La Jornada: Hispanic communities in West Texas approach the work of García Lorca

The Spanish-speaking communities of West Texas, United States, for the first time have the opportunity to see Bernarda Alba’s house, by Federico García Lorca, in your language and with free entry.

Scheduled for April 10 and 11 at the Ballroom Marfa, the staging invites you to get closer to professional theater in Spanish, with English subtitles that allow you to appreciate the rhythm and poetry of the Andalusian author.

“I like to think that this will allow each viewer to construct their interpretation; the text is not there to be controlled, but to be experienced by whoever watches it,” he explained in an interview with The Day Richard Maxwell, project director and founder of New York City Players.

The story revolves around Bernarda, obsessed with social status and absolute control of her home, who imposes eight years of mourning on her five daughters after the death of her second husband. While organizing the marriage of the eldest, Angustias, with Pepe The Roman, His secret relationship with Adela, the youngest, precipitates a tragic outcome.

With an exclusively female cast, the house becomes a pressure chamber where power, surveillance and desire intertwine. The performers arrange the space with precision so that actions and words acquire their own relief.

Most of the cast comes from New York, with some roles taken on by local talent. The participants bring diverse backgrounds and accents from Mexico, Colombia, the Dominican Republic and Spain.

Maxwell (Fargo, North Dakota, 1967) described the creative process as a construction based on the identity of each member.

“It starts from each person as they are; their movements occupy the space, the clothing is integrated and in the end the text is superimposed. The synthesis is carried out by the observer. This approach breaks with literal interpretation: they are not expected to pretend that the situation really happens; each gesture acquires meaning for itself.”

The arrival of the work to this area near the border with Mexico adds a symbolic dimension. In a territory marked by stories of migration, Mexican-American families and the daily presence of the Border Patrol, the director considers that the proposal takes on a particular meaning.

“It is not just putting it on a stage: it is affirming that the culture and language of this community matter, that they deserve to be reflected in the theater,” he indicated.

Context, important element

In his opinion, Marfa becomes a meeting point where art dialogues with the landscape and with a social reality affected by migratory tensions.

The national context also influences reading. “Anyone who follows the news can see that the United States is going through a deep fracture over immigration,” said Maxwell, who has led New York City Players since 1999.

His work is distinguished by scenic frankness, improvisation and the integration of his own experiences in each proposal. Taking Lorca to a city located about 80 kilometers from the international border, he added, acquires relevance by reflecting the history and identity of the local population.

The director pointed out that the stage experience also poses an exercise in perception. “Regardless of the native language, it adds an extra level for the brain to process. Some Spanish speakers in New York even used subtitles because of Lorca’s somewhat arcane Spanish.

“Each presentation is organized in layers: first the real person, then the movement, then the clothing and finally the text; the final meaning emerges in the observer.

“I am interested in my words passing through people who do not seek to control a character. This is the task of the viewer. The results vary according to each performer and each viewer, and that diversity is what keeps the work alive.”

Produced by New York City Players in collaboration with Incoming Theater Division, a program that supports people recently arrived in the United States in the creation of stage works, the latest performance of Bernarda Alba’s house at the Ballroom Marfa, a venue dedicated to exhibitions, music, cinema and contemporary performing projects, it will be today at 7:30 p.m.