University Theatre and Cultural Politics in Contemporary Mexican Society Author(s): Roselyn Costantino Source: Hispania, Vol.

78, No. 1 (Mar., 1995), pp. 205-214 Published by: American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/345247 . Accessed: 10/08/2013 06:59
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THEHISPANIC AND LUSO-BRAZILIAN WORLD

byT EdwardHarvey Prepared

University Theatre and Cultural Politics in Contemporary Mexican Society

RoselynCostantino State University-Altoona Pennsylvania
Abstract: theatre andspectacle in Latin anactive America haveplayed rolein theconstruction Historically, of nation-states andnational identities-and in theresistance to consequent domination. Recent hegemonic moves inMexico, toward themonopoly ofthestate-party coincide witha call democracy challenging system, forthe "democratization" of Mexican culture andforan articulation of thecultural thatcharacterdiversity izesthatsociety. Aspolitical, andsocialcrisesimpact cultural Mexico's National Aueconomic, production, tonomous hasdevised a seriesof projects to revive its strong theatre tradition andto offermore University democratic accessto resources fortheatre havebeenlaunched to stimulate creative activity. Projects experiariseas to whether this"new theatre" anda newgeneration oftheatre mentation, yetquestions practitioners arechallenging andsubverting cultural andpolitical discourses orwhether reinhegemonic theyaresimply them. forcing 20thcentury, Mexican Mexican cultural studies literature, KeyWords: theatre,

Hacerteatroen Mhxico es comolanzarun trasatldntico. OscarVega (PI)1

I. Theatre as Political Act. Politics as Theatre.

The historicalnatureof the relationship between spectacleandpoliticsis well documented. In Theatre ofCrisis,DianaTaylor out that the role of theatre in Latin points America extends beyond symbolic representation on the proscenium; since preColumbiancivilizations,theatre and spectacle have playedan active-albeit contradictory-part in the politicaland spiritual and self-idenprocesses of self-affirmation of those contity,and in the empowerment testing that domination(Taylor21-23). The 1994 Mexicanpresidentialelection of speccampaignsprovidedan abundance tacle as Mexico began the process of opening upa political systemmonopolized by the PartidoRevolucionario Institucional(PRI) for over sixty-five years. For the first time, nine oppositionalcandidateswere guaranteed and took advantageof access to the mass media,especiallytelevision.This "apon.the politicalstage of opposipearance" tionalvoices positivelyimpactedthe Mexi-

can citizenry, which responded with increasedinvolvement in the 1994campaigns, in the voting process, and in subsequent, civic resistance. post-electoral This apparentmove towarddemocracy coincides with a call for the "democratization"of Mexicanculture;that is, to recognize the pluri-cultural natureof Mexicoand to providespacesandresourcesforthe conservation andstimulation of a varietyof culturalmanifestations of a society characterizedby the coexistenceof a numberof communities and symbolic systems (Canclini Tovary de Teresa, 32). Accordingto Rafael of the president ConsejoNacionalparala Cultura las y Artes,the government's goals have been and should continueto be:
Hacer una politicaculturalrealmentenacionalque formepartedel bienestarsocial;lograrunaaut6ntica descentralizaci6n de los bienesy serviciosculturales; ampliarla asignaci6nde recursos parala culturay aplicarlos de la manera mas democraitica posible. (Qtd.in de ItaD16)

The success, or even the honesty,of this cultural projectis challengedin the workof such criticsas William Rowe,RogerBartra,

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206 HISPANIA 78 MARCH1995

In Mexico,the neolib- II. The University and National and N6storCanclini. eraleconomicpolicyof PresidentSalinasde Culture Gortari (1988-1994), while launching world" Within the history of modern Latin Mexicointowhathe labelsthe "first and into the global market,has produced Americantheatre,universitytheatrehas a increasinglevels of povertyand alienation long traditionof creativityand experimen(Becerril),resultingin socialrupturessuch tation. Although case histories vary, this as the January1, 1994,indigenousuprising theatre responds critically to repressive in Chiapasand sporadicresistancein other governments'hegemonic discourses, and andcolonizing Westerncultural to imported states such as Guerreroand Oaxaca. As with other LatinAmericancountries, models; it is alwaysin search of spaces in such political,economic, and social crises which to forge artisticidentitiesbased on cultural andtransformations concepts of nationalreality. produc- ever-changing impact of tion (UslarPietri).In Mexico, throughthe Examples such resistant activity intheatrein Chilewhere,due 1980sandintothe 1990s,theatreproduction cludeuniversity and attendance have been negatively af- to lack of supportfor theatrefromthe govfected by a varietyof factors:economic re- ernmentor commercialinterests, in 1941, foundedExpermencession and the concomitantlack of infra- the National University launched Theatre. structure to sustain continuity in artistic tal University This project which a movement influx of forof the the defined, developed,and production; impact into one of theatre Chilean transformed and cultural U.S., products eign, specifically of theatre richest sources Latin America's theatre of the consumerism; stagnation productiondue to rigidhierarchalinstitutions arts.In Bolivia,since the 1950s,the Univer"director-cen- sities of San Andr6s'and Sucre's theatre and adherenceto traditional tered"theatre;the pervasivenessof mass workshops, symposia, and schools have media and other forms of entertainment; sought to produceheterogeneousnational and directand indirectcensorshipvia gov- theatre that more accurately reflects the ernment monopolies on mass media and ethnic and class diversityof that complex controlof grantsfor scholarsand artists.2 society-this in the face of governmental In the of censorshipandviolentintervention. In response,the recentadministration the National Autonomous University of 1960s Columbian university theatre, in Mexico (UNAM) Center for Theatre and search of continuityin theatre production andthematichomogeDance has launcheda series of innovative viaformal,structural festivalswhich gave theatre founded the include which of the pro- neity, projects, goals nationaltheatre Columbian duction and diffusion of censorship-free, form to "new" in of artists a wide art 143-46). (Perales variety by quality findsits zenithin Mexican This tradition myriad styles. The question arises as to whether these effortsto revivethe histori- university theatre spaces, which, since in Mexico are 1937,have provideda privilegedvenue for callystrongtheatretradition and consolidationof new access to re- experimentation more democratic offering sources for creativeactivity,and if the re- scenographic forms, and a forum for the sulting productionsreflect a "plurivisi6n," nation'smost divisive social issues. Mexia pluralityof perceptionsand representa- can universitytheatre is not "school"thetions of Mexican reality. Of interest here is atre, but professional, semi-professional,
the dynamic relationship between Mexican society in transition and this recent university theatre, and the extent to which the UNAM's projects revitalize theatre production in Mexico in the current climate of cultural politics. and student theatre supported by the University. The UNAM serves as a venue for national theatre, with a strong tradition of creative excellence due in part to the "autonomous" nature of the University which shields it from government censorship. Some of Mexico's most outstanding literary

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THE HISPANIC AND LUSO-BRAZILIANWORLD 207

and artistic figures-Octavio Paz, Carlos Fuentes, Elena Garro, Maria Luisa Mendoza-participatedin creatingtheatre that reflects nationaland international traditions,theatrethatrespondsto andprecipitates changein the socio-historical context. Within Mexico, the UNAM's cultural project,underwhich the universitytheatre programwas developedand is supported, coincided with the revolutionaryspirit of the earlypartof this centuryand served as and creative a model for experimentation excellence.As earlyas 1929,Mexicopassed the philosophical and the LeyOrgdnicawith as intellectual of such support figures Justo This actincorSierraandJose Vasconcelos. the into the porated University impulse of the 1910 Revolutionin an effortto protect andculturefromideological comeducation This established as a promise. imperative function of the UNAM "el extender primary con la mayor amplitud posible los beneficiosde la cultura"-a dictumthatestablishedone of the mostambitious cultural in all of Latin America. As the auprojects thors of a chronicleof the UNAM'sactivities pointout:

no propicioparasu creaci6ny recreaci6nincesantes. Los movimientosartisticos,las vanguardias culturalos experimentalismos les, las polemicas intelectuales, comoforest6ticosque a veces se revelarian tambi6n mas nuevasdel comportamiento soy la convivencia ciales encontrarony encuentranen la universidad apoyoe impulso.(Crdnica 13)

tistic activity. Today, the UNAM's promotion of "las mUiltiplesmanifestaciones de la cultura urbana"(Crdnica15) is impressive. The Casa de university, Mexico's "Maixima Estudio," produces annually more than 750conferences, activities: twentythousand 150 art exhibits,400 guided 1,200courses, 650 tours, concerts,4,500cinematographic projections,1,700theatreshows, 300 radio and 50 televisionshows.Withover 500,000 students at the main campus in Mexico City,it supportsand exchanges with some bothin andoutsidethe coun50 institutions and reaches some 20,000 students at try extension sites (Crdnica 15-16). Mexico's National Autonomous dedication to the generationof University's culturalactivityandcreativeexcellence resulted in an infrastructure thatpermitslevels of experimentation fromwhich nationrecognizedtheatre ally and internationally has emerged,especiallyduringthe decades of 1950s through the 1970s. At the same is time, however, this institutionalization blamedfor a culturalpolitics that, according to some, stagnatestheatreactivityand, in the opinion of others, centralizes reMuypronto,al nacerdel siglo, la culturamexicanasources of resultingin the marginalization hoy diversay fortisima-encontr6 en la Universidad sectors of the artistic el conducto6ptimoparasu multiplicaci6n el terremany community. y III. Recent University Theatre in Mexico Recent efforts of the UNAM's Coordispecificallyits nacidndeDiusidn Cultural, Centro de Teatro reflect a continy Danza, ued optimismin the socialbenefitsof such The effortsareguidedby specific creativity. and claim a numberof successes afgoals ter little more than one year of production. Under the directionof AlejandroAura, the Centro de Teatro y Danza began to develop programs allocating the budgeted funds to supporta wider varietyand number of artists and projects. In January, 1993, the Centro came under the direction of Ignacio Solares, award-winningplaywright, novelist, and recent winner of the prestigious national awardfor culturaljournalism. Solares, with a new administrative staff and

This imperative recognizesthe dynamic between the culturalartefact relationship and the context in which it is generated, betweenthe dailyhabitsandformsof a particularpeople and their art.The UNAM's Coordinacidn de Difusidn Cultural chronicles such avant-garde groups of artists as the Ateneistas del Ateneo de la
the Contenmpordneos, Poesia en voz Juventud, and the cultural journals Revistas de la alta, Universidad, Los Universitarios, and Punto de partida. These are offered as the "m~rimos exponentes" of the rich legacy of internationally recognized avant-garde ar-

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208 HISPANIA 78 MARCH 1995

advisory board, launched a series of los perfiles projectsdesigned to "reafirmar del teatro universitario.Esto por muchas circunstancias se perdi6 o se diluy6. Queremos volver a encontrar,enamorar, cautivar un pfiblico, a traves de las propuestasdel teatro universitario que es teatrode bisqueda" (CrestaniPI). The advisoryboardis an important addition to the Center'sinfrastructure and, according to the directors, reflects the phianddemocracy" of this losophyof "plurality The councilreviewsall new administration. proposals,selects those to be funded,allots anddecides the amountof financial support, the theatreforumin which the projectwill This process is in responseto be produced. treatmentand criticism of preferential past that left from nepotism manymarginalized the way the system.Thus, to "democratize" in which monies are allottedand projects are funded (andin which theatrepractitioners are permittedto practicetheir art), a council of five members, all recognized withinthe artisticworld,judges the "merit" of each proposal. This year's council includes IgnacioSolares (presidingofficer), novelist, Jose Ram6nEnriquez(playwright, director of the and actor, poet, director, National Center for Theatre Research Rodolfo Usigli),VictorRasc6nBanda(playwright), Jos6 Santiago (scenographer), Gloria Concredas (choreographer), and novelist,director, (playwright, HugoHiriart Santa of TeatroArte coordinator andartistic and Between Catarina). January July,1994, over 200 projects were submitted to the council,a sign of the enthusiasticparticipation generatedby the UNAM'sproject. There is a notableabsence of theatredirectors on the board (the members are Duringthe numerous mostlyplaywrights). personal interviews conducted for this

seeks, throughseveralprojects,to encourof theatre age a more integralparticipation in all those activities relatedto practitioners The production. specific projects vary in but all have as a primarygoal the design, of new support approachesto the creation, and production, promotionof this artistic activity. in the use of the University's Continuity theatreforumsis a primary concern.Thus, a series of "cycles" was organized,in which productions would be continuously programmed.The first cycle, Ciclodegrandes celebratesthe most recognized directores, directors of Mexican university theatre since 1937,those who establishedthe uniwhich is seen as the founversitytradition dation of modern Mexican theatre. Jose Ram6nEnriquezexplains:
Viendo como el mundo de teatro en Mexico es un mundomuy fragmentado, muy peleadoentre si, pequefiopueblodondelas historiasson antiguasy model hecho de que 61 dernas,Solaresquisoaprovechar personalmente provienede la dramaturgia maisque de la puestaen escena, pues podiaconvocarsin pleitos. Creoque es el primerdramaturgo que ha ocupado el puesto.Anteshan sido directores.Se le ocurri6 el ciclo de los grandes directores.Vamosa llamara en distinaqu6llosque hicieronel teatrouniversitario tas 6pocasparael TeatroJuanRuizde Alarc6n.(PI)

study, many older and younger theatre practitioners commented on the effects on Poesia en voz alta de 1937, 25 afios de genMexican theatre of the strong personalities tes sobresalientes" (PI). Solares, director of of directors during the last decades. These Teatro y Danza, suggests that by attending effects have included the stagnation of cre- this cycle in the Juan Ruiz Theater, the auativity, especially as concerns the younger dience is "guaranteed theatre of quality." One might question, as many intergeneration. Without denying the imporviewees did, the very concept of "quality" tance of these directors, this administration

Inthis cycle, assignedto the most prestigious of forums, Teatro Juan Ruiz de Alarcdn in the Cultural Center of the UNAM, appearsuch names and plays as the oldestliving IgnacioRetes (Lachunga), director since the founding of Teatro the Luis de Tavira (Jubileo) Universitario; Juan Azar, (Inmaculada); youngest;Hector Jose Gurrola(El kacedorde teatro);Jose LuisIbanez(Lavidaessueffo); JuanIbinez3; Hector Mendoza; and Ludwig Margules (Luz de luna. Tiempodefesta). "Estos," explains Enriquez, "representan los m~ximosexponentes de este teatro desde

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THE HISPANIC AND LUSO-BRAZILIANWORLD 209

theatre,a conceptperceivedas a perpetua- tos, pluralesde expresi6n.Yocreo que independiention of the status quo. Whereas this cycle temente de la gran calidadque durantemuchotiemy por el exito e reflects for some the reaffirmation of the po ha tenido el teatro universitario, de ciertas grandesfigurasde teatro,ha importancia foundations of the tradition of excellence in sido muy dificilpor el peso de estas grandesfiguras Mexicantheatre (EnriquezPI), for others que surjannuevascosas. Yocreo que el equilibriode it representsanotherattempt to imposethe un teatronacionales que dejede ser nacional,que se visions of the art form and perceptionsof abra a todas las posibles corrientes, que no forme parte de una sola escuela, al mismo tiempo que se Mexicanrealityof a culturalelite. alas mAs o menosprobadas.[...]Y en este fortalezcan The second cycle, Teatronacional,cel- sentidosirveel tercerciclo,Santa Catarina. Hayideas ebrates Mexican nationaltheatre and au- muy interesantes,todaviano suficientementecuajathors, or Mexican translationsof interna- das, hay j6venes autores y directores que quieren tionalclassics. The works are presentedin probarse, que necesitan probarse en el escenario, another of the Center'sforums located in entonces la idea de Hugo Hiriartpermiteesto. Muchas de estas 200 propuestasterminanalli, al gusto the CentroCulturalof the UNAM, Teatro de sus autores.Conminimode presupuestos,lo que SorfJuana Indsde la Crz--recognized as necesitanes el espacio,que se expresen,que se pruean idealspace because of the intimacy with ben;paradarel paso,hay que subiral escenario.(PI) the audience that it affords.In this forum haveappeared or are scheduledsuch familBeyondthese threecycles,the Direcci6n iar names as JuanTovar (El contrafaso), de Teatroy Danzaalso sponsorsthe Annual Luisa Josefina Hernandez (Las bodas); UniversityTheater Festival in which the Hugo Argtielles (El cerco de la cabra students of the colleges throughout the dorada);Sabina Berman;Ignacio Solares UNAMsystem in the urbanareaof Mexico (Infidencias);and Vicente Lefiero. Rela- Citycompetein seven differentforumsfor nameshavealso appeared, a two week period.Fromsome 60 groups, tivelyunfamiliar indicatingthe successful effortsto support three works are selected for awards and a widervarietyof aestheticprojectsandart- incorporated into the Santa Catarina ists, many of them formingpart of a new Project. but student This is notprofessional generation.These includeGabriela thereis theYnclkin, theater.Besidesthese projects, Leonora EstelaLefiero Azcdrate, (Habitacidn ater in "alternative" spaces, such as in the en blanco) Moncada , LuisMario forum in the Historic Center of (Exhivisidn), open-air andLuisEduardo La Perpetua, once Reyes (Lamiltraumas). MexicoCity,La cdrcelde Whathas been important forthe advisory the site of the Mexican Inquisitionand a boardis thatthis forumnot dictateapriori space that drawsa distinctaudiencefrom an aesthetic directionfor nationaltheatre, CentroCultural, due mainlyto its location butthatfromthe varietyof styles,a national andaccessibility to those livingin the downtheatre begin to emerge. The diversityof town area. The audience is visibly more aesthetic projectsand thematic concerns, "popular." The UNAM also coordinates especially in those works by the younger Radio UNAA, which produces radio thegeneration,makes evidentto the spectator ater, such as the dramatization, in 1993,of that "national" theatre does not indicatea CarmenBoullosa'spiratenovels Son vacas, coherent,homogenousproject,and points somospuercosandEl mdico de lospiratas. to the initialsuccess of this second cycle. The third cycle is TeatroArte Santa IV. Teatro Arte Santa Catarina Catarina,a project designed to stimulate theatreandexperimentation It is in Teatro avant-garde Arte Santa Catarinathat by giving space and supportto manynew and some of the most innovative andinteresting up-and-coming artists,andby reformulating projectshave surfaced,many in direct rethe infrastructureof theatre production. sponse to the aforementioned crises in Enriquezexplains: Mexicantheatre. Earlyin 1993,dramatist, novelist,andesLo que necesitamosen este pais son espacios distin- sayist Hugo Hiriart proposeda projectin-

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210 HISPANIA 78 MARCH 1995

tendedto permitmore artiststo createtheatre. Named the director of TeatroArte Santa Catarina,he designed the following forthe produca series of "cycles" program: tion of ten plays meeting specific criteria, each duringa periodof one month.Within the cycle a playwouldhavefouror five performances-the same nightof the week for a month-featuringtwoplayspernight.For instance, every Monday night in July, de nudos by Victor Weinstock and Los elementos de amor,a collage by variousauwere thors, performed:first show at 8:30, the second at 9:45. A time limit of 1 1/4 hours is placed on the pieces, and scenery has to be easily movable,since five days a week, two plays per night are performed. is a Anotherelement introducedby Hiriart limit of fourto six weeks of rehearsaltime (timethat the group actuallyhas access to the Santa Catarinaspace). Budget allowances are modest:$1000.00per groupplus of the box office-this amount,divided 80% among all group members, for approxirehearsals, matelyfive weeks of every-day and one monthof production. The idea behindthe inclusionof the box office intake is to personally involve the groupswith publicity-a motivatingfactor to promote themselves and theatre. This also eliminatesa mode of proarrangement to the artform, ductionnot only paralyzing but demoralizing and marginalizing to to variouspractitiomanygroups:according normal the approachis to gather the ners, from six months to two rehearse group, door looking for a sponto door years, go none. find to often Thus, all invested sor, intertime andmoneyarelost. Commercial est in theatre in Mexico has wavered greatly-partly because of the size of many productions (spectacularBroadway-style, commercialtheatre) and the loss of audilike ences to other forms of entertainment television and the video industry. (In Mexico City, a successful chain of video stores now offershome delivery.)In order to recoverinvestedtimeandmoney,a show needs between50 to 100representationsdifficultand risky,with few recent productionscapableof sustainingsuch interest.As

a result,manyworthwhileproductionsare neverseen. The artisticdraincausedby the movementof manytheatreactorsandpractitioners to T.V. and movies is also attributed to this economic and culturalreality. Thus, by reducingeconomicrisk, creating factors,and changingmodes of motivating directly production, projectSanta Catarina addresses many of the factors considered to be the cause of stagnationin theatreproduction, quality,and creativity.The early results are interestingand promising.Several productions,after a period of experimentationand re-workingin this project, moved on to other university,alternative, forums:de nudosbyVictor andcommercial Weinstock; Trabajo sucio by Leonor La mil traumasby Luis Eduardo Azcairate, and generation), Reyes (allpartof the "new" dormido animal de by Hugo Descr:icidn un Hiriart, amongothers. Oneimportant formulating goal bearsdiof the modes on although production, rectly it deals with aesthetic issues. OscarVega, assistant director of Santa Catarina,explainsthe effortsto rethinkthe representatext not as a finishedprodtionof a dramatic as a process throughwhich rather but uct, works developand emerge:
el mitode la obraterminada que Queremos romper unaobra vecesdetener muchas para quehacer surge Encambio, de 50funciones. unatemporada [esteexun como enel trabajo nospermite pensar perimento] las en Mexico derescatar tratando Estamos proceso. de de teatro; caracteristicas que son propiamente larelaci6n delpdiblico: unasensiblidad crear especial de un acto la celebraci6n entrela obray el puiblico; otromedio.(PI) a cualquier Es distinto efimero.

The idea is notto recaptureaudienceslost to T.V.,cinema,Nintendo,or MTVby competing with these forms of entertainment but ratherto educate and communication, the audience to the differences between of those characteristics them,underscoring theatre that make it an unique, enlightening, and entertaining experience. By creating a forum where real experimentation can take place, Hiriart,Vega, and many writers, directors, scenographers, actors, technicians, and critics are convinced that the wealth of creative energies

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THE HISPANIC AND LUSO-BRAZILIANWORLD 211

previouslyshut out of theatre production can be tapped into, given a space. Thus, Santa Catarina introduced specific changesdesignedto end the reignof "director" theatre in Mexico, in which certain "figurasconsagradas"have, accordingto many, imposed a style of productionthat not only demeanedthe authorsand actors, in whichthe butled to a theatreof "images" shock value of exorbitantset designs overshadowsthe text and diminishesaudience This criticismhas been levparticipation. eled against some recent De Tavira,Azar, and Mendozaproductions. Withoutunderthe and of estimating importance centrality these figures in Mexican theatre history, there is a callto end whatis criticizedas an ego driven,authoritarian approachto dramatic creation.The proposedchange recognizes and values the creativeinputof all practitioners responsibleforthe finalproduct. In Mexico,the landof literary"mafias" and the cult of "SacredCows"throughout its socioculturaland political institutions (borrowingfrom Carlos Monsiviis), this approach-different from collective theatre-is welcomed.The intellectual andcreative exchange has resulted in a greater number of practitioners collaboratingin different on eachother'sprojects, capacities and in the enthusiasmto continueproducing, though economic recompense is still less than ideal. V. In Search Of an Audience Severalotherprogramsof the Direcci6n de Teatro y Danza de la Coordinaci6nde Difusi6n Culturalde la UNAMattemptto reach a wider audience. The Jornadasde withthe Museo Teatro co-produced project, Nacionalde Historia, utilizestheatersof the ParkCastle,a popular commuChapultapec nity site frequented by a wide variety of
Mexicans, especially on the weekends. With five works programmed during weekend afternoons, Jornadas de Teatro,part of a project called Teatroextramuros, functions to "sacar aquellos productos de calidad y hacerlos llegar a espacios y a un piiblico diferente del que habitualmente asiste a la

UNAM"(Escarcegain Salinas);"darlesal piblico, en areas de esparicimiento, un de alternativas mejory maisalto panorama culturales" (De Lara,qtd. in Salinas). in the theatersof the Cultural Similarly, Center of the UNAM, plays are programmed on Saturdayand Sunday afternoons, in orderto offerto the manyMexicans who use the campusforweekendrecreation the possibility of seeing theatre. theatre, Beginningas a forumforchildren's this space featured such productions as Sabor de engano by Mexican playwright VictorHugo Rasc6nBanda,with a very favorable response from the spectators whose numbersare often greaterthan for PI).The nighttimeperformances (Enriquez thattraditional positiveresultsdemonstrate schedules of shows (oftenat 8:00-8:30 p.m. duringthe week) need to be examinedand adjustedto the realityof Mexicanurbanliving. These efforts to reach a broader audito the social ence, based on a commitment as well as culturalvalue of theatre, are an importantstep toward the "decentralization" of cultural resources (EnriquezPI; CrestaniPI). They are not withoutcritics, to the allotmentof however,who, referring funds and theatre spaces for the various projects,claimthem to be a superficial gesture withinthe "sameold"culturalpolitics (L6pez). The questionof financialsupportproved to be very sensitive (severaladministrators refused to talk about it with me). Initially, there was criticismof the amountsallotted the cycle GrandesDirectores relative to those of TeatroSanta Catarina.Some artists, insultedby the originalproposals,refused to participate, feeling once again "marginalized." Nonetheless,manytheatre practitionershave taken advantageof the the projectoffers. opportunity
VI. Theatre and Cultural Politics Arif Dirlik posits that "culture is not only a way of seeing the world, but also a way of making and changing it"(26). Concomitant to the ambitiousness of the above projects

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212 HISPANIA 78 MARCH 1995

is the analysis of the role and ideological basis of this Universitytheatre, set within the context of a nation making definitive moves toward fundamentalchange. This taskis necessaryto beginto understand the Mexican relationship amongcontemporary society, its cultural production, and the complexnetworkof relationsof powerthat characterize culturalpolitics.Cultureis infrom relationsof power,and is a separable or series of spaces where popular space as distinct from members of rulsubjects, are formed (Rowe9), with exing groups, cultures having an isting popular with mass culinterpenetrative relationship find Recent studies ture.4 problematic, amongotherthings,the pretentiousnessof moddiscoursesthatimposeurbancultural els to define a nation or a people. This is especially so in Mexico, one of Latin As early America's most diversegroupings. as 1901 Mexican Ezequiel ChAvezsuggested that such programsassumed Mexicans had been "groundby the mortarof centuries so as to form a single body with certainhomogeneity"(in Rowe 10). Such models may at best be utopian projectsof unificationthat do not affectin the same manner,as one must imagine,all citizenslivingthe consequentexperienceof deThe term "utopian," "homogenization." the "ideal,"although imaginary, noting eludes the consequences in real terms of ofviolencethat the perpetration this project: of many of the extinction about brought Mexico's indigenous languages, and the continuedpersecutionandmarginalization of entire segments of society:women, homosexuals, ruralpopulations,indigenous peoples, etc.5 A pertinent question is, therefore, creativeacwhether University-supported to the resistance form of is a tivity legitimate culturalelite when, in fact,althoughsomewhatremovedfromthe centerof power,the University stands in opposition, and has done so historically,to a larger,disenfranThe culchised segment of the population. has traturalproductionof this population ditionallybeen viewed as static and folkloric, and disregardedfrom the optic of a

Westernculturalmodel. These considerations framethe research and analysisof recenteffortsof the UNAM to create an infrastructure for the funding andproduction of theatrein responseto the economic, political,and culturalcrises of thatcountry, andits effortsin the searchfor a pluralityof artists and aesthetic styles. One may argue,as Roweand Schellingdo, thatplurality is not a value-free conceptand historically
belongs to the liberaltheory which allowsthat sociof interests,butgives to the ety consists in a plurality
state the role of mediating them [... and] what states

have actuallydone is to seek to homogenizeculture in order to consolidatethe power of ruling groups. (10)

Mexico's culturallandscapehas changed and,as RenatoRosaldosuggests, "theidea of an authenticcultureas an internallycohesive andautonomousspace is untenable except, perhaps,as a useful fictionor a re(217). vealing distortion" The question arises how the politics of the culturalelite play a role in the not-soobvious censorshipresultingfrom the impositionof formswhose referencepointis Western culture. In other words, which their marginal groupsare able to articulate alternativeperspectives in these spaces, the giventhat,amongotherconsiderations, "free" to public universities-although Mexicancitizens-are accessible to a relatively small percentage of the Mexican andmostlyin urbanareas?It is population, cultural not at all clearwhether alternative socioculand productionpromoting space turaland politicalcriticism,as their proponents suggest, actuallytranslateintotransaction. formational Because of, or perhapsin spite of, such andotherMexiprogramsof the University visible alterations can culturalinstitutions, of Mexican have occurredin the panorama
theatre. The most salient are the diversity in themes and styles, and the number of unfamiliarnames. The exploration on stage of sexuality and erotic desire, (both male and female, and hetero- and homo-sexual), and of new forms of intimate relationships in different and same-sex couples is an overt

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THEHISPANIC AND LUSO-BRAZILIAN WORLD213

challenge to religious and social norms. ofviolence(kidnapping, The representation etc.), and extorture,rape,police brutality, plicitcriticismof the rulingparty(PRI)and climate its leadersreflectthe contemporary of the country.Manyyoung practitioners attemptto breakwith the tragicand black humortones andthe realismthatcharacterized the Mexican stage for over 40 years, sincethe dramaturgy of Rodolfo Usigli.Also of artists obviousis the globalinvolvement in allprocesses of theatreproduction. Critic and playwrightJaime Chabaud Magnus comments that with a redefinitionof the role of the playwrightin the "maquinaria we find complejadel arte dramitico,"
a sus cajonesy esel dramaturgo, antes circunscrito no s61lo desde sus critorio,en la actualidad participa letras en stanby [sic] en el hecho teatral.El dramaturgo participa ahora de otros lenguajes de la teatralidad en su quehacercotidiano,conjugando el papel de contadorde historiascon el director,actor, (D13) escen6grafo,productor, promotor.

inLatin butina broader Popular Culture), American arduously working to discover new theatri- sense to include regionalcultures and oppositional ular Culture). cal language to articulate their experiences connotations(as does theJournalofPop abuseandthreats,andmasphysical SSterilization, in a Mexico very different from that of their sive expulsions from their communitieshave been teachers; a Mexico being transformed by citedby the Consejo delos delRepresentantes Indigenas as wellas by the United technology, consumerism, mass media, and Altosde Chiapas, Nations of Refugees andother human orrights global politics and economics. The style and Commission

This multidimensional role,accordingto Chambaudand many practitionersinterviewed for this study, breaks with "el pleito-que no polkmica-director versus autor, que sign6 absurdamente las relacionesde la dramaturgia mexicanapor un parde d6cadas"(Chambaud). This new trained the "masters,"ingeneration, by cludes among many Luis EduardoReyes, Estela Lefiero,RaquelAraujo,Luis Mario VictorWeinstock,SergioZurita, Moncada, David Olguin, Jorge Celaya, AndriAn SilviaPelaez,AntonioSerrano, Sotomayor, ArturoSastre, Angel Norzagaray,Gabriel Barcenas,HernanGalindo, PhilipeAmand, and SandraF61ix.It participates in Univerbut seeks different resolutions sity theatre, to the aesthetic, personal,social, and economic difficultiesthat face a generationof young Mexicansin a society in transition. is evident,one Althoughsome continuity might argue that this young generationis

content of their work reflect a frustration with and defiance of a state-party political to relinquish power.Some systemunwilling of this sentiment is visible in the theatre Autonomous producedwithinthe National University's programs. Other manifestations, perhapsthe most critical,occurin alternative theatrespaces.They emergefrom collaborativeprojectswith young theatre fromotherregions of Mexico practitioners where the emphasis on the autonomyand importanceof regional theatre projectsis notableandrevealsthis generation's search foradequate to Mexico's responses present economicand social crises. Theatre, due to the immediacy of the spectacle,is an ideal space for such exploration.A futuretaskwillbe to evaluatewho of this generationis able to utilizethe medium successfully (success measured in diverse forms), and which aesthetic projectsare given access to the necessary resources.Atfirstexamination, the projects of the UNAM's Center for Theatre and Dance are a productive beginningandrepresent part of a larger effort to open that space and energize the artform.
E

NOTES

refers to personal 'Throughoutthis essay, "PI" interviews in Mexicoduring1993and1994. conducted the NAFTAdebates,fourteennewscast2During ers andradiocommentators lost theirjobs.A conversation between NAFTAcritics in Mexico and U.S. a media consenators, contractedwith TELEVISA, withstrongties to the government, was cut glomerate off, supposedly due to technical difficulties. This of the organizedand event,however,is symptomatic deliberate efforts by the Mexican government to squelch critics (de la Grange). 3Someplaywrights are scheduledfor futureproductions.At the time of completingthis essay, play titles were unavailable. culture" itself is at times a problematic 4"Popular term, one used here to refernot only to urbanmass cultureandthe cultureindustry(as does the Studies

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214 HISPANIA 78 MARCH1995

as HegemonicIdeologyand ganizations,as systematicstrategiesfor the control Dirlik,Arif."Culturism andelimination of indigenouspopulations, Practice."CulturalCritique 6 (1987): especially, Liberating but notexclusively, in the southernregionsof Mexico 13-50. Jornada 9). (La Enriquez,Jose Ram6n.Personal Interviews.11, 23 July 1994. El chiste estAen E WORKS CITED Escobar,OlgaLucia."HugoHiriart. entraral detalleteatral." 19July 1993: Macrdpolis directaSanCrist6bal-Vaticano." 90-94. Aponte,David."Linea Ita, Fernandode. "Tovar Lafornada31 Oct. 1993:1+. y de Teresa por si mismo." . "Pase lo que pase, sere fiel a la Iglesia y 14July 1994:D16. Reforma al Papa:RuizGarcia" Lafornada7 Nov. 1993:1+. LaJornada."Riesgode zonas de miseriaante expulde fax, siones en Chiapas: 19 Sept. 1993:9. la nunciatura Jesus. "Cambia Aranda, nuimero indigenas." ante el aludde mensajesde apoyo" la voz los mimos callejeLafornada 7 L6pez,MariaLuisa."Alzan Nov. 1993:1+. ros."Reforma 27 Aug. 1994:D12. Trans.JonathanCape Monsiviis,Carlos.Amorperdido. MexicoCity: EdicioBarthes, Roland.Mythologies. Ltd.New York:HillandWang,1987.20thedition. nes Era,1977. MexicoCity: Perales,Rosalina. Bartra, Roger.Lajaula dela melancolia. hispanoamericano contempoTeatro 1987. Edirdneo(1967-1987).Vol.I.MexicoCity: Grijalbo, Grupo 47.5% en s61o torialGaceta,1989. Becerril,Andrea."Cay6el minisalario dos sexenios: Congresode Trabajo." Lafornada Reyes, Luis Eduardo.Personal interviews.Mexico 14July 1994:14+. City.11, 17 July,1993. TheRemaking Reconversion." Rosaldo,Renato.Culture and Truth.: Canclini, Nestor Garcia."Cultural of Trans. Holly Staver. In On Edge. The Crisis of Boston:BeaconPress, 1989. SocialAnalysis. ContemporaryLatin American Culture. Eds. Rowe, William and Vivian Schelling. Memoryand Popular Culturein Latin America. George Yudice, Jean Franco, and Juan Flores. Moderninty. U of Minnisota P, 1992. London,New York: Verso, 1991. Minneapolis: con teatrosu medio siglo." Chabaud Magnus, Jaime. "Laaprehensi6n de la Salinas,Adela."Celebran 5 July 1994:D8. 29 June Reforma dramaturgia joven de Mexico."Reforma 1994:D13. Solares, Ignacio. "Entretelones, Ignacio Solares." Antonio. Personalinterviews. Tierraadentro. 4, 8June 1993. Crestani, Sept.-Oct.1993:15-18. Aut6noma Taylor,Diana. Theater Mixico.MexicoCity:Universidad of Crsis. Drama and Politics Crdnica de Mexico, 1991. in Latin America. Lexington:UP of Kentucky, 1991. Grange,Betrandde la. "Nervousgovernmentputs cultural." industria Guard- UslarPietri,Arturo."La Manchester Reforma. pressureon Mexicanmedia." 6 July 1994:A10. 2. Originally Oct.1993: ian Weekly24 printedin Le MexicoCity.14,21 Monde12 Oct. 1993:np. Vega, Oscar.Personalinterviews. July 1993.

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