Theatre in Argentina
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Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
is one of the world's capitals of theatre.Wilson, Jason. ''Cultural Guide to the City of Buenos Aires''. Oxford, England: Signal Books, 1999. The
Teatro Colón The Teatro Colón (Spanish: ''Columbus Theatre'') is the main opera house in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is considered one of the ten best opera houses in the world by National Geographic. According to a survey carried out by the acousti ...
is a national landmark for
opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...
and classical performances; built at the end of the 19th century, its acoustics are considered the best in the world,Luongo, Michael. ''Frommer's Argentina''. Wiley Publishing, 2007. and has undergone a major refurbishment in order to preserve its outstanding sound characteristics, the French-romantic style, the Golden Room (a minor auditorium targeted to Chamber Music performances), and the museum at the entrance. With its theatre scene of national and international caliber,
Corrientes Avenue Avenida Corrientes () is one of the principal thoroughfares of the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires. The street is intimately tied to the tango and the porteño sense of identity. Like the parallel avenues Santa Fe, Córdoba, and San Juan, it t ...
is synonymous with the art. It is thought of as ''the street that never sleeps'', and sometimes referred to as the
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
of Buenos Aires. Many careers in acting, music, and film have begun in its many theaters. The ''
Teatro General San Martín The Teatro General San Martín (General San Martín Theater) is an important public theater in Buenos Aires, located on Corrientes Avenue and adjacent to the cultural center of the same name. It is one of the major theaters in Argentina and offe ...
'' is one of the most prestigious, along Corrientes Avenue, and the ''
Teatro Nacional Cervantes The Teatro Nacional Cervantes in Buenos Aires is the national stage and comedy theatre of Argentina. Overview Located on Córdoba Avenue and two blocks north of Buenos Aires' renowned opera house, the Colón Theatre, the Cervantes houses three pe ...
'' functions as the national stage theater of Argentina. The ''
Teatro Argentino de La Plata The Teatro Argentino de La Plata is the second most important lyric opera house in Argentina, after the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires. The theatre is located in a central block of the city of La Plata, the capital of Buenos Aires Province. The ve ...
'', '' El Círculo'' in
Rosario Rosario () is the largest city in the central provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Santa Fe Province, Santa Fe. The city is located northwest of Buenos Aires, on the west bank of the Paraná River. Rosario is the third-most populous ci ...
, '' Independencia'' in Mendoza, and '' Libertador'' in Córdoba are also prominent.
Griselda Gambaro Griselda Gambaro (born 24 July 1928) is an Argentine people, Argentine writer, whose novels, plays, short stories, story tales, essays and novels for teenagers often concern the political violence in her home country that would develop into the D ...
,
Copi COPI is a coatomer, a protein complex that coats vesicles transporting proteins from the ''cis'' end of the Golgi complex The Golgi apparatus (), also known as the Golgi complex, Golgi body, or simply the Golgi, is an organelle found in most ...
,
Roberto Cossa Roberto Cossa (born November 30, 1934) is a prominent Argentinian playwright and theatre director. Life and work Roberto Cossa was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and raised in the quiet residential borough of Villa del Parque. He first acted i ...
,
Marco Denevi Marco Denevi (May 12, 1922 – December 12, 1998) was an Argentina, Argentine author of novels and short stories, as well as a lawyer and journalist. His work is characterized by its originality and depth, as well as a criticism of human incompet ...
,
Carlos Gorostiza Carlos Gorostiza Rodríguez (; June 7, 1920 – July 19, 2016) was an Argentine playwright, theatre director, and novelist. His seminal work ''El puente'' debuted in 1949 and he garnered numerous awards for his proceeding works. He later was Se ...
,
Alberto Vaccarezza Bartolomé Ángel Venancio Alberto Vaccarezza (1886–1959) was an Argentine poet and playwright. Vaccarezza was born in Buenos Aires on April 1, 1886. He is usually credited as the foremost exponent of the sainete genre, having written its mo ...
and Mauricio Kartun are a few of the more prominent Argentine playwrights.
Julio Bocca Julio Adrián Lojo Bocca (born March 6, 1967) is an Argentine ballet dancer. Bocca spent twenty years as a principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre. From 2010 to 2018 he served as artistic director of the National Ballet of Uruguay, administ ...
,
Jorge Donn Jorge Donn (25 February 1947 in Ciudad Jardin, Buenos Aires – 30 November 1992 in Lausanne, Switzerland), was an Argentine internationally known ballet dancer. He was best known for his work with Maurice Béjart's ''Ballet of the 20th Cen ...
, José Neglia, and Norma Fontenla are some of the great
ballet dancers A ballet dancer ( it, ballerina fem.; ''ballerino'' masc.) is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet; however, dancers have a strict hierarchy and strict gender roles. They rely on yea ...
of the modern era.


History

Argentine theatre traces its origins to Viceroy
Juan José de Vértiz y Salcedo Juan José de Vértiz y Salcedo (1719 in Mérida, Yucatán – 1799 in Madrid, Spain) was a Spanish colonial politician born in New Spain, and Viceroy of the Río de la Plata. Biography Son of a prominent peninsular politician, he studied in ...
's creation of the colony's first theatre, ''La Ranchería'', in 1783. In this stage, in 1786, a tragedy entitled ''Siripo'' had its premiere. ''Siripo'' is now a lost work (only the second act is conserved), and can be considered the first Argentine stage play, because it was written by Buenos Aires poet Manuel José de Lavardén, it was premiered in Buenos Aires, and its plot was inspired by an historical episode of the early colonization of the
Río de la Plata Basin The Río de la Plata basin ( es, Cuenca del Plata, pt, Bacia do Prata), more often called the River Plate basin in scholarly writings, sometimes called the Platine basin or Platine region, is the hydrographical area in South America that drains ...
: the destruction of Sancti Spiritu colony by aboriginals in 1529. ''La Ranchería'' theatre operated until its destruction in a fire in 1792. The second theatre stage in Buenos Aires was
Teatro Coliseo The Teatro Coliseo is a theatre in Retiro neighbourhood in Buenos Aires, Argentina which opened on July 8, 1905. History The Coliseum Theatre opened in 1905 as living the American circus clown Frank Brown, of great importance in the origins of ...
, opened in 1804 during the term of Viceroy
Rafael de Sobremonte Don Rafael de Sobremonte y Núñez del Castillo, 3rd Marquis of Sobremonte (Seville, 1745 – Cádiz, 1827), third Marquis of Sobremonte, was an aristocrat, military man and Spanish colonial administrator, and Viceroy of the Río de la Pla ...
. It was the nation's longest-continuously operating stage. The musical creator of the Argentine National Anthem,
Blas Parera Blas Parera Moret (3 February 1776 – 7 January 1840) was a Spanish music composer and teacher. He lived his part of his life in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was born in Murcia, Spain to two Catalan parents. In 1797, he moved to Buenos Aires wh ...
, earned fame as a theatre score writer during the early 19th century. The genre suffered during the regime of
Juan Manuel de Rosas Juan Manuel José Domingo Ortiz de Rosas (30 March 1793 – 14 March 1877), nicknamed "Restorer of the Laws", was an Argentine politician and army officer who ruled Buenos Aires Province and briefly the Argentine Confederation. Althoug ...
, though it flourished alongside the economy later in the century. The national government gave Argentine theatre its initial impulse with the establishment of the
Colón Theatre Colón may refer to: Places ;Argentina * Colón, Entre Ríos * Colón Department, Córdoba * Colón Department, Entre Ríos * Colón, Buenos Aires ;Colombia * Colón, Nariño * Colón, Putumayo * Colón Department (Colombia) ;Costa Rica * Ciu ...
, in 1857, which hosted classical and operatic, as well as stage performances. Antonio Petalardo's successful 1871 gambit on the opening of the
Teatro Opera The Teatro Opera (''Opera Theatre'') is a prominent cinema and theatre house in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Introduction The Teatro Opera (officially called Opera Orbis Seguros for commercial advertising reasons), is located at 860 Avenida Corriente ...
, inspired others to fund the growing art in Argentina. The 1874 murder of
Juan Moreira Juan Moreira (? - April 1874) is a well-known figure in the history of Argentina. An outlaw, gaucho and folk-hero, he is considered one of the most renowned Argentinian rural bandits. Early life Moreira was born in the administrative area of La ...
, a persecuted
troubadour A troubadour (, ; oc, trobador ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a ''trobairit ...
, provided dramatists with a new hero. Possessing all the elements of
tragedy Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy ...
, the anecdote inspired
Eduardo Gutiérrez Eduardo Gutiérrez (15 July 1851 – 2 August 1889) was an Argentine writer. His works of gauchoesque nature acquired great popularity, specially ''Juan Moreira Juan Moreira (? - April 1874) is a well-known figure in the history of Argentina. A ...
's 1884 play ''Juan Moreira'', and the work made the
gaucho A gaucho () or gaúcho () is a skilled horseman, reputed to be brave and unruly. The figure of the gaucho is a folk symbol of Argentina, Uruguay, Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil, and the south of Chilean Patagonia. Gauchos became greatly admired and ...
, the inspiration for the Argentine stage in subsequent years.
Spanish literature Spanish literature generally refers to literature ( Spanish poetry, prose, and drama) written in the Spanish language within the territory that presently constitutes the Kingdom of Spain. Its development coincides and frequently intersects wit ...
began to overtake the gaucho, following the 1897 relocation to Argentina of Spanish theatre producer
María Guerrero María Ana de Jesús Guerrero Torija (April 17, 1867 - January 23, 1928), better known as María Guerrero, was a prominent Spanish theatre actor, producer and director. Life and work María Guerrero Torija was born in Madrid in 1867. She enrol ...
, and her company, who popularized professional stage theatre in the country. Making the
Teatro Odeón The ''Odeon Theater'' (''Teatro Odeón'' in Spanish) was a theater in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It was built by Don Emilio Bieckert in the end of the 19th century. In July 1896, it hosted the first ever film screening in Argentina. It was demolishe ...
a nerve center for the medium, her evolved
stagecraft Stagecraft is a technical aspect of theatrical, film, and video production. It includes constructing and rigging scenery; hanging and focusing of lighting; design and procurement of costumes; make-up; stage management; audio engineering; and p ...
led to the creation of the national stage, the Cervantes Theatre, in 1921. The wave of European
Immigration in Argentina Immigration to Argentina began in several millennia BCE with the arrival of different populations from Asia to the Americas through Beringia, according to the most accepted theories, and were slowly populating the Americas. Upon arrival of ...
created a need for a cultural shift in theatre addressed by
Florencio Sánchez Florencio Sánchez (January 17, 1875 – November 7, 1910) was a Uruguayan playwright, journalist and political figure. He is considered one of the founding fathers of theater in the River Plate region of Argentina and Uruguay. Biography Fl ...
, a pioneer in professional theater locally, and in
Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
. Local color became the primary inspiration for
Roberto Arlt Roberto Arlt (April 26, 1900 – July 26, 1942) was an Argentine novelist, storyteller, playwright, journalist and inventor. Biography He was born Roberto Godofredo Christophersen Arlt in Buenos Aires on April 26, 1900. His parents were bo ...
,
Gregorio de Laferrère Gregorio de Laferrère (March 8, 1867 — November 30, 1913) was an Argentine politician and playwright. Life and work Gregorio de Laferrère was born in Buenos Aires to Mercedes Pereda, a local heiress, and Alfonso de Laferrère, a prominent Fre ...
,
Armando Discépolo Armando Discépolo (1887–1971) was an Argentine playwright. His most productive writing time spanned from 1910 to 1934 and thereafter, he produced theatrical performances of his plays. He is credited with creating and developing the Argentine ...
,
Antonio Cunill Cabanellas Antonio Cunill Cabanellas (August 27, 1894 – February 18, 1969) was an influential Spanish-Argentine playwright, theatre actor, director and instructor. Life and work Cunill Cabanellas was born in Barcelona, Spain, in 1894. His father, Juan Cuni ...
, and Roberto Payró during the 1920s and 1930s, while also helping
amateur theatre Amateur theatre, also known as amateur dramatics, is theatre performed by amateur actors and singers. Amateur theatre groups may stage plays, revues, musicals, light opera, pantomime or variety shows, and do so for the social activity as well as f ...
revive locally. The ''Teatro Independiente'' movement created a counterweight to professional theatre, and inspired a new generation of young dramatists in this vein such as
Copi COPI is a coatomer, a protein complex that coats vesicles transporting proteins from the ''cis'' end of the Golgi complex The Golgi apparatus (), also known as the Golgi complex, Golgi body, or simply the Golgi, is an organelle found in most ...
,
Agustín Cuzzani Agustín Cuzzani (1924 in Buenos Aires – December 25, 1987 in Córdoba, Argentina, Córdoba) was an Argentine dramatist, known for his satiric vision and criticism of capitalism, capitalist society. He is famous for having created ''farsátira' ...
,
Osvaldo Dragún Osvaldo Dragún (May 7, 1929 Entre Ríos, Argentina –June 14, 1999 Buenos Aires, Argentina) was a prominent Argentine playwright and the director of Cervantes Theater. Life and work Osvaldo Dragún was born in Colonia Berro, a History of the Jew ...
, and
Carlos Gorostiza Carlos Gorostiza Rodríguez (; June 7, 1920 – July 19, 2016) was an Argentine playwright, theatre director, and novelist. His seminal work ''El puente'' debuted in 1949 and he garnered numerous awards for his proceeding works. He later was Se ...
. Gorostiza and other self-trained dramatists also popularized
Realism Realism, Realistic, or Realists may refer to: In the arts *Realism (arts), the general attempt to depict subjects truthfully in different forms of the arts Arts movements related to realism include: *Classical Realism *Literary realism, a move ...
in the Argentine theatre after 1950, a genre advanced by Ricardo Halac,
Roberto Cossa Roberto Cossa (born November 30, 1934) is a prominent Argentinian playwright and theatre director. Life and work Roberto Cossa was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and raised in the quiet residential borough of Villa del Parque. He first acted i ...
, and among others.
Griselda Gambaro Griselda Gambaro (born 24 July 1928) is an Argentine people, Argentine writer, whose novels, plays, short stories, story tales, essays and novels for teenagers often concern the political violence in her home country that would develop into the D ...
and
Eduardo Pavlovsky Eduardo Alejo Pavlovsky, often nicknamed Tato Pavlovsky, (December 10, 1933 – October 4, 2015) was an Argentine playwright, psychoanalyst, actor and novelist. His best known plays included ''El señor Galindez'' in 1973, ''La muerte de Margueritte ...
popularized the
theatre of the absurd The Theatre of the Absurd (french: théâtre de l'absurde ) is a post–World War II designation for particular plays of absurdist fiction written by a number of primarily European playwrights in the late 1950s. It is also a term for the style of ...
in Argentina after 1960, a genre that found local variant in the
grotesque Since at least the 18th century (in French and German as well as English), grotesque has come to be used as a general adjective for the strange, mysterious, magnificent, fantastic, hideous, ugly, incongruous, unpleasant, or disgusting, and thus ...
works of Julio Mauricio and Roberto Cossa, whose ''La Nona'' became an iconic character in the Argentine theatre in 1977. Argentina's
National Reorganization Process The National Reorganization Process (Spanish: ''Proceso de Reorganización Nacional'', often simply ''el Proceso'', "the Process") was the military dictatorship that ruled Argentina from 1976 to 1983, in which it was supported by the United Sta ...
posed the greatest challenge to the development of local theatre since the Rosas era of the mid-19th century. Numerous actors, playwrights and technicians emigrated after 1976, though the pressures on artists were loosen around 1980. Seizing the opportunity, playwright
Osvaldo Dragún Osvaldo Dragún (May 7, 1929 Entre Ríos, Argentina –June 14, 1999 Buenos Aires, Argentina) was a prominent Argentine playwright and the director of Cervantes Theater. Life and work Osvaldo Dragún was born in Colonia Berro, a History of the Jew ...
marshalled colleagues to restore an abandoned sparkplug factory to organize the improvisational
Argentine Open Theatre The Argentine Open Theatre was an independent theatre movement in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Overview Origins The theatre in Argentina had developed alongside the nation's emergence as a modern economy in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Ind ...
in 1981, a triumph dampened by their Picadero Theatre's fire-bombing a week later. The theatre thrived before and after the 1983 return to democracy. Established playwrights and directors such as
Norman Briski Norman Briski (born January 2, 1938) is an Argentine theatre actor, director and playwright, as well as a cinema and television actor. Life and work Naum Normando Briski was born in Santa Fe, Argentina, in 1938. His Jewish Argentine family relo ...
, Roberto Cossa,
Lito Cruz Lito Cruz (May 14, 1941 – December 19, 2017) was a prominent Argentine stage director and motion picture actor. Life and work Lito was born Oscar Alberto Cruz in the working-class La Plata suburb of Berisso in 1941, and began performing in lo ...
,
Carlos Gorostiza Carlos Gorostiza Rodríguez (; June 7, 1920 – July 19, 2016) was an Argentine playwright, theatre director, and novelist. His seminal work ''El puente'' debuted in 1949 and he garnered numerous awards for his proceeding works. He later was Se ...
,
Pacho O'Donnell Mario Ernesto O'Donnell Ure (born 28 October 1941), known as "Pacho O'Donnell", is an Argentine writer, politician, historian and physician who specializes in psychoanalysis. Career After the return to democracy in Argentina in 1983, he was na ...
, and
Pepe Soriano José Carlos "Pepe" Soriano (born September 25, 1929) is a prominent Argentine actor, director, and playwright. Early life Soriano was born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Enrolling at the prestigious University of Buenos Aires Law School ...
, and younger dramatists such as Luis Agostoni, Carlos María Alsina, Eduardo Rovner, and
Rafael Spregelburd Rafael Spregelburd (born 1970 in Buenos Aires) is an Argentine playwright, director and actor. He studied acting and drama at the University of Buenos Aires The University of Buenos Aires ( es, Universidad de Buenos Aires, UBA) is a public r ...
. Works by these and other local authors, as well as local productions of international works, are among the over 80 theater works presented every weekend in Buenos Aires, alone. The stage also plays host to well-known comedy acts, such as those of satirist
Enrique Pinti Enrique Pinti (7 October 1939 – 27 March 2022) was an Argentine actor and comedian. Life As a humorist, he performed stand-up shows with long monologues on Argentine politics and history, speaking at an extremely fast pace and resorting to a ...
, female impersonator
Antonio Gasalla Antonio Gasalla (born March 9, 1941) is an Argentine actor, comedian, and theatre director. Life and work Antonio Gasalla was born in Ramos Mejía, a western suburb of Buenos Aires, in 1941. He enrolled at the National Dramatic Arts Conservatory ...
, storyteller
Luis Landriscina Luigi Landriscina, better known for his stage name Luis Landriscina (born 19 December 1935 in Colonia Baranda, Chaco Province, Argentina) is an Argentine humorist and actor. He is famous for his humorous stories full of folklore and popular cultu ...
, and the musical comedy troupe,
Les Luthiers Les Luthiers is an Argentine comedy-musical group, very popular also in several other Spanish-speaking countries including Paraguay, Guatemala, Peru, Chile, Ecuador, Spain, Colombia, Mexico, Uruguay, Bolivia, Cuba, Costa Rica and Venezuela. They ...
.


References

{{Reflist Argentine culture