The San Miguel Puppet Festival, first held in 2003 and repeated in 2004, continued a three-century tradition of puppeteering in San Miguel de Allende. The 2006 puppet festival continues that tradition with performances every day from April 29 to May 7.

San Miguel 2006 Puppet Festival Program
(Most performances are at the Miguel Malo auditorium at Bellas Artes, Hernández Macías 75.)

Saturday, April 29, 1pm Alejandra Díaz de Cossio presents “The Trunk of Piratlilla” Bellas Artes, 35 pesos Piratlilla and her pet Caracolimplín live in a trunk that guards legends. In this work they relate the story of Barba Morada (Purple Beard), the evil pirate who is shipwrecked and lands on a Caribbean island. There he meets Tortula, the turtle that teaches him about the coral reefs as treasures of nature. Saturday, April 29, 3pm  “The Trunk of Piratlilla” is presented at Parque Landeta, free of charge

Sunday, April 30, 1pm and 5pm
Puppet Company MUF presents 
“Magic Bubbles”
Bellas Artes, two-for-one admission, 
35 pesos
This spectacle is composed of action that takes place simultaneously in different frames and is full of lively stories, conflicts that are rapidly resolved, and lots of movement. Characters are created and transformed before our eyes; roosters, dolls and butterflies disappear and reappear in their original form as pieces of cloth, cords and spheres. This performance, without words, has been presented in puppet festivals around the world.

Monday, May 1, 1pm La Salamandra presents “Martina and the Bird Men” Bellas Artes, 35 pesos Martina’s father claims to be a bird man because he is like the birds that go north at the beginning of every year and return again at the end of the year.

Martina’s father tells her that he will return from the “other side” and bring her a bicycle. But Martina does not hear from her father, and no one knows anything about what happened to him. Determined not to forget him, Martina undertakes a trip to search for her father and find out whether he will come back.
Winner of the National Children’s Theater Prize INBA-CONACULTA 2003.

Tuesday, May 2, 11am
La Salamandra presents “The Well”
Peña Blanca community school, free admission
This performance shows us a day in the life of Emiliano, a small worm who with cunning and humor overcomes obstacles that present themselves as he’s on his way to school. In the end, he victoriously transforms into a butterfly. “The Well” has been performed more than 800 times.

Wednesday, May 3, 5pm Teatro Banyán and La Salamandra present “Athanor, Alchemist of Dreams” Bellas Artes, free admission This presentation includes a showing of the film Copil and an homage to the theater company “Athanor.”

Thursday, May 4, noon Lourdes Aguilera presents “Where Is He?” San Isidro de la Cañada, free admission A mother cannot find her son, who is hiding and will not come out until she tells him a story. She plays along and tells him a story about an egg. This play was selected to be included in the International Festival of Solo Animation in Lodz, Poland, in 1998.

Friday, May 5, 1pm Lourdes Aguilera presents “The Useful Life of Pillo Moth” Bellas Artes, 35 pesos Pillo is a moth that lives happily eating books in a library. One day, he learns to read and begins asking himself why moths exist. From the time he begins to read he undertakes an internal and external journey that profoundly transforms him. Winner of the 2005 best children’s theater piece from the Association of Theater Critics and Reporters.

Saturday, May 6, 8pm
En Boca de Lobos Producciones presents “Othello”
Teatro Ángela Peralta, corner of Mesones & Hernández Macías, 35 pesos
This version of “Othello” is told from the point of view of Iago and highlights the way he manipulates situations and information for his own perverse means. Shakespeare’s characters echo current politics, including the impresarios who support political campaigns, the judges, maximum security prisons and videotaped scandals. Includes live actors, puppets and multimedia.

Sunday, May 7, 1pm
Ludus Teatro presents “Boddo-Boddo”
Bellas Artes, 35 pesos
Boddo-Boddo is a strange creature looking for his roots. Various people try to help him find his origins. Winner of the 2004 festival prize for best puppetry handwork.

Sunday, May 7, 5pm Ala de Tres presents “Old Clementina” Bellas Artes, 35 pesos “Old Clementina” is a forgotten grandmother who decides to relive her memories in a place where her history resides in order to regain the strength to reinvigorate the meaning of her existence. A story made up from fragments of stories and accounts, the play uses objects, puppets and masks, employing a mix of comedy and drama, to help the audience come to terms with old age.