The successful text by Gabriel Calderón, the Uruguayan playwright, closes the MEI programme. So far, the festival has hosted 2,200 spectators during 37 shows
The third edition of the Ibero-American theatre festival Muestra Escénica Iberoamericana (MEI) closes with three performances of ‘Ana contra la muerte’ (Ana against death) offered in the municipalities of El Sauzal and Candelaria. The festival started with the Uruguayan theatre, a country that also closes the programme. This initiative by the Department of Culture of the Island Council is managed by the island Minister of Culture, Enrique Arriaga, and is organised through the Auditorio de Tenerife. Tickets are available at www.meitenerife.com.
Arriaga is pleased that "more than 2,200 spectators have attended the 37 performances held so far in twelve municipalities of Tenerife". He added that "the MEI festival is a clear example of our commitment to a local culture based on municipalism."
This weekend at 8:00 p.m. in the Teatro El Sauzal, the première in Spain of ‘Ana contra la muerte ’(Ana against death) continues to be staged during two performances that will be held on Saturday, the 2nd of October and on Sunday, the 3rd of October. The last chance to see this acclaimed piece that has been translated into Italian is on Wednesday, the 6th of October at 8:00 p.m. in the Cine Viejo, Candelaria.
‘Ana contra la muerte’ was written and directed by Gabriel Calderón, the renowned Uruguayan playwright. The play proposes that the chances of death are extremely high, but those of never having been born are by far higher. Every person who is born and lives are not only a miracle of nature through its complex biological mechanisms. He/she is also a statistical miracle since the odds of not being born or of dying quickly have always been our cons.
According to Calderón, we reject death not out of fear, not out of grief, not because it is unnatural. We reject it because we are the unnatural ones; because death is a rule to correct the marvellous exception we are." Thus, the author considers that death returns us to the statistics, like the minerals and stardust that inhabit worlds where nothing is counted because there is nothing."
‘Ana contra la muerte’ was premièred in Tenerife on Wednesday, the 29th of September in the Auditorium Infanta Leonor, Arona. The play arrived in Spain after offering eight performances in the Teatro El Galpón, Uruguay. It is the story of a woman who understood that she had to resist death as long as she could, and even longer. The play begins with a mother and all the things she has to go through to try to save her son's life.
It's about telling the most complex things in the simplest way. It is about projecting from a stage the essence and power of the experiences we sometimes go through, allowing us to perceive and reflect on that which is unbearable if we look at it directly. This sad story told with love encourages the audience to watch on stage the difficulties of the story and its edges through the power of three great actresses of the Uruguayan theatre: Gabriela Iribarren, Marisa Bentancur and María Mendive.
This third edition of the MEI festival has taken place between 2 September and 6 October. The programme was staged in 12 municipalities and offered 14 shows from Latin America, Spain and Portugal. This year, the venues were the Paraninfo de la Universidad de La Laguna and those of the municipalities of Adeje, Arona, Candelaria, El Rosario, Guía de Isora, Los Realejos, Puerto de la Cruz, Tacoronte, Tegueste, Vilaflor and El Sauzal.
Of the twelve companies that have participated during this edition, three were from Chile (Niño Proletario, Silencio Blanco and Colectivo Cuerpo Sur), two from Uruguay (El Galpón and Marea Productora) and one each from Colombia (11 Paredes), Argentina (Diego Casado), Nicaragua (Teatro Justo Rufino Garay), and Portugal (Hotel Europa Teatro); three from the Canary Islands (Delirium, Ángulo Producciones and Unahoramenos).
Estas propuestas de Uruguay y Chile se completan con ‘Moria’, que llega desde Gran Canaria
La Muestra Escénica Iberoamericana (MEI) ofrece esta semana tres espectáculos en tres municipios de la isla. Dos de ellos se podrán ver por primera vez en España: Ana contra la muerte, que llega desde Uruguay, y Mutilados en democracia, procedente de Chile. Las últimas funciones de la producción canaria Moria completan las propuestas de esta iniciativa del área de Cultura del Cabildo, dirigida por el consejero Enrique Arriaga, organizada a través de Auditorio de Tenerife. Las entradas están disponibles a la venta en www.meitenerife.com.
La programación de esta semana comienza mañana [martes 28] en la plaza de San Roque de Vilaflor, donde se desplegará la propuesta de teatro inmersivo Moria, de la compañía canaria Unahoramenos, cuyas entradas están agotadas para las dos funciones, a partir de las 20:30 y las 22:30 horas.
El miércoles [día 29] a las 20:30 horas tendrá lugar en el Auditorio Infanta Leonor de Arona la primera función en España de Ana contra la muerte, un texto del reconocido dramaturgo uruguayo Gabriel Calderón. El Teatro El Sauzal recibe otras dos funciones de esta obra el sábado 2 y el domingo 3, ambas a partir de las 20:00 horas.
Tras agotar ocho funciones en Uruguay, esta obra, que también ha sido traducida al italiano, llega por primera vez a España con las actrices Gabriela Iribarren, Marisa Bentancur y María Mendive. La pieza, en la que una madre trata de salvar la vida de su hijo, entiende la muerte como una regla que viene a corregir la excepción en la que nos hemos convertido al estar vivos, todo un milagro estadístico.
El jueves [día 30] se estrena en España el trabajo de los chilenos Colectivo Cuerpo Sur con Mutilados en democracia. El Teatro El Sauzal ofrece dos funciones, a las 18:00 y a las 20:00 horas. Se trata de una propuesta de teatro documental que se hace eco de la revuelta que tuvo lugar en Chile en 2019 a raíz de que el Gobierno anunciase una subida de la tarifa del metro. La situación alimentó la ira de la población, marcada por la desigualdad que convierte en privilegio a algunos servicios sociales básicos como la sanidad o la educación, y provocó una serie de disturbios. Esta obra da voz a alguna de las víctimas de la represión policial.
The performances take place in El Sauzal, Los Realejos, Arona, El Rosario and Vilaflor
The theatre festival MEI (Muestra Escénica Iberoamericana) offers this week nine performances in five municipalities. The programme includes 'Moria' and 'Clara y el abismo' (Clara and the abyss), both by Unahoramenos, a company from the Canary Islands. The Chilean company Teatro Niño Proletario, stages 'Nadie lee fuego mientras todo se está quemando (Nobody reads fire while everything is burning), while the last performance is titled 'Carta de una desconocida' (Letter from an Unknown Woman) by the Colombian company Señor M. The MEI festival is an initiative organized by the Tenerife Island Council through the Auditorio de Tenerife, a cultural space linked to the Department of Culture that is managed by the island Minister of Culture, Enrique Arriaga. It finishes on 6 October. Tickets for this third edition are on sale at www.meitenerife.com.
Enrique Arriaga, the Island Council’s first vice-president and island’s Minister of Culture, stressed that "the festival MEI is a clear example of our vocation to bring culture to all the people of Tenerife without them having to travel to Santa Cruz to enjoy top-quality shows".
This week's programme starts on Tuesday, the 21st of September at 8:30 p.m. at the venue Casa de la Cultura de Los Realejos with 'Carta de una desconocida' (Letter from an Unknown Woman). This adaptation of the novel by Stefan Zweig is programmed during the MEI festival to be staged in El Rosario and Adeje. It is based on an unrequited love story. A man receives a letter from a woman. She tells him how she has loved him since she was a child. She used to watch him through her window and continued to love him throughout her life. It is a story of loneliness, pain, and hope with small happy moments. The play talks about women's privacy, time, hope, and love. It deals with how we construct and idealize ‘the other’ and relationships; it talks about those deep and silent loves that become idyllic and perfect. They live only in the lover's mind.
‘Moria’ is the first proposal offered by the company Unahoramenos during this week. They will perform it first in El Sauzal, with two shows on Wednesday, the 22nd of September. On Sunday, the 26th of September, they perform it in Auditorio Infanta Leonor, in Arona. Both municipalities have programmed the shows at 6:00 p.m. and at 8:00 p.m.
This immersive theatre proposal tells the story of two refugee women and their families, who have no choice but to flee their respective countries. The dramaturgy is based on real testimonies filmed in the Moria camp under the supervision of Nicolás Castellano, a reporter who has specialized during the last 20 years in forced migration movements and human rights.
Zohra Amiryar survived four bombings and attacks in Afghanistan, her home country. She lost her brother during one of them. In addition, she saw her four children wounded during the last attack. Thus she decided to make the exodus in search of a refuge for her family. Douaa Alhavatem is a 30-year-old Iraqi woman who had to leave her native Baghdad after her husband's disappearance. She feared that she and her three children might suffer the same fate. In Moria, both women experience a new stage of suffering that they would have never ever imagined when they set foot in Europe, the place where they thought they would finally feel safe.
The other proposal by Unahoramenos will only be staged at the Teatro El Sauzal on Friday, the 24th of September at 8:00 p.m. Friday's performance 'Clara y el abismo' (Clara and the abyss) is an initiative of Laboratorio Galdós Internacional. It is inspired by a text written for the occasion by the Uruguayan Gabriel Calderón. It deals with the last moments of a woman who suffers from cancer and reviews her life. It also talks about her relationship with her loved ones. It is an inspiring reflection on life and its inevitable end.
Teatro Niño Proletario makes its debut in MEI with 'Nadie lee fuego mientras todo se está quemando' (Nobody reads fire while everything is burning). A mother and her son are homeless and live on the streets of a society they do not wish to belong to. They decide to confront the situation by performing a poetic act as the last gesture to shed light on a country that lives in darkness. This play revisits the 2005 production 'Hambre' (Hunger), the company's first creation. It is also inspired by the novel 'Los vigilantes', by Diamela Eltit, a winner of the Chilean National Prize for Literature in 2018. Likewise, it is inspired by the poetry book 'Bonzo', by Maximiliano Andrade, a young Chilean poet and outstanding illustrator who also illustrated his book.
'Nadie lee fuego mientras todo se está quemando' (Nobody reads fire while everything is burning) makes its European début with the three shows offered during the MEI festival. The first performance takes place on Thursday, the 23rd of September at the 'Centro Cultural 25 de abril', in Vilaflor, to continue with a second performance at Casa de la Juventud in El Chorrillo (El Rosario). The last performance takes place on Saturday, the 25th of September at the Theatre El Sauzal. The three shows start at 8:00 p.m.
The programme of this MEI's edition includes 40 performances of 17 shows from Chile, Uruguay, Colombia, Argentina, Nicaragua, Portugal and the Canary Islands. This third edition is the most ambitious considering the number of performances and distribution throughout 12 municipalities of the island.
In addition to this première, the performances from Chile, Colombia, Portugal and the Canary Islands will be shown in six municipalities
The theatre festival Muestra Escénica Iberoamericana (MEI) offers 12 performances in six municipalities of the island this week. Also, a world premiere of the Argentinian theatre play 'La cápsula, un viaje unipersonal' (The capsule, a one-man journey). Chile, Colombia, Portugal and the Canary Islands' performances will be hosted during this festival. This initiative by the Department of Culture of the Island Council is managed by the island Minister of Culture, Enrique Arriaga and organised through the Auditorio de Tenerife. The tickets for this third edition that concludes on 6 October are on sale at www.meitenerife.com.
This week MEI offers on the 18 and 19 September at 8:00 p.m. the world première that will be staged in Paraninfo de la Universidad de La Laguna. 'La cápsula, un viaje unipersonal' (The capsule, a one-man journey) is written and directed by Diego Casado Rubio and featured by Nicolás Scarpino. It is the story of the man who returned to the moon. He is a giant storyteller of impossible and magical feats who has only one wish: to return to where he came from. According to the Argentinian company, this is not just another story; it contains an endless list of things to avoid in life.
This week's programme begins tomorrow [Tuesday 14] at 19:30 at the Teatro Príncipe Felipe in Tegueste with 'De ratones y hombres' (About mice and men), by the Colombian company Señor M (known as 4 Paredes because of the place where they perform in their country), directed by Manolo Orjuela. Based on a story by John Steinbeck, the play begins with two brothers, Colombian peasants, who travel through different regions looking for a better future. One is intelligent, and the other is not. One depends on the other until one of the two becomes a dangerous burden. The last show will be performed on Wednesday 15 at the Escuela Municipal de Música of Adeje.
Likewise, on Wednesday at 8:00 p.m., the first performance of ‘Pescador’ (Seaman) will be staged at the Teatro El Sauzal. This is a puppet-play for adults of the Chilean company Silencio Blanco, and the show is premièred in Europe. The story delves into the intimate sensation of men working in solitary trades that were confronted with the immensity of nature. This work deals with those places that are now strange and even foreign to us. Puppets, elements and manipulators share a space where the actor's physical work and the manipulation of puppets take a new perspective to investigate and develop the poetics of the company. 'Pescador' (Seaman) can also be seen at the Teatro Timanfaya in Puerto de la Cruz on 17 and 18 September at 8:15 p.m.
During this edition, the Colombian company Señor M premiers in Europe the show 'Carta de una desconocida' (A letter from a strange woman) on Thursday 16 at 8:00 p.m. in Casa de la Cultura de La Esperanza, in El Rosario. This adaptation of the novel by Stefan Zweig is based on an unrequited love story. A man receives a letter from a woman. She tells him how she has loved him since she was a child. She used to watch him through her window and continued to love him throughout her life. It is a story of loneliness, pain, and hope with small happy moments. The play talks about women's privacy, time, hope, and love...It deals with how we construct and idealize ‘the other’ and relationships. It talks about those deep and silent loves that become idyllic and perfect. They live only in the lover's mind. 'Carta de una desconocida'(A letter from a strange woman) will also be performed this week at the Escuela de Música in Adeje on Sunday, 19 September at 8:00 p.m.
‘Perfect Match’ arrives from Portugal and will be staged on 17 and 18 in the Teatro El Sauzal at 8:00 p.m. This theatre piece proposes the importance of love and relationships in migratory movements. Those movements are often seen as a threat. This is a big contrast with the gentrification crisis that most of the European cities suffer while immigrants from rich countries - who often describe themselves as expatriates - arrive. How are these two groups received differently? How are love relationships marked and conditioned by migratory movements in Europe? These are the questions that the company Hotel Europa will be answering.
'Tesla/Edison', by the company Ángulo Producciones, closes this week's programme on Sunday, at 19:30, in the Teatro Príncipe Felipe de Tegueste. The play - with a script by the Canarian playwrights Quique and Yeray Bazo- begins when the inventor Nikola Tesla lives almost forgotten in a hotel room in New York during the last part of his life. Beset by debt, plagiarised and ill, he makes one last attempt to make history. An attempt that will be continually hampered by an unwanted visit: that of his rival Thomas Edison. On Monday there will be a school performance for the secondary school children of Tegueste, who already have a didactic guide in their classrooms to enjoy this play.
La Muestra Escénica Iberoamericana del Cabildo se desarrolla en La Laguna, El Sauzal, Adeje, Puerto de la Cruz y Guía de Isora
La Muestra Escénica Iberoamericana (MEI) ofrece esta semana dos espectáculos que se estrenan en Europa y la última función de Bakunin Sauna, una obra anarquista, de la compañía uruguaya El Galpón. Desde Nicaragua aterriza Francisca, de la compañía Justo Rufino Garay, y, desde Colombia, Señor M representará De ratones y hombres. La Laguna, El Sauzal, Adeje, Puerto de la Cruz y Guía de Isora serán los municipios por los que pase esta semana la iniciativa del área de Cultura del Cabildo, que dirige el consejero Enrique Arriaga, organizada a través de Auditorio de Tenerife. Las entradas están a la venta en www.meitenerife.com.
La programación comienza el miércoles [día 8] a las 20:00 horas con la tercera y última función de Bakunin Sauna, una obra anarquista en el Paraninfo de la Universidad de La Laguna. Margarita, una vieja anarquista especialista en computación cognitiva, plantea en esta comedia secuestrar en la sauna de un hotel de Las Vegas a Ema, la nueva gerente general de IBM para América Latina. Para ello recibe la ayuda de dos exfuncionarios de la misma empresa y de un humanoide informático con la apariencia del filósofo ruso Mijaíl Bakunin.
El mismo miércoles, pero en el Teatro El Sauzal, comenzará a las 20:00 horas Francisca, un monólogo que narra la vida de una mujer mexicana-nicaragüense que en el día de Los Muertos prepara la mesa para sus ancestros y, a medida que lo hace, sus memorias aparecen desde los dos mundos, a veces es mexicana y a veces es nicaragüense. Una nueva identidad cultural se configura, teniendo el sabor culinario y las canciones de los dos países como detonantes de sus recuerdos. Este espectáculo también podrá verse el jueves [día 9] a las 20:00 horas en la Escuela de Música de Adeje, el sábado [día 11] a las 20:15 horas en el Teatro Timanfaya de Puerto de la Cruz y el domingo [día 12] a las 19:00 horas en el Auditorio de Guía de Isora.
El calendario de MEI de esta semana termina con De ratones y hombres el sábado [día 11] a las 20:00 horas en el Teatro El Sauzal y el domingo [día 12] a las 20:15 horas en el Teatro Timanfaya. La compañía colombiana Señor M, conocidos como 4 Paredes por el lugar en el que actúan en su país, presentan esta obra, basada en una historia de John Steinbeck, que comienza con dos hermanos, campesinos colombianos, que viajan por distintas regiones en busca de un futuro mejor. Uno es inteligente, y el otro, no. Uno depende del otro hasta que uno de los dos se convierte en una carga peligrosa.
Toda la información sobre los espectáculos, la venta de entradas y la agenda descargable están disponibles en www.meitenerife.com.
La Muestra Escénica Iberoamericana (MEI) se desarrolla hasta el 6 de octubre en 12 municipios de la isla y ofrece 40 funciones de 14 espectáculos de Latinoamérica, España y Portugal. Las sedes de este año son el Paraninfo de la Universidad de La Laguna y los municipios de Adeje, Arona, Candelaria, El Rosario, Guía de Isora, Los Realejos, Puerto de la Cruz, Tacoronte, Tegueste, Vilaflor y El Sauzal.
Las 11 compañías que participarán en esta edición proceden de Chile (Niño Proletario, Silencio Blanco y Colectivo Cuerpo Sur), Uruguay (El Galpón y Marea Productora), Colombia (Señor M), Argentina (Diego Casado Rubio), Nicaragua (Teatro Justo Rufino Garay), Portugal (Hotel Europa Teatro) y Canarias (Delirium, Ángulo Producciones y Unahoramenos).
The first theatre companies to be on stage during this third edition of the MEI festival will be El Galpón, from Uruguay, and Delirium, from Tenerife.
Next week, the third edition of the Iberoamerican Theatre Festival MEI kicks off with four performances and two national premières: "Bakunin Sauna, una obra anarquista" (an anarchist work) and "La buena vecindad. Lo que tú y yo siempre habíamos deseado para nuestra vejezLo que tú y yo siempre habíamos deseado para nuestra vejez." (The good neighbourliness. What you and I had always wished for in our old age.) The theatre companies El Galpón, from Uruguay and Delirium, from Tenerife, will be the first ones to be on stage during this festival that is organised by the Tenerife Island Council through the Auditorio de Tenerife, a cultural space linked to the Department of Culture that is managed by the island Minister of Culture, Enrique Arriaga.
The first play takes place on 2 September at 8:00 p.m. at Teatro El Sauzal: “Bakunin Sauna, una obra anarquista” (an anarchist work), by the Uruguayan company El Galpón. Margarita, an old anarchist who is specialised in cognitive computing, plans to kidnap Ema, IBM's new general manager for Latin America, from a hotel sauna in Las Vegas. Two IBM ex-officers, Rosa and Bernardo, help her together with a computer humanoid that looks like the Russian philosopher Mikhail Bakunin and that is specially programmed for the purpose. However, the action gets out of control. Tickets are on sale here: www.meitenerife.com
Delirium, the veteran theatre company from the Canary Islands, presents on 3 and 4 September at 8:30 p.m. at Auditorio Capitol in Tacoronte the new première "La buena vecindad. Lo que tú y yo siempre habíamos deseado para nuestra vejez." (The good neighbourliness. What you and I had always wished for in our old age.) This text by Antonio Tabares reflects the alibis, self-delusions, and justifications we daily cling to, as we don't want to face an uncomfortable and implacable reality. Tickets are sold out for both performances of this play directed by Severiano García.
On Sunday 5 September at 7:00 pm at the auditorium of Guía de Isora ends the programme of this first festival week with the second performance of "Bakunin Sauna, an anarchist play". The tickets for this performance are free prior reservation because of the limited capacity. To reserve the tickets, please dial 922 850 100, extension 3303, from Monday to Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
The third and last performance of “Bakunin Sauna, an anarchist play”, will take place on 8 September at 8:00 p.m. at Paraninfo de la Universidad de la Laguna. All the information about the shows, the tickets, and the agenda is available at www.meitenerife.com
The 3rd edition of the MEI Festival runs from 2 September to 6 October in 12 municipalities. It brings 40 performances of 14 shows by 12 different companies from Latinamerica, Spain, and Portugal. This year, the festival venues will be the Paraninfo de la Universidad de La Laguna and those of the municipalities of Adeje, Arona, Candelaria, El Rosario, Guía de Isora, Los Realejos, Puerto de la Cruz, Tacoronte, Tegueste, Vilaflor and El Sauzal.
In addition, during this MEI edition the companies El Galpón and Delirium participate together with other nine companies: three are from Chile (Niño Proletario, Silencio Blanco and Colectivo Cuerpo Sur), Marea Productora (Uruguay), Señor M (Colombia), Diego Casado Rubio (Argentina), Teatro Justo Rufino Garay (Nicaragua), Hotel Europa Teatro (Portugal) and two from the Canary Islands: Ángulo Producciones and Unahoramenos.