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The shadow of an absent father
By Suzanne Ludekens, May 11, 2007
Escena 2 Theater festival
Martina y los Hombres Pájaro (Marina and the Birdmen).
Sunday, May 13, noon
Teatro Santa Ana
Reloj 50A
Free
Mexican migration to the United States is extensively covered in the media. However, the ramifications of what happens to the families left behind remains in the shadows. What of the children who say good-bye to their fathers, brothers and uncles? How do they feel about their fractured family? Award winning playwright and puppeteer Monica Hoth brings the inner world of one such child into the spotlight with her shadow puppet play Martina y los Hombres Pájaro (Martina and the Birdmen).
The play tells the story of a little girl, Martina, whose father left to find work in the United States. She waits for him but he does not return, so she embarks upon a journey, in her dreams, to find him. Although Martina loves and needs her father, she understands that her life will continue in his absence, but she also knows it is better to be loved by two parents.
The play won the 2003 National Children’s Theater award.
Monica first became aware of the problem of absent fathers several years ago when she moved from Mexico City to San Miguel. “I met several women, all with the same story—fathers, husbands and brothers who went to the United States for work. The brother of one woman left and disappeared, nothing was ever heard from him,” she recalls. “What do you do with a disappeared person and your feelings? How do you live with that?” Later research revealed that the problem was of particular importance to Guanajuato—the state with the highest level of family abandonment—fathers who go to the United States and never return, unlike the southern state of Oaxaca where family values are extremely strong and the men do come back. Theater was the ideal forum to deal with this highly emotive issue as Monica explained. “Art heals. Theater cures you of your own problems, and gives others the possibility to heal and resolve conflicts. You can dream the other possibility….a new reality.”
Work on the play began in January 2005 with her group La Salamandra (Salamandra) winners of the 2003 Arts Council theater group development prize, a small group of puppet enthusiasts and “immigrants” who have come to call San Miguel home; Antonia Braun (Chile), Saeko Takahashi (Japan), Claudette Walls (Mexico City) and Miguel Simpson (USA). According to Monica, working with puppets is a labor of love that begins with the fingers then the hands and at last the arm. “But you cannot call yourself a puppeteer until you work with the heart,” she said.
For the members of Salamandra the play not only was an opportunity to embark upon an unexpected adventure in theater but opened doors to evaluate their personal experiences.
Antonia, a fashion designer, did not dare to perform on stage until she discovered shadow puppets after taking Monica’s puppet making course at Bellas Artes. “I migrated to Mexico in search of art, and found the puppets and myself!” Apart from the fun in collaborating on this project Antonia loves the reactions of the audience. “There’s such magic, children are fascinated and enthralled with the shows,” she said.
For Claudette, an anthropologist and sociologist, theater provides an especially personal voice. She identifies with the character Martina because her own father left the family and never returned. “I feel a strong connection with the play. Others do not understand but secretly you always hope for his return,” explained Claudette.
Saeko, previously an editor of an interior design magazine, has gained a new perspective on the many immigrants that come to Japan in search of work. “Japan is the home to many immigrants, Chinese, Philipino and others, I had never considered their point of view or that they had families waiting for them at homes far away. The play has opened my heart.”
All members of the group helped with scenery and the construction of the shadow puppets, but the main tasks were carried out by social service student Miguel from the California College of Arts and crafts.
The first three performances were in San Miguel. Monica then took the play to the rural communities where children who live first hand the experience of Martina can dream of “new realities”. “Martina” proved an amazing success for Monica. Not only did the National Council for the Arts fund the play but the book Martina and the Birdmen was published as well. The play was also performed for school children in Baja California, Michoacán, and Nayarit.
Theater fest hoped to prop slow season
By Jesús Ibarra
All the world’s a stage this month in San Miguel as Escena 2, the second annual theater festival, livens the streets and stomping grounds of the normally drowsy month of May. Local organizers and government departments are counting on the festival to increase the number of visitors to San Miguel during the traditionally low tourist season.
“We thank the organizers of the Escena 2 theater festival for helping us try to increase hotel occupation during May,” said Cristóbal Finkelstein Franyuti during a press conference held April 23 by Lucila Saravia, director and organizer of the festival.
Guillermo González Engelbretch, manager of the Tourism Council, announced that the council contributed 50,000 pesos to support Escena 2. “We are betting on the festival to increase tourism during May,” said Engelbretch, who added that only around 40 percent of the city’s hotel rooms are occupied during the month. “We are hoping to increase that number by at least 5 percent.” The Tourism and Economic Development Department also contributed 60,000 pesos toward the event.
Escena 2 is the second theater festival to be held in San Miguel and is expected to exceed the first in quality and public support. “We are expecting around 5,000 visitors during the weekend from May 11 to May 15, when the festival will take place,” said Saravia.
According to Saravia, the festival was inspired by the words of Juan José Gurrola, a Mexican playwright, theater and film director and actor: “Why do we need movie theaters if San Miguel is a natural location for theater? Throw the seats in the garbage and present the plays in unconventional settings.” Gurrola will be honored during the festival with a photographic exhibit about his work. He will also direct a play called Simplemente complicado (Simply complicated), to be performed at the Teatro Ángela Peralta.
Aside from Simplemente complicado, the story of an old man inspired by the life of the great German actor Bernhard Minetti, two other productions will be mounted at the Ángela Peralta: Peer Gynt by Henrik Ibsen, the story of a young Norwegian who spends his life dreaming he is king of the world, and Julio sin agosto (July without August), a black comedy that tells the story of Julio and his relationship with his son and his male partner.
Two plays will be presented in English: Shakespeare’s Henry V, presented by the Lucidity Suitcase International group from New York, and The Cost of Living, presented by the group DV8 from Great Britain.
Mónica Hoth brings her acclaimed puppetry skills to the stage in a reprise performance of Martina y los hombres pájaro (Martina and the Birdmen), about a girl missing her father, who has gone to work in the United States.
Street theater, children’s theater, cabaret, dinner theater and a costume parade will round out the festival’s varied offerings.
Finkelstein remarked that “although culture is usually said to be elitist, Escena 2 is not an elitist festival. All of the events are free except the three plays presented at the Ángela Peralta Theater, which will have accessible prices.”
According to Saravia, Escena 2 has been promoted by the media. “Fundación Televisa gave us some spots that will appear on national TV 15 days before the festival. The University of Guadalajara also sponsored TV spots in Guadalajara, as well as channel 22 in Mexico City,” said Saravia, who added that the festival has received sponsorship from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), National Fund for Arts and Culture (FONCA), National Council for Arts and Culture (CONACULTA) and San Miguel private businesses such as the cheese factory La Esmeralda and Hotel Real de Minas, among others.
Escena 2, theater in the streets and more
Friday, May 11
6pm, Photographic exhibition, Plays by Juan José Gurrola, Bellas Artes, Hernández Macías 75
8pm, Opening ceremony, Jardín
8:15pm, Réquiem por un payaso (Requiem for a clown), street theater, Jardín
9pm, Peer Gynt, by Henrik Ibsen, English subtitles, Angela Peralta, cnr Hernández Macías & Mesones; 100, 80, 60 pesos
Saturday, May 12
Noon, En duende está el misterio, (The Elf is a Mystery) children’s theater, Bellas Artes, Hernández Macías 75
6pm, Tercia de reinas (Three Queens), Mamma Mia, Umarán 8
8pm, Simplemente complicado (Simply complicated) English subtitles, Ángela Peralta; cnr Hernández Macías & Mesones 100, 80, 60 pesos
9:30pm, Banda las recodas, cabaret show by Las Reinas Chulas, Hotel Real de Minas, Salida a Celaya cnr Stirling Dickinson
Midnight, Impro Raven, open-stage improvization, El Viejo Topo, Stirling Dickinson 28, int 7
Sunday, May 13
Noon, Martina y los hombres pájaro (Martina and the Birdmen), puppet theater, Teatro Santa Ana, Reloj 50A
6pm, Máscaras, pillos y enmascarados (Masks, thieves and masked men), street theater, Portal Allende, Jardín
9pm, DJ Rapidita González, cabaret, Chocolate Lounge, Mesones 99
Monday, May 14
Noon, El hado, (The fairy) children’s theater, Bellas Artes
7:30pm, Julio sin agosto (July without August), Angela Peralta, Hernández Macías 75 English subtitles; 100, 80, 60 pesos
9pm, The Cost of Living, theater in English by British group DV8, Jardín
Tuesday, May 15
6pm, Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare, street theater, Parque Juárez
8pm, Henry V by William Shakespeare, Lucidity Suitcase from New York, in English, outside Museo Casa de Allende, Cuna de Allende 1,
10pm, Closing cocktail, Chocolate Lounge, Mesones 99
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