumble-down areas to tourist standards. The city’s valued and popular mayor, slyly nicknamed ‘the secret Queen Teófila I’ by her friends, intends to do everything in her power to make the festival the representative showpiece of the upcoming festivities. On this occasion too, she insisted on personally celebrating the award ceremony in the city hall’s palatial room. The festival prize for the life’s work of an artist was awarded Patricia Ariza Flores, the Columbian writer, director, actress, cofounder of the famous troupe “La Candelaria” (Bogotá), and many times threatened human rights activist. Awarded for the tenth time, this year’s “Atahualpa del Cioppo” prize went to the actor and director Mario Ernesto, also the founder and festival director of the International Hispanic Theater Festival in Miami, Florida. The Cuban-born Ernesto was praised for his tireless, twenty-five years of commitment to nurturing a theatrical Hispanic-American presence in the culture of the United States. Thanks to Teófila’s sponsorship, the Iberian-American Meeting for Women in Theater — an outstanding forum for reflection, with its symposiums, workshops and publications, organized every year by Margarita Borja and Diana Raznovich — has meanwhile become an indispensable part of the festival. Among the most convincing productions of this highly multifaceted program (20 productions with 32 performances in three theaters and seven open-air as well as street-theater productions with 12 performances) were two productions from Spain. FromAndalusia came the sensational, solo piece “El Testigo” (The Witness) by Fernando Quiniones. Narrating and performing alone...