One hundred years after the birth of Isidora Aguirre Tupper, GAM honored the playwright with part of the original cast of one of her most emblematic works,La pérgola de las flores.
Carmen Barros and Héctor Noguera were present at the commemoration, which remembered their legacy and contribution to the country's culture with important announcements and an artistic presentation.
The executive director of GAM, Felipe Mella stressed the importance of her legacy: "This woman, ahead of her time, managed to challenge politics and expose social problems from a close and popular perspective. Her more than 40 theatrical works caused a change in the paradigm of the performing arts, because she developed a constant investigation of the Chilean identity of the 20th century."
The actor Héctor Noguera, who participated as "Carlucho" in the original version of the work premiered in 1960, thanked him for the opportunity and commented on the version that he will direct on the Pérgola: "I am very happy about this tribute and it speaks very well of the spirit with which the GAM is approaching cultural management. I hope that the version that I will direct is more musical than the original version. I want to transform it into a musical itself, rather than a comedy with songs. Today "The concept of a musical is much more dynamic. I also want to emphasize the moment of historical break that the work has when moving from a colonial culture to a more republican one."
The Minister of Cultures, Arts and Heritage, Consuelo Valdés, emphasized the creative power that led Isidora to portray the social reality of marginalized Chile: "From the Ministry this year we have proposed to do justice to the Chilean creators who for years have been in the background. To do this we will dedicate Theater Day (May 11) in their honor, for which we have scheduled a series of activities that seek to value their life and their artistic production."
For her part, Carmen Barros, the first Chilean Carmela, took the stage in a preview of what will be “Proyecto Aguirre”, a work that will premiere at GAM in October. Directed by Andreina Olivarí and Sanmantha Manzur, the production will delve into the conflict of what it meant to write, be and do a woman who comes from the countryside to the city. There will also be testimonies, historical data, anecdotes, quotes and creative processes from other works by the playwright, such as “Los papeleros”, “Lautaro”, “Dialogues at the end of the century” and “Those who are left on the road”.
Representatives of the San Francisco flower pergola and its president, Juana Vilchez, also took the stage, giving flowers to the performers and Isidora's relatives who were present.
GAM also announced the opening of a public call to be part of the cast of the cultural center's new production of La pérgola: "We remember this work as one of the most important pieces of Chilean theater. We will take it as a GAM production, directed by Héctor Noguera, which will also have an open audition process for which young artists will be able to register from today on our website," commented Felipe Mella.
The objective of the contest will be to select performers for the secondary roles in the production. Graduate actors and actresses with notions of singing and movement may apply to participate in a musical project. The audition will take place at GAM on May 23 and the rules are available at here.