Georgina Pontaza (born 1974) is a Guatemalan actress, singer, choreographer, theater director and producer. She has done work on television and radio in addition to live theater and serves as the artistic director of both the Teatro Abril and Teatro Fantasía IRTRA in
Guatemala City
Guatemala City ( es, Ciudad de Guatemala), known locally as Guatemala or Guate, is the capital and largest city of Guatemala, and the most populous urban area in Central America. The city is located in the south-central part of the country, nest ...
.
Biography
Karla
Georgina Pontaza Ávila
was born 15 January 1974 in Guatemala.
At a very young age, she was encouraged to entertain in a children's choir founded by her grandmother, soprano Carmen Morales Ávila. From age 5, she performed and by age 9, Pontaza and her sister Silvia, who was 8-years-old, formed a singing and dancing duo, known as the "Pontaza Sisters". They performed with the Kodaly Group under the direction of
Alma Monsanto in the production of ''
Little Orphan Annie
''Little Orphan Annie'' is a daily American comic strip created by Harold Gray and syndicated by the Tribune Media Services. The strip took its name from the 1885 poem "Little Orphant Annie" by James Whitcomb Riley, and it made its debut on Aug ...
'',
in 1985,
followed by "José el Soñador", "La Novicia Rebelde" (''
The Sound of Music
''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, '' The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. Se ...
''), "Gatos" (''
Cats
The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of t ...
''), "Brillantina"
Glitter
Glitter is an assortment of small, reflective particles that come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors. Glitter particles reflect light at different angles, causing the surface to sparkle or shimmer. Glitter is similar to confetti, sparkle ...
, "El Violinista en el Tejado" (''
Fiddler on the Roof
''Fiddler on the Roof'' is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in the Pale of Settlement of Imperial Russia in or around 1905. It is based on ''Tevye and his Daughters'' (or ''Tevye the ...
''), ''
Evita Evita may refer to:
Arts
* Evita (1996 film), ''Evita'' (1996 film), a 1996 American musical drama film based on the 1976 concept album of the same name
* Evita (2008 film), ''Evita'' (2008 film), a documentary about Eva Péron
* Evita (album), ''E ...
'', and many others.
She has a degree in both Advertising and Dramatic Arts,
having graduated with the latter designation in 2009.
Since the mid 1990s,
she has taught children's theater. In addition to teaching, she has recorded many voices for both television and radio, and was the Artistic Director of "TV Chiquirrines Club".
Pontaza had her directorial debut in 1994, in the work "El reino de Bom Bom" (The Kingdom of Bom Bom), with the Argentine singer
Luis Aguilé
Luis María Aguilera Picca (24 February 1936 – 10 October 2009) was an Argentine singer, songwriter and actor, best known for worldwide hit song '"Cuando salí de Cuba" ("When I Left Cuba"). This song become the unofficial anthem for Cuban ex ...
. In 1995 she started choreographing and directing children's theater and in the early 2000s
she began directing with the producer Pedro Luis Soto at the Teatro Abril.
By 2006 as artistic director, Pontaza had staged many classic children's theatrical performances.
In 2012, she became the artistic director of the newly opened Teatro Fantasía (Fantasy Theater) at the Instituto de Recreación de los Trabajadores (IRTRA) (Institute of Worker's Recreation) in Guatemala City.
Though best known for children's performances,
Pontaza has also worked with classic productions like "Entremeses de Cervantes" by
Miguel de Cervantes
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 Old Style and New Style dates, NS) was an Early Modern Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-emin ...
and "Cuadros de Costumbres" by Guatemalan
José Milla y Vidaurre
José Milla y Vidaurre (August 4, 1822 in Guatemala City, First Mexican Empire — Guatemala City, Guatemala September 30, 1882) was a notable Guatemalan writer of the 19th century. He was also known by the name Pepe Milla and the pseudonym Salomé ...
.
Awards
1994, Lifetime Achievement for Children's Theater, from the ''Magazine of the Nation'' for the Sociedad Dante Aliguieri
Productions
Acting
*''Peter Pan'' (1994, 1997, 2000)
*''Pinocchio''
*''The Diary of Anne Frank''
*''The Wizard of Oz''
Directing
*''The Little Mermaid''
*''The Beauty and the Beast''
*''Snow White''
*''Aladdin''
*''Fuenteovejuna''
*''Los árboles mueren de pie''
*''Leyendas de Guatemala''
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pontaza, Georgina
1976 births
Guatemalan stage actresses
Guatemalan women singers
Living people
North American child actors
20th-century Guatemalan actresses
21st-century Guatemalan actresses
21st-century women singers