MIAMI. On Thursday, May 30, 2024, we will once again commemorate the Day of Dramaturgy and the Cuban Theater of Exile. This date was chosen to honor the first critic and scholar of this theater, Professor José A. Escarpanter, who died on May 30, 2011 in Auburn, Alabama.
This initiative, promoted in 2013 by playwrights Pedro R. Monge Rafuls (OLLANTAY Center for the Arts) and Eddy Díaz-Souza (ARTEFACTUS Cultural Project), has since had the support of artists, creatives, technicians, journalists and faithful spectators. of the theater.
The actions of Cuban artists and playwrights in the diaspora have contributed to the creation of spaces and audiences on stages in Miami, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, and in countries as distant as Canada, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Spain, France, Mexico and Switzerland. The dramaturgy of exile has been approached from the stage and has nourished publications, it has even been translated into different languages, becoming an object of study in multiple universities around the world. This literature, written in different contexts, is largely distinguished by the treatment of its themes, approaches, modalities and even the language with which, on many occasions, it is written and presented.
This year, Artefactus Cultural Project, in collaboration with the Cuatrogatos Foundation, will present Palabras al Filo 2, a selection of monologues and scenes from works written by Carlos A. Aguilera, Ral de Cárdenas, Grethel Delgado, Eddy Díaz-Souza, Chely Lima, Pedro R. Monge Rafuls, Matas Montes Huidobro, Cristina Rebull, Antonio Orlando Rodrguez and Legna Rodrguez Iglesias. The texts will be interpreted by actors Juan David Ferrer, Daisy Fontao, Mabel Roch, Julio Rodríguez, Joel Sotolongo and Grettel Trujillo. This evening, in tribute to the artistic legacy of Daisy Fontao, will take place on Friday, May 31 at 8:30 pm at the Artefactus Cultural Center (12302 SW 133rd Ct, Miami, FL 33186). Entrance is free and open.
Among the activities planned for this May 30, is the putting into circulation of the Diccionario: Who is who in Cuban dramaturgy, by New York-based playwright Pedro R. Monge Rafuls. The volume, available on Amazon, is a revised, corrected and expanded edition by the author, under the supervision of George Rivern. According to Ulises Rodríguez Febles, “this dictionary is an essential light for our dramaturgy, which contributes to understanding the connections between eras and generations, the dispersed map to which we belong, as part of our nation.”
To commemorate this day, we suggest that theater artists and friends of Cuban exile theater exchange congratulations both in physical and virtual spaces, and organize events to remember and make visible the work of Cuban creators in the diaspora.
Let’s celebrate together this Day of Dramaturgy and the Cuban Theater of Exile.
