CubaPLUS Magazine

Another March 27 arrives, World Theater Day, that in Cuba is an incentive to continue cultivating with passion and delivers an artistic genre of great importance for humanity, luckily celebrated since 1961 at a planetary level by decree of the International Institute of Theater (ITI), very well received.

But we are ahead of ourselves because so far in 2023, Cuban actors, actresses, directors and creators have already celebrated, on January 22, National Theater Day, which each year honors patriotic events starring Creole artists during a performance at the Theater Villanueva, of Havana, in 1869, which ended with a bloody massacre perpetrated by hit men from the oppressive metropolis.

And throughout the month that opened the new year, a Theater Day of several days was held, not only on the occasion of that date, but also in homage to the outstanding actress Verónica Lynn, with a very solid and fruitful career on stage and other media.

Before advancing on the subject, closely linked to culture and national idiosyncrasies since its inception, we will say that the great actor and author of skits and songs Francisco Covarrubias (1775-1850) is considered the father of this artistic manifestation in our land. Fully dedicated to it since he was 25 years old, after abandoning the practice of medicine, Covarrubias had a brilliant career, as he came to be considered the best actor of his time, appearing in traditional and Creole plays, with characters who later formed part, for a very long time, of the so-called vernacular art of the largest of the Antilles.

However, he died at the age of 75, poor and forgotten. important places in the capital today bear his name. With the scoops of the year, the delivery of the National Theater Award in 2023 to actor Aramís Delgado, versatile in many media, but fundamentally a man consecrated to that muse of the stage in body and soul, with excellent results in his career, was also opportunely reported for. his extensive artistic career. This year the drums sound for the Ciudad Teatral Day, which from January to June is celebrated selectively and organized in the central city of Camagüey, with the performance of groups from all over the country, with the best of their staging.

Of course there is something to choose from, since in all the provinces there are very active, original theater groups, full of very interesting proposals that populate the year with conferences, events, workshops and presentations, from the rigors of excellent theaters to the vivid display of the theater. street or tours through valleys and intricate mountains. Dramatic theater, comedy, traditional, modern, avant-garde, puppet... there is everything in that palette of bright colors that throb today on the island's stages.

Congratulations to its makers, among which the members of the Nave Oficio de Isla, Community stands out.The valuable heritage received from playwrights such as Virgilio Piñera, Abelardo Estorino, Nelson and Nicolás Dorr, Eugenio Hernández, Héctor Quintero and the stellar figures of the brothers Raquel and Vicente Revuelta, among other stars, are never forgotten on days like these.