Esther Dita Kohn de Cohen, founder of the Anna Frank Space: (in the Holocaust, the family) "there were more or less about 500 people; we don't know exactly how many were killed, that was terrible”
Julio Emilio Moliné, co-director “Joan Baez in Latin America: There but for fortune” (clandestine documentary, 1981): “Joan received death threats, and was banned, persecuted…”
Elisa Lerner, writer: “Solitude is the writer's homeland”
Susy Dembo, visual artist: "Engraving is alchemical, it is magical"
Nava Semel, writer: And the Rat Laughed with Jane Fonda
José Pulido, poet: “I'm like a castaway clinging to his tongue”
Rolando Peña, visual artist: "We baptized the group in a bathtub, and the godfather was Andy Warhol"
Carlos Giménez, theater director: “Our country is the empire of consummated facts, of de facto culture”
Beatriz Iriart, poet: “By when I was 10, I was an old woman already. Writing poetry was a way of transmuting that pain”
Dinapiera Di Donato, poet: "Imagination creates versions of life, but I cannot understand life without a version."
María Lamadrid, founder of "África Vive": “We are the first disappeared people in Argentina”
Mariana Rondón, filmmaker: "During my childhood, I thought cinema was only one movie: Yellow Submarine"
Roland Streuli, photographer: “My life is color, I am not an opaque or black and white person”
Viviana Marcela Iriart (1958) is an Argentine-Venezuelan writer and interviewer. She studied journalism for a year in La Plata, Argentina, but for being a pacifist, she was exiled by the Argentine dictatorship in 1979. Venezuela granted her asylum, and four months later, at the age of 21, she wrote her first professional report... on Julio Cortázar, an interview included in this book.
She has published novels, plays, and three books on Carlos Giménez: ¡Bravo Carlos Giménez!, Carlos Giménez el genio irreverente, and María Teresa Castillo-Carlos Giménez-Caracas International Theater Festival 1973-1992.
She is the founder of the publishing house Escritoras Unidas & Cía. Editoras and the cultural blog of the same name.
INTERVIEWS, with graphic design by Jairo Carthy, is available on AMAZON in paperback and ebook versions: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F8RDDP2X
Julio Cortázar, escritor argentino: "Un día en
mi vida es siempre una cosa muy hermosa, porque yo me siento muy feliz de estar
vivo".
Esther Dita Kohn de Cohen, fundadora del Espacio Anna Frank,
mecenas de la cultura venezolana, creadora del libro Exilio a la
Vida, sobrevivientes judíos de la Shoá: (en el Holocausto, la familia)
"eran más o menos unas 500 personas; no sabemos con exactitud cuántas
fueron asesinadas, eso fue terrible”.
Julio Emilio Moliné, cineasta estadounidense, co-director de
“Joan Baez in Latin America: There but for fortune”,
(1981) documental filmado clandestinamente
durante la gira de Joan Baez para apoyar a las víctimas de las dictaduras
de Argentina, Chile y Brasil: “Joan recibió amenazas de muerte, fue prohibida y
perseguida…”.
Nava Semel, escritora israleí: And the Rat Laughed
con Jane Fonda (entrevistas) y dos textos en español: "Un paseo con Jane
Fonda" y un fragmento de And the Rat Laughed.
Rolando Peña, artista multimedia venezolano: "Bautizamos al
grupo en una bañera, y el padrino fue Andy Warhol".
Elisa Lerner, escritora y dramaturga venezolana: “La soledad es la patria del
escritor”.
Susy Dembo, artista plástica austríaca-venezolana: "El grabado es
alquímico, es mágico".
José Pulido, poeta, escritor y periodista venezolano: “Soy como un
náufrago abrazado a su lengua”.
Carlos Giménez, director teatral argentino-venezolano, gerente cultural,
fundador del Festival Internacional de Teatro de Caracas y del grupo
Rajatabla: “Nuestro país es el imperio de los hechos consumados, de la
cultura de facto".
Beatriz Iriart, poeta argentina “A los 10 años yo ya era una anciana.
Escribir poesía fue una manera de transmutar ese dolor".
Dinapiera Di Donato, poeta: venezolana: "La imaginación hace
versiones de la vida pero la vida no la puedo entender sin una versión”.
María Lamadrid, activista argentina, fundadora de "África
Vive": “Nosotros somos los primeros desaparecidos de Argentina”.
Mariana Rondón, cineasta: venezolana, directora de la película
"Pelo Malo": "En mi infancia creía que el cine era una
sola película, El Submarino Amarillo".
Roland Streuli, fotografo suizo-venezolano: “Mi vida es color, yo
no soy una persona opaca ni blanco y negro”.
Luisa Richter, artista plástica alemana-venezolana: “La creatividad es
enigmàtica. La vida es enigmática”.
Sonia Zilzer, socióloga venezolana, coordinadora del libro Exilio a la
Vida, sobrevivientes judíos de la Shoá: “La memoria es el camino a la
identidad”
Viviana Marcela Iriart (1958) es una escritora y
entrevistadora argentina-venezolana. Estudió
un año periodismo en La Plata, Argentina, pero por ser pacifista fue exiliada
por la dictadura argentina en 1979. Venezuela le dio asilo y a los 4 meses
realiza su primer reportaje profesional a los 21 años... a Julio Cortázar,
entrevista incluída en este libro.
Ha publicado novelas, obras de teatro y tres libros sobre Carlos Giménez: ¡Bravo
Carlos Giménez!,Carlos Giménez el genio irreverente y María
Teresa Castillo-Carlos Giménez-Festival Internacional de Teatro de Caracas
1973-1992. Fundadora de la editorial Escritoras Unidas & Cía. Editoras y del
blog de cultura del mismo nombre.
ENTREVISTAS, con diseño gráfico de Jairo Carthy, está a la venta en AMAZON en versión papel y ebook: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F8RDDP2X
Cuadro José Augusto Paradisi Rangel. Diseño gráfico Jairo Carthy
“En
Caracas hay un joven director que ha encontrado la esencia del estilo épico de
Brecht y los elementos de los métodos de trabajo de Peter Brook, en soledad,
lejos de los maestros europeos. Ese director es Carlos Giménez”. Glenn Loney,
Universidad de Cambridge, 1986.
¿Quién fue Carlos Giménez? ¿El genio argentino-venezolano que fue convocado y
alabado desde los 17 años por Jack Lang, Joseph Papp, Giorgio Strehler,
Pierre Cardin, García Márquez…?
¿El que a
los 19 años ganó sus primeros premios en Europa?
“Carlos Giménez era uno de los más grandes talentos que ha tenido el
teatro en el siglo veinte. Hubo instantes en que su voz y el teatro eran
lo mismo. Con su trabajo elaborado en un nivel que suscitaba admiración y
asombro, Carlos Giménez logró que resultara imposible olvidar su obra y su
carismática persona”. José Pulido, fragmento del prólogo.
¿El fundador del Festival Internacional de Teatro de Caracas, el Festival
Latinoamericano de Teatro de Córdoba, la Fundación Rajatabla, El Juglar, la
Fundación Artistas por la Vida…?
¿El genio que dedicó su corta vida a denunciar al poder político-religioso a
través de montajes llenos de poesía y magia?
“Carlos Giménez realiza una puesta ritual, tenebrosa, sofocante, monumental
que emana un poder del que no se puede escapar y que ni el idioma español
puede expresar”. Der Tagesspiegel, Berlín, 1982.
¿El artista que fue perseguido por dictaduras, censurado por democracias,
deportado, encarcelado, torturado, víctima de campañas de desprestigio
por ser homosexual?
¿El hombre amable y generoso que ayudó a cientos de personas con dinero, becas,
trabajo…?
¿El hombre que, según la leyenda, tenía tan mal carácter que lanzaba máquinas
de escribir por la ventana cuando se enfurecía?
¿El hombre tan seductor que podía enamorar hasta las piedras?
“El director ofrece un drama de tan ardiente erotismo que es difícil saber
si el olor a fuego en el auditorio proviene de los braseros en el escenario o
de los cuerpos de los actores. El Sr. Giménez crea un espectáculo con la
belleza y la grandeza cromática de una pintura de Gericault”.
The New York Times, 1987.
Carlos Giménez nació en Argentina el 13 de abril de 1946 y murió en Caracas el
28 de marzo de 1993. En apenas 29 años dirigió 101 obras de teatro,
creó más de 20 instituciones, realizó 34 giras por cuatro continentes y recibió
más de 100 premios.
“No había tomado en cuenta la brillantez del director y
adaptador Carlos Giménez cuya versión me impactó muchísimo. La genial
producción de Carlos Giménez está destinada a ser una de las más
espectaculares del Festival”. The Guardian, Londres, 1991.
Con prólogo del poeta José Pulido, cuadro de portada del artista José Augusto
Paradisi Rangel y diseño gráfico del artista Jairo Carthy, ¡Bravo Carlos
Giménez! de Viviana Marcela Iriart, nos acerca a este artista y ser
humano fascinante a través de entrevistas y textos de
personalidades de la cultura mundial como Jack Lang, Norma Aleandro, Rolando
Peña, María Teresa Castillo, Carlos Pérez Ariza, José Simón Escalona, Marcelo
Pont, Roland Streuli, Àngel Ancona, Àngel Acosta, Irene Arcila, Azparren Giménez,
María José Alfaro, Teresa Selma, Roberto Moll, Esther Khon de Cohen, Mariel
Jaime Maza, Juan José Bartolomeo, José Luis Montero Conde, Carmen Carmona,
Alvin Astorga, Beatriz Angelotti, Elio Palencia, Francis Rueda, Rodolfo
Molina, Xiomara Moreno, Gabriela Llanos, Elaiza Irizarri, Paulina Gamus,
Cecilia Bellorín, Luis Garván, Juan Pagés, Migdalia Guerrero, Rubén Monasterios,
Jorge Arán, Miguel Bazano, Diego Balaguer, David Blanco, Marta Candia, Aitor Gaviria, Sonia M.Martin, Ángel Fernadez
Mateu, Nestor Muzo, Jorge Pinus, Aura Rivas, Pilar Romero, Francis Rueda,
Carlos Cassina, Roberto Magurno. ¡Bravo Carlos Giménez! es
una edición de Escritoras
Unidas & Cía. Editoras.
“Absolutamente emocionante. Todo el mundo quedó en suspenso desde la
primera palabra hasta la última. No se oyó volar una mosca, no se oía
respirar”. Gabriel García Márquez, Premio Nobel de Literatura,
México, 1989.
El libro también contiene artículos escritos por Carlos Giménez
que, además de todo, escribía muy bien.
Parte de
las ganancias del libro serán usadas para comprar el libro y donarlo a
bibliotecas de Argentina y Venezuela.
Julio Cortázar no solamente tuvo la amabilidad de concederme una entrevista en Caracas a finales de octubre de 1979, cuando yo tenía 21 años, era
una desconocida exiliada y escribía free-lance y gratis para Semana, una
revista que estaba muriendo. También tuvo la inmensa generosidad de enviarme
una carta agradeciéndome el envío de la entrevista cuando salió publicada, diciéndome
hermosas palabras que sólo una persona maravillosa como él podía escribir y
que, por supuesto, yo no merecía.
La
entrevista la firmé con seudónimo (el nombre fue elegido por el jefe de
redacción) porque Cortázarera uno de
los opositores más celebresy combativosde la dictadura argentina; mi madre y mis
hermanas vivían en Argentina y yo temía represalias contra ellas.Cortázar, con la humanidad que
lo caracterizaba, entendió mi temor cuando se lo expliqué.
Cuando nos
encontramos en el lobby del Hotel Anauco Hilton no nos dimos un beso, al estilo
argentino, sino la mano, al estilo venezolano, porque eso era lo primero que yo
había aprendido a hacer después de
haberme quedado un montón de veces con el beso en el aire viendo la cara de sorpresa
de la persona que iba a besar. Cortázar, que había estado muchas veces en
Venezuela, parecía conocer la costumbre muy bien.
Él no
preguntó por qué había sido yo condenada al exilio y yo tampoco le conté. Lo
admiraba demasiado como para perder tiempo hablando de mí. Yo sólo quería oír
su pensamiento. Él estaba con Carol Dunlop, encantadora con sus grandes ojos
tiernosque miraban maravillados como si
fuera una niña, y me tuvo mucha paciencia cuando ataqué a los intelectuales que
mandaban a la gente a combatir y cuando las bombas caían se escondían detrás de
sus libros. No era su caso, claro que no, pero había conocido a tantos así en
mis últimos meses huyendo en Argentina, que sentía asco por los intelectuales.
Cortázar, como si intuyera que yo me estaba desangrando de exilio,respondía a mis ataques con paciencia y mucha
dulzura.
Él se veía
muy joven y atractivo (y tenía 65 años) pero parecía un hombre muy triste,
aunque en la entrevista digo que a veces sonreía como un niño, un hombre muy preocupado
y parecía estar muy cansado físicamente.
Cuando la
entrevista finalizó y nos estábamos despidiendo, ya los dos parados, cuando vi
que comenzaba a caminar y que se iba a ir para siempre de mi vida, sacando
arrojo de no sé donde, yo que era tan tímida, lo paréy le dije:
-- Cortázar, ¿puedo pedirle un
favor?
-- ¡Por supuesto! –respondió con
amabilidad.
--¿Puedo darle un beso?
Cortázarlanzó una carcajada llena de sorpresa y
alegría y por primera vez vi a sus ojos brillar contentos. Carol, a su lado, me
miró sonriendo con sus grandes ojos cómplices.
-¡Claro! –respondió con una sonrisa espléndida, y se inclinó
para que yo pudiera llegar a su mejilla.
Un beso,
una entrevista, una carta. ¿Quién podía pedir más? Cortázar fue mi mejor regalo
de exilio (junto con Joan Báez, pero esa es otra historia).
Lo que Cortázar no sabía, y no tenía por quésaber y no supo nunca, era que yo había sido condenada al exilio por ser pacifista y editar una pequeña revista subterránea de cultura, Machu-Picchu, en la que había expresado mi oposición a la guerra con Chile en septiembre de 1978. Esto me valió la persecución, clandestinidad, asilo en la Embajada de Venezuela en Buenos Aires y exilio, en ese orden. Y por carecer de militancia política era muy ingenua al suponer que bastaba un seudónimo para esconderme de la dictadura.
PorqueAlberto Boixadós, escritor argentino adherente de la dictadura,cuyo libro “Arte y Subversión” tiene un capítulo dedicado a atacar a Cortázar llamado “Gabriel García Márquez, Carlos Fuentes, Julio Cortázar, Mario Vargas Llosa. "¿Son francotiradores o constituyen ejército regular?”,puede leerse, ¡hoy!, en el blog neonazi argentino llamado WeltanschauungNS:
Primero, cuánto molestaban las palabras de Cortázar
a la dictadura argentina y sus seguidores, porque “Semana” era una revista que
estaba en quiebra (cerró a los pocos meses) y por lo tanto teníamuy pocos lectores e
influencia en la vida política venezolana, y la entrevista había sido realizada por una persona
absolutamente desconocida e
insignificanteen 1979.
Pero en
1981, cuando sale el libro, yo era una
activa combatiente de la dictadura desde mi trabajo ad-honorem en Amnistía Internacional yla “Coordinadora
Pro-Derechos Humanos en Argentina” (formada por parte del exilio argentino en
Venezuela); había dejado de usar seudónimo en 1979, y me
había convertido en una pequeña figura pública, igualmente insignificante
pero para la dictadura cualquier pulga significaba la amenazaba de una roncha
gigante.
Y segundo,
quehabía
traidores en el exilio argentino en Caracas, porque solamente la gente de mi entorno sabía que esa entrevista a Cortázar la había realizado yo, y nunca se había republicado con mi nombre.(Por otra parte,
en 1980 adopté mi apellido materno,
Iriart,y así se me conoce desde
entonces).¿Quién o quiénes fueron los traidores?
Vivir en el exilio siempre fue, entre otras cosas, como andar por un camino minado, nunca
sabías cuando podías estallar en pedazos. Tampoco cuándo la mano que se
extendía amiga era la mano que en realidad quería asesinarte.
En la
entrevista Cortázar se lamenta: “Porque
esto yo se los digo a ustedes, pero nadie lo va a escuchar en Argentina, nadie
lo va a leer, ustedes lo van a publicar y salvo que alguien lo lleve en un
bolsillo,nadie va a poder
leerlo allí”. Yo pensaba lo mismo. ¡Qué
equivocados que estábamos! Nos habíamos olvidado de los traidores, sirviendo
nuestras cabezas en bandeja de plata por dinero, envidia, ambición, perversión
o simplemente odio.
Cortázar no
fue invitado a la asunción de Alfonsín cuando la democracia volvió a Argentina
en diciembre de 1983. Y si alguien merecía ser invitado por todo lo que había
luchado, entregado, dejado de hacer para sí, sacrificado por la democracia
argentina,era él.
Cortázar
también fue traicionado por la democracia.
Y yo sólo espero
que los traidores hayan sido castigados por la justicia o por la vida, y si no
fue así, allá ellos: nunca dejarán de
ser un pedazo de mierda debajo de una bota militar o de un zapato democrático.
Cortázar
sigue siendo uno de los más grandes escritores de todos los tiempos, de todo el
mundo. Uno de los seres humanos más amado. Y yo vivo en paz.
Y ahora que
aquella carta que me envió en 1979 forma parte del libro “Julio Cortázar: Cartas 1977-1984”, que
en 5 volúmenes reúne casi todas las cartas que Cortázar escribió en su vida,
sólo puedo decir una vez más: Gracias, Cortázar, por permitirme ser parte de tu
vida.
Homenaje a 100 años de su nacimiento y 30 de su partida: 26 Agosto 1914 - 12 Febrero 1984 / Homenagem aos 100 anos de seu nascimento e 30 de sua partida: 26 agosto 1914 - 12 fevereiro 1984
Poeta, escritor y periodista venezolano, nacido en Villa de Cura, el 1° de noviembre de 1945. Actualmente vive en Génova, Italia.
En 2024 gana en Italia el Premio Internacional de Excelencia “Ciudad de Galateo Antonio De Ferrariis 2024″
En 2023 fue electo miembro de la Academia Venezolana de la Lengua. En el 2000 le fue otorgado el Premio Municipal de Literatura, Mención Poesía, por su poemario Los Poseídos.
Obtuvo el segundo Premio Miguel Otero Silva de novela, que promueve la editorial Planeta, con su novela Una mazurkita en La mayor.
Estuvo a cargo de la revista BCVCultural, del Banco Central de Venezuela hasta el año 2012. Y de la revista Circunvalación del Sur editada por el Círculo Metropolitano de poesía, 2008. Dirigió las páginas de arte de El Nacional (1981-1988), El Diario de Caracas (1991-1995) y El Universal (1996-98). Miembro fundador de los suplementos Bajo Palabra (Diario de Caracas-1995) y El otro cuerpo (Suplemento del Ateneo de Caracas, en El Nacional-1997-1998). Jefe de redacción, bajo la dirección de Salvador Garmendia, de la revista Imagen (1994-1996). Corresponsal de Agencia Venezolana de Noticias, Venpres en Perú, 1990. Corresponsal de la Organización de Estados Iberoamericanos, (Ciencia y Cultura)1992; y asesor del Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Sofía Imber. 1996.
Poeta, escritor y periodista venezolano, nacido en Villa de Cura, el 1° de noviembre de 1945. En 2023 fue electo miembro de la Academia Venezolana de la Lengua. Actualmente vive en Génova, ciudad de Italia. Estuvo a cargo de la revista BCVCultural, del Banco Central de Venezuela hasta el año 2012. Y de la revista Circunvalación del Sur editada por el Círculo Metropolitano de poesía, 2008. Dirigió las páginas de arte de El Nacional (1981-1988), El Diario de Caracas (1991-1995) y El Universal (1996-98). Miembro fundador de los suplementos Bajo Palabra (Diario de Caracas-1995) y El otro cuerpo (Suplemento del Ateneo de Caracas, en El Nacional-1997-1998). Jefe de redacción, bajo la dirección de Salvador Garmendia, de la revista Imagen (1994-1996). Corresponsal de Agencia Venezolana de Noticias, Venpres en Perú, 1990. Corresponsal de la Organización de Estados Iberoamericanos, (Ciencia y Cultura)1992; y asesor del Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Sofía Imber. 1996.
En el 2000 le fue otorgado el Premio Municipal de Literatura, Mención Poesía, por su poemario Los Poseídos. Obtuvo el segundo premio Miguel Otero Silva de novela, que promueve la editorial Planeta, con su novela Una mazurkita en La mayor.
BIBLIOGRAFÍA
Poesía: Esto, García Hijos, editores. 1971. Paralelo Lelo, García Hijos, editores. 1971. Los Poseídos, Ediciones Pavilo. 1999. Peregrino de vidrieras. Ediciones Pavilo. 2001. Duermevela. Ediciones Pavilo. 2004. Es coautor de los poemarios: Linajes. 1994. Vecindario. 1994. Cortejos. 1995. Invocaciones, 1996, editados por Ediciones Pavilo.
Narrativa: Muro de confesiones, entrevistas. Ediciones Academia de la Historia. 1985. Pelo Blanco, novela, Editorial Planeta. 1987. Una mazurkita en La Mayor, novela, Premio Otero Silva, de Planeta, 1989. Vuelve al lugar que se te ha señalado, cuentos. Ediciones Contraloría General de la República. Un cuento de este libro fue publicado en Narrativa venezolana attuale, Bulzoni Editore, Roma) (1995) (Consiglio Nazionale delle ricerche). A cura di Judit Gerendas e José Balza. Ulzoni Editore-Roma. 1995. Los Mágicos, novela, Monte Ávila. 1999. La canción del ciempiés, novela, Editorial Alfadil. 2004. La sal de la tierra, entrevistas, Banco Central de Venezuela, 2004. El bululú de las Ninfas, novela, Editorial Alfa, Colección Orinoco, 2007. Dudamel, la sinfonía del barrio, biografía, Libros de El Nacional. 2011. El requetemuerto, novela, Ediciones B. 2012. Los héroes son villanos tímidos, cuentos, 2013 Otero Ediciones. Forma parte de la Antología en homenaje a Miguel de Unamuno, XV Encuentro de Poetas Iberoamericanos, Salamanca 2012 Luis Domínguez Salazar: El pintor de los misterios, biografía. 2013. Ponzoña de paisaje, novela. 2015, Editorial Negro sobre Blanco. Forma parte de la Antología Por ocho centurias, XXI Encuentro de Poetas Iberoamericanos. Antología en homenaje a las universidades de Salamanca y San Marcos de Lima, y a los poetas Diego de Torres Villarroel y Alejandro Romualdo) Salamanca 2018. Invitado al Festival Internacional de Poesía de Génova en 2018. Desde el 2018 el Papel Literario de El Nacional publica las entrevistas que ha realizado a creadores y artistas desde hace más de treinta años en Serie José Pulido pregunta.
"What for me is and has been traumatic, is a phenomenon in which not everyone thinks, and in the case of an exiled artist it's fundamental. It's what I would call cultural exile: it's terrible when you realize that in your own country there is a barrier of censorship that means, for example, that I can not publish more books in Argentina. Then the realization – and this is frightening for me – I'm in exile, but on the other hand, in my country, there are 26 million exiles in relation to us. I am separated from my readers, but my readers are separated from me: my last book of stories in Argentina could not get published because there were two stories that angered the Junta. And this is not just a personal matter: there are 150 magnificent Uruguayan, Chilean and Argentine writers that cannot be published in our country.
In Chile, starting on September 11, 1973 , a young generation was taken by the Junta and enrolled in fascist schools run by the military. Six years have passed and they have lived the critical age (between 12 and 18) under that regime, thousands and thousands of children and Chilean girls who, right now, believe in the Junta, believe the in the national security state, believe that all of us are traitors. They believe that Chile is a country unjustly attacked and threatened. It's not their fault, poor things, because in six years they have become the same thing that Hitler did with the Hitler Youth, or Mussolini with the "balillas". Well, that is for me one of the most frightening things, and we can do nothing, intellectually. Because here I can tell you this, but no one will listen in Argentina, nobody will read it, you can publish it but unless someone carries it in their pocket, no one can read it there. "
-I understand that Carlos Giménez arrived in Venezuela very young. What was your previous experience in the world of theatre? Where did he trained? Why Venezuela?
Yes, he was only 23 years old, but he had the theatrical and managerial experience of a 60-year-old. Because Carlos Giménez was a genius whom we did not know how to see or understand, he began his career very early. At the age of 10, he created his first theatre group, El Club de los Corazones Unidos , but he was not a child playing at theatre: he was a child becoming a professional. Carlos directed, adapted, acted, designed the scenery, lighting, production, and promotion. And he also edited a cultural newspaper. I suppose that his mother, Carmen Gallardo, had an enormous influence on his early love for theatre because she had been an actress and travelling with her own theatre company. His mother was his first costume designer and his sister Anita was the founder, actress and producer of his second group, El Juglar. Both were fundamental figures in Carlos' life until his death.
At the age of 17, he graduated from the Córdoba Theatre Seminar in Argentina, created the group El Juglar and went on his first European tour, with such success that in France, Jack Lang, president of the Nancy Theatre Festival, invited him to participate in the festival the following year.
In just 6 years, Carlos had a dizzying career: 2 European tours and 2 awards from the ITI-UNESCO; 2 Latin American tours and 1 award in Medellín; twice invited by the Nancy Theatre Festival; 23 directed plays; he created the First National Theatre Festival of Argentina and various theatre events; he had his own sala theatre; he directed the Comedia Nacional de Nicaragua in Managua and the Comedia Cordobesa in Argentina; he takes theatre courses in Spain and in Italy he organizes a tribute to Miguel Ángel Asturias. In addition to being a director, he was an actor, playwright, producer, promoter, and teacher.
About his first European tour Carlos said:
“There I come into contact with a completely unknown world and there is a dazzlement that means that, at least I am, not going to remain confined within the parameters of either the city or the country where I was born. I realized that there is a gap between what I want and what my environment, my habitat, gives me.”
At 19, invited by France, Carlos needs to get the money to make his second European tour. His family is not well off, so what does he do? He writes a letter to the president of Argentina, Dr. Arturo Illia, asking for help. And the president answers yes! And he receives him at the Casa Rosada! This is how Carlos tours Europe for 3 months with his group El Juglar and the play La Querida Familia. And he wins his first two international prizes in Poland.
At the age of twenty he has his first confrontation with power, when the military staged a coup d'état and they raid their theater in the middle of the performance:
“…The play ended with some whores saying ‘girls, girls, the police…’. And it was a real event (…) The first thing the police did was to destroy the theatre, mistreat the audience and arrest me. I was in prison for three days. It was not so terrible, but it was a shocking experience.”
At the age of 22 he made his first South American tour: “… a tour by land (…) I vividly remember the experience we had at Chorolque, a peak that is 5,000 meters above sea level and is the highest tin mine in the world. There, as there was no light, we performed illuminated by the miners’ spotlights, that is, surrounded by 40 miners who illuminated us with their helmets (…) This tour meant a terrifying discovery of Latin America, which goes beyond the epidermal. We came into contact with the total misery of Latin America (…) we went to the Manizales Festival (…) and the jury made up of Ernesto Sábato, Jack Lang and Miguel Ángel Asturias awarded us a prize.”
Not to make a long story, Nelson, when Carlos arrived in Venezuela, he was already a phenomenon that had conquered Europe and Latin America.
And when he died in Caracas at the age of just 46, on March 28, 1993, he had directed 101 works in 7 countries: Argentina, Venezuela, Spain, the United States, Nicaragua, Mexico and Peru; co-produced with the United States, Spain and Italy; toured 36 countries in America, Asia, Europe and Oceania; received around 100 awards and/or decorations in Argentina, Venezuela, Italy, Mexico, Colombia; had directed in New York, in English, invited by Broadway producer Joseph Papp ( Hair, The Chorus Line, etc ); had created 22 theatrical institutions and/or festivals; directed and adapted 100 theatrical plays for television. He had had invitations from Giorgio Strehler to direct in Italy, from the Satyricon group to direct in Moscow and from Joseph Papp to direct again in New York.
In just 29 years, Carlos accomplished what would have taken any other human being two or three lifetimes. And the enormous number of works that were an enormous success both in Venezuela and abroad is impressive.
Why Venezuela? Carlos says that ever since he read Lanzas Coloradas by Uslar Pietri, he has been fascinated by the country. And when he met the country, he fell completely in love, and Venezuela also fell in love with him, because he opened its doors to her and immediately became a phenomenon, the public went crazy with his productions.
But his detractors also emerged. That is why in 1974 he left the country, due to a xenophobic and homophobic campaign against him. He went to Europe, where he won the Dionisio de Plata Prize in Italy. However, his love for Venezuela was so great that he returned in 1975 andnever left again, although his detractors never calmed down and even after his death they continue to attack him.
Argentine President Dr. Illia, left, Anita Giménez and his side and Carlos Giménez, right, at the Casa Rosada, Buenos Aires, 1965
France, 1965
-What did you do when you arrived in Venezuela? How did you get involved in the theatrical movement?
Upon arrival, something extraordinary happened to him: he met María Teresa Castillo, the president of the Ateneo de Caracas. And that was like the meeting of two kindred spirits, although Carlos was 23 years old and María Teresa was 61. Carlos's imagination in creating projects knew no bounds, and neither did María Teresa's audacity in supporting, believing in and working on those projects.
Maria Teresa hired him to direct The Orgy of Buenaventura. And Miguel Otero Silva hired him to direct his version of Don Mendo. And when Horacio Petterson resigned from the Ateneo, Maria Teresa offered him her position, with a symbolic salary because the Ateneo had very few financial resources.
Carlos wrote in the bookRajatabla 20 years : “María Teresa Castillo, President for Life of all our projects and our ambitions. Mother and companion. Rajatabla more than anyone. Passion and criticism of an adventure that would not have been possible without her”.
And María Teresa said in an interview: “When Carlos arrived here, he surprised us, he immediately mobilized everyone, the youth mobilized around him and naturally the doors of the Ateneo opened wide for him. Carlos moved me a lot. He invented the most unusual things, he was extraordinary. He made Venezuelan theater travel all over the world , I traveled with them a lot, even to the Soviet Union from top to bottom. I have visited the entire world with the Rajatabla group.”
The Orgy, released in 1970, caused a profound impact and was banned five days later:
“In the end, when the old woman is killed – because the beggars killed herfor being stingy and miserable – the old woman appears as the symbol of a country that died because of its stinginess towards its own people. The waiters came in with wreaths of flowers that said, “Ministry of Foreign Affairs”, “Academy of Culture”, “Academy of History” and they put it in front of the old woman. The play is considered a milestone in the development of political theatre. It meant such a big discussion within Venezuelan culture that it opened up a new perspective for me to participate within the country.”
And despite censorship, Carlos won her first Venezuelan award: the Juana Sujo.
From these works Carlos bursts onto the Venezuelan scene like a volcano erupting, but a volcano of creative, not destructive, lava. And this will be the case until his death.
Porte Acero, María Teresa Castillo and Carlos Giménez, Caracas, 1970
-Could you summarize the history of the Rajatabla Group, founded by Carlos Giménez?
Rajatabla was founded on February 28, 1971, as the Theater Workshop of the Ateneo de Caracas. Members: Carlos, director, lighting designer, set designer, playwright, manager and general producer, guru and mentor who will lead the group to national and international glory; Mariel Jaime Maza, Juan Pages, Francisco Alfaro, Jose Tejera, Gustavo Gutierrez, Leopoldo Renault, Jose Ramon Ortiz and Enrique Serrano, Xulio Formoso, Juan Gomez and Antonio Miranda.
That day, the play Tu país está feliz, by Antonio Miranda, premieres. Carlos directs, designs the scenery, lights and promotes it because he didn't have the money to hire professionals. It's a total success; the audience goes crazy and he has to do two or three shows a day. There is also a scandal, because there were scenes with full frontal nudity. But nothing stops this whirlwind: tours in the interior of the country; tours in Latin America; recording an album with songs from the play...
From this work onwards, Carlos and Rajatabla became a national and global phenomenon. Every year he premieres two or three works and goes on international tours, receiving impressive reviews. At the same time, Carlos is extremely interested in teaching, supporting the new generations, uniting Venezuelan groups, and so he creates different institutions, meetings and/or festivals year after year.
For Carlos, it was very important that the theatre reach all strata of society, especially the poorest and those far from cultural centers, and that is why from the beginning he always took his works to the working-class neighbourhoods and the tours within the country were as important as those abroad: “We are doing theatre in schoolyards, in museums, in basements and warehouses, showing that imagination belongs to us.”
Carlos had an impressive number of successes, both national and international. His greatest success, perhaps, was García Márquez's No One Writes to the Colonel, adapted and directed by Carlos, co-produced with the New York Latin Festival and the Festival of the Two Worlds in Spoleto, Italy, in 1989, a work with which he made countless successful international tours until his death in 1993.
Carlos's importance was so great that there is talk of a before and after Carlos Giménez in Venezuelan theatre.
And in Mexico, where Carlos worked just a few months before being deported, the essayist and theater director Rodolfo Obregón says in an essay published by UNAM in 2016: “ Mexican Theater: A before and after Carlos Giménez (….) Giménez was the one who made theater people aware that the dictatorial structures they had to overcome were those that governed their own community."
Carlos said: “If the country were like Rajatabla, the country could survive. Rajatabla is a multi-class project. Our group brings together people from all walks of life, and racial differences do not exist. I think that people should always talk, avoiding violent confrontations of words. (...) We believe that the world can be improved and with our philosophy we have changed the lives of many people. A simple example: two of our group mates used to sleep on the benches in Plaza Miranda, and we brought them to Rajatabla. We gave them time to resolve their situation, and we offered them to live in the dressing rooms of our theatre.”
Carlos Giménez and Giorgio Strehler, Italy, 1989.
- In the story of Rajatabla, Giménez's interest in unravelling power seems evident. It is said that his theatre was ethical and aesthetic. But at the same time, he had a knack for approaching power and moving behind its scenes. Could you comment on this?
Yes, thanks for asking me that question because it allows me to say that it was not true, that it was one of the many infamies invented by your detractors. Because look: Carlos was persecuted by Argentina's right-wing dictatorship; prohibited for many years by communist dictatorships; arrested, tortured and deported by the "revolutionary" leftist government of Mexico; censored in Venezuela and other democratic countries. Carlos was attacked by right and left, as well as by democracies, so what relationship with power is speaking?
The only relationship with the power that Carlos had was with former president Carlos Andrés Pérez, and that was because they became friends. And Carlos used that relationship to favor the entire Venezuelan culture, by proposing to CAP to create subsidies for all arts. And Carlos Andrés did. But in the first 10 years in Caracas Carlos had to work on television to earn money, he could not live with what he earned in theater.
And with the other presidents, Carlos had to fight like all the other groups to get the CONAC`s subsidy, even to get the funds for the FITC.
No, Carlos did not get along with the power he denounced: he got along well with his friends and whether they had power or not, that did not matter to him.
What happened, I think, is that Carlos was terribly intelligent, talented, seductive, charismatic, handsome, full of enthusiasm and ideas, and with an ease of word that I have never seen again in my life. And so many powerful men and women fell at his feet, not only in Venezuela, but throughout the world. And not only powerful people. Carlos generated devotion in most people
That we had the joy of working with him: it was like a rock star.
American journalist Jeff Levis writes what I consider to be the best definition of Carlos: “Who directs with the unique mentality of a Fellini , plans with the patience of a Kissinger , combines art and commercialism with the cunning of a Joe Papp and lives in Caracas after having risen from the dead? Carlos Giménez .”
Returning to power, Carlos said in an interview in Argentina, still underdictatorship: "Art must be against the State, it must be able to point out the evils or defects of a State (…) Art must be independent.Where art must be identified with the State, art is dead."
And in another interview, in Spain: "We have never clustered, we have not lowered our pants before any government, and if necessary, we shit in the minister on duty."
Joseph Papp, José Antonio Rial and Carlos Giménez, New York, 1988
-Among the many achievements of Carlos Giménez, there is one that deserves special mention: The Caracas International Theatre Festival (FITC), created and projected together with María Teresa Castillo. Could you tell us about the emergence of this initiative and how it came to fruition?
That story is magical to me. Because Carlos returned to Caracas in March 1973, after being deported from Mexico, and said toMaria Teresa to do the festival, she said yes ... And in just 4 months they organized the first Fitc! With the participation of 15 groups from Spain, Argentina, Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay and Venezuela.
Miguel Henrique Otero,son of Maria Teresa and witness to that event, says :“…they did not have a penny, nor the necessary international connections, nor were the professionals who could form the production teams at hand, nor was it clear whether the theatres available in Caracas had the technical resources to meet the needs of foreign groups, nor did they know how international groups would react to an invitation from a city that, until that moment, did not have a consolidated reputation as a cultural capital (as Buenos Aires or Mexico City).”
But in a short time, the FITC was considered one of the best festivals in the world.
The FITC was a party, a banquet, a table where everyone shared without differences of race, class, religion, sexual orientation, sex, nationality… for 15 days, the FITC made us equal. For 15 days, Caracas stopped being an unsafe city and the nights were filled with art and people running from one theater to another to see the shows. And something important: The FITC was funded by the State, private companies and the embassies of the participating countries.
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-What are the main conclusions of a qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the FITC, while Carlos directed it?
Qualitative: We could see the best shows in theater, dance, mima, music, ballet, etc., from around the world; we could take workshops with great masters from the world stage. Exceptional artists visited us: Peter Brook, Pina Bausch, Tadeusz Kantor, Nuria Espert, Vittorio Gassman, Vanessa Redgrave, Berliner Ensemble, Gary Oldman, Franca Rame, Giorgio Strehler, Norma Aleandro, Peter Stein, La Mamma, Lindsay Kemp, Ellen Stewart, Kazuo Ohno, Dacia Mariani, Eugenio Barba, Darío Fo, Els Joglars, Andrezj Wajda, Carbone 14, Odin Teatret, the Peking Opera, Philippe Genty...
I will not appoint any group of Venezuela so that no one feels forgotten, but the best artists and groups throughout the country participated.
Quantitative: between 1973 and 1992, 9 editions were held in Caracas and 9 cities in the interior of the country. Participants included: 150 groups and artists from Venezuela; 273 groups and artists from abroad; 55 countries from 5 continents: Africa, America, Asia, Europe and Oceania.The FITC also gave jobs to a lot of people, refurbished the theatres and boosted the economy due to the large number of people who visited us.
-Although Giménez was essentially an artist, he also stood out as a creator of institutions. What were those institutions? What remains of them today?
Very little: Rajatabla and the National Theatre Workshop (TNT). Also, the University Theatre Institute, but they changed its name and do not recognize Carlos as its founder.
Some of the institutions created by Carlos, in addition to those already named, were Caracas International Theatre Festival, Center for Directors for New Theatre, National Youth Theatre of Venezuela, Rajatabla Danza, ASSITEJ, Venezuelan Assembly of Independent Theatres, February 28 Experimental Dramatic Nucleus, Artists for Life Foundation.
He also created the First National Exhibition of the Venezuelan Assembly of Independent Theatres, the Pirandello Festival, the Shakespeare Experience Festival, the Goldoni Festival, the Festival of Directors for New Theatre, and the First Singular. And the María Teresa Castillo award, sponsored by the British Encyclopedia, which has now disappeared, and the Marco Antonio ettedgui award, which still exists.
Carlos Giménez and Rajatabla, Paris 1977, by Miguel Gracia
-Is Carlos Giménez remembered in Venezuela? Are his contributions studied? Were his contributions recognized during his lifetime? Did Giménez feel that Venezuela was his country?
Unfortunately, no. Neither alive nor dead his contributions have been recognized. There is not even a theatre with his name.
When Carlos died, he received many tributes . The government declared three days of national mourning; Caracas did the same. The president went to the funeral home Schola Cantorum sang in the cemetery the favorite song of Carlos. Dozens of wonderful articles were written highlighting his personality and achievements. The Centro Cultural Consolidado, the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra, Assitej and Venezolana de Televisión paid tribute to him. The actress and teacher Myriam Pareja created the Gimeniana Cathedra , which she taught for several years. Afterwards...oblivion.
But at the same time, there are many people who transmit his legacy orally to the new generations. And in the United States and Latin America there are many current theatrical essays where they mention him.
But Carlos didn't have a website, his legacy wasn't on the Internet. That's why I created the blog, Facebook page and YouTube channel Carlos Giménez Creador Teatral and I'm very happy to say that today an average of 30 thousand people a month visit the blog. The interest in Carlos is enormous!
I also wrote three books: Bravo, Carlos Giménez!,Carlos Giménez the Irreverent Genius and María Teresa Castillo-Carlos Giménez-FITC 1973-1992. To make them I had the invaluable support of many people from all over the world, who sent me material about Carlos and the FITC , agreed to be interviewed and wrote articles. I would especially like to highlight the collaboration of the poet José Pulido, the visual artists Rolando Peña and José Augusto Paradisi Rangel, the creative director Karla Gómez, the photographer Roland Streuli, the graphic designer Jairo Carthy, the producers Carmen Carmona and Armando Africano, who gave me their work and talent for free.There is still much to be done, but without subsidies and private donations the task becomes more difficult.
In 1984, Carlos wrote an article about Moliere that seemed like a premonition of what was going to happen to him: “ It is the rite of horror. Why so much hatred? (…) His enemies pursue him after his death (…) 'Moliere, nothing would be lacking in your glory, if among the defects that you so clearly discovered, you had included such black ingratitude.'”
And his legacy was not completely lost because he himself took charge of preserving it with the publication of the book Rajatabla 20 años, by Blanca Sánchez and David Rojas, and with the inclusion of the FITC Report in the 1992 FITC catalogue, the last one he directed. This material is extremely valuable, along with the book by E.A. Moreno Uribe Carlos Giménez Tiempo y Espacio.
In recent years I have tried, without success, to produce a documentary about his life. But I'll give you a scoop: producer Carmen Carmona, who was director of culture for the Chacao City Hall and president of the Culture Institute of Edo. Miranda, who works now for the Telemundo television network in Miami, has joined this dream, and the documentary is in the works!
About your question if Carlos felt Venezuelan, the answer is yes.Carlos always felt deeply Venezuelan without denying his Argentine citizenship: in the programs of his works abroad, he wrote: "Venezuelan citizen born in Argentina." When democracy returned to Argentina, many agencies offered work to Carlos, with impressive salaries, all he wanted, but Carlos stayed in Venezuela because he was already Venezuelan, not because he had been nationalized by a decree but because his heart was.
BOUQUET OF PRAISE
“And the direction by Mr. Gimenez, not to mention his painterly use of lighting, should tell anyone why this man, who is not yet 40 years old, is considered the greatest director in Venezuela. His command of the audience’s emotions in this revolutionary work is complete.” The New York Times , 1985 (Bolívar)
"The director, Carlos Gimenez, delivers a drama of such burning eroticism that it is hard to tell whether the smell of fire in the auditorium comes from braziers on stage or the bodies of the actors. Characteristically, Mr. Gimenez creates a spectacle with the sweep and chromatic grandeur of a Gericault painting and sends his characters spinning around it in a hypnotic dance.” The New York Times, 1987 (La Celestina).
“And Carlos Giménez’s direction makes the complicated plot admirably clear as the story moves in and out of the memories of the different characters.” The New York Times , 1987 (El Reñidero).
“In Caracas there is a young director who has found the essence of Brecht’s epic style and the elements of Peter Brook’s working methods, in isolation from the European masters. The director is Carlos Giménez .” Glenn Loney , University of Cambridge , 1986
“Just as Salvador Dalí in his most unlikely paintings combines the academic mastery of drawing with the ability to create reality, so too, Carlos Giménez in the most fantastic and singular deformations of his images, manages to create something real, undoubtedly emotionally true…” V. Silunas , Globo Teatral, Moscow, 1988 (Bolívar)
“Absolutely thrilling (…) I really didn’t expect it to be so thrilling, so moving for me and I have the impression that it was for the audience too because I realized that everyone was in suspense from the first word to the last. You couldn’t hear a fly fly, you couldn’t hear anyone breathing. It’s really thrilling.” Gabriel García Márquez , Mexico, 1989 (No One Writes to the Colonel).
“When Mr. Gimenez first read Mr. Garcia Marquez's novella, ''it read to me like the saga of a tragic personage, like King Lear'', he said. In translating the story to the stage, he has emphasized that tragic aspect with a set he describes as “permanently immersed in a climate of rain''. As time passes and the colonel's quest seems further and further from fulfillment, the walls of his house crumble and his sadness at the death of his son grows into hallucination. This proud man, who refuses to wear a hat because ''that way I don't have to take it off to anyone,'' is even forced to exchange greetings with his son's murderer, who continues to roam the streets unpunished.
''This is a tragedy about daily life, about the common human being who believes that happiness and joy are possible in the midst of a social landscape as terrible as ours,'' Mr. Gimenez said. ''When things happen to us in Latin America, it is never by halves. There is no equilibrium, so when it rains, towns get inundated and disappear, and when we have a revolution, half the population dies”. The New York Times, 1989 (No One Writes to the Colonel).
“Even when the rain machine is not in action, there is an aura of dank, sweaty despair in the air, Rotting humidity seems to be everywhere as characters swat the mosquitoes that buzz around them and drench themselves in cold water in order to avoid the paralyzing heat.(….) The overriding atmosphere of the production is that of a dream, a stylized panorama in which an angel of death, bearing an umbrella against the rain, becomes a recurrent symbol. (…) It`s a dream landscape, pierced by church bells and illuminated by bursts of lightning, that contracts and expands through the corrugated partitions that are silently swiveled about by the actors in order to enclose a room in the colonel`s home or open up the whole stage. It is not a somber or boring stage piece thanks to the theatrical imagination of Carlos Giménez. One doesn`t need a translation to appreciate the inventiveness of the staging…” Chicago Tribune , 1992 (No One Writes to the Colonel).
"The dance of love and death that Carlos Giménez has created on one of the monuments of our language is, in my opinion, one of the great spectacles of Spanish-language theatre. Exposed on the salt grid, at the sea gates of Marsala, its carnal storm caused shivers.” Moises Pérez Coterillo El Público, Spain, 1988 (La Celestina).
“I had not taken into account the brilliance of director and adapter Carlos Giménez, whose version had a huge impact on me. Carlos Giménez’s brilliant production is destined to be one of the most spectacular of the Festival.” The Guardian, London, 1991 1992 (No One Writes to the Colonel).
“It is worth highlighting, above all, the direction work, which involves work bordering on perfection.” ABC , Madrid, 1982 (Señor Presidente).
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“Carlos Giménez creates a ritual, dark, suffocating, monumental production that emanates a power that cannot be escaped and that not even the Spanish language can express.” Der Tagesspiegel , Berlin, 1982 (Bolívar).
“It is truly an exceptional work. Those who vibrate; those who feel; those who yearn; those who dream; those who seek; those who aspire; will identify with it. (…) I would never have forgiven myself for not having seen it.” Miriam Fletcher . El Mundo, Caracas, 3/29/71 /(Tu país está feliz).
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