Historical Notes on Spanish Puppetry

Author(s): Daniel S. Keller

Source: Hispania, Vol. 42, No. 2 (May, 1959), pp. 205-209
Published by: American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/335894
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 HISTORICAL NOTES ON SPANISH PUPPETRY

DANIEL S. KELLER

University of California, Davis

Being chiefly a folk art pupperty hasAs Varey pointed out in the Revista de
yielded only a fragmentary record of Filologia
its Espaiiola of 1954,2 wandering
past, leaving gaps in our knowledge which
minstrels-those versatile medieval juglares
have challenged the historian ever since
who did not limit themselves to singing,
the classic work of Charles Magnin ap- composing, reciting, or tumbling-were
peared a century ago.* Since then numer-
reported in the early thirteenth century to
ous other histories of the puppet theater,
have taken puppets with them into Spain
from Italy and France. Whether these
either national or continental in scope,
have come forth from university and other
foreigners helped to establish puppetry
presses. The first extensive, documented
firmly in the Iberian Peninsula by the
history of Spanish puppetry from its origins
sixteenth century is difficult to determine
until the mid-eighteenth century was pub-because only a few scattered references
lished in 1957 by J. E. Varey of the Uni-survive from early times. But that the
versity of London.' Varey's history begannumber of itinerant foreign puppet show-
as a Cambridge doctoral thesis in 1950. men who came to reap a harvest in Spain
Perhaps it is fitting that histories of the
must have increased substantially by the
puppet theater in France and Italy have, in
seventeenth century is confirmed by such
fact, preceded a counterpart for Spain, contemporaries
in of Cervantes as Covarru-
view of Spain's long dependence on her bias, Suarez de Figueroa, and Crist6bal de
Romance neighbors for a supply of puppetVillal6n.3 The lexical impact of this in-
showmen and other entertainers. Curiously
vasion was felt in the importation of Italian
enough, even today some of the more and other foreign dramatis personae and
imaginative and artistic puppeteers terminology
in having to do with public en-
Spain acquired their training or at leasttertainments and stagecraft. One thinks of
the durable Catalan character Crist6fel and
their first serious interest in puppets while
living abroad. his rowdy companions, inspired by the im-
What manner of men were Spain's pup- provised mask comedy, and of the techni-
pet showmen? What kind of performances cally elaborate scenography of the Floren-
did they give? What was the nature of tine Cosime Lotti, who resided in Spain at
their audiences? What sort of puppets did the time of Lope de Vega.4
they use? Where were their theaters or Varey has shown that some of the early
their portable booths to be found? When- minstrels who engaged in puppetry ranked
so far as we know-did this minor form of low in the hierarchy of juglaria performers,
dramatic art begin? These are a few of the being preceded by instrumentalists, singers,
questions that have interested researchers and the lofty doctores de trovar. Nonethe-
and for which partial answers are now less, both palace and public plaza had pup-
available. pet shows, the same showman occasionally
being called on to give identical plays for
royalty at one time and place and for com-
*A paper read at the Folklore and Philologymoners at another. The diversified and
Session of the Philological Association of the
democratic nature of Spanish puppet show
Pacific Coast, Stanford, California, Nov. 29,
1957. audiences, as described by Magnin,5 may
205

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 206 HISPANIA

have been more of the fact typical

that public records haveof often lat
theaters in important been lost or destroyed. towns.
Judging by the Documents from Valladolid in the sev-
complaints r
Cervantes' El licenciado vidriera and El enteenth and early eighteenth centuries
coloquio de los perros not all puppet plays
have so far proved to be more specific than
of that era would have suited fastidious those of the other above-mentioned Spanish
audiences. Something like a double stand-cities in listing the actual plays performed.
ard must have existed. Joan Amades Available titles suggest that roughly half
claimed to have found, as late as 1933, two of them were of a pious, edifying nature,
continuing types of puppet show offeredfrequently dramatizations of saints' lives.
by the same showman on the island ofOthers were evidently adaptations of typi-
Majorca, these types being referred to ascal secular plays from the legitimate stage,
"the cheap" and "the dear." In the latterthe element of pundonor being conspicu-
kind of entertainment the spectators hadous.9 Other plays, such as Maese Pedro's
to pay the performer a higher fee for his in Don Quijote, were based on popular
use of respectable and grammatical lan- legends and ballads. Dramatizations of folk
guage." That a double standard for high-tales and fables long popular in Spain still
brows and low-brows may recently haveappear from time to time on the modern
existed elsewhere in Spain--Andalusia,puppet stage. Natalio Rodriguez, who is
for example-is suggested by the epilogueassociated with the Madrid group known
to Federico Garcia Lorca's unrestrained, as Marionetas de Talio, has dramatized the
folk-inspired "El retablillo de Don Crist6-story familiar to us from Shakespeare's
bal: farsa para guifiol," a play which prac- Taming of the Shrew, and long before
tically defies translation and which is notShakespeare's time in the fourteenth-cen-
recommended to the puritanical.7 tury Spanish prose monument, the Conde
For the most part, puppet repertoriesLucanor of Juan Manuel. Rodriguez's play,
have not accurately known up until fairly El mozo que cas6 con mujer brava, has
recent times. Documentary sources un- dynamic action that makes it ideal for the
earthed by Varey, in particular the accountpuppet booth.'-
books of hospitals, which were entitled to a Amades noted by actual title some three
tax on entertainments, ordinarily do notdozen typical Catalan hand puppet plays
name the plays, noting only such items as of the nineteenth and early twentieth cen-
the admission receipts, the place, time, and turies. The plot of these plays was set
general nature of the performance. Suchdown by the showman in skeleton form,
records dating from the late sixteenth but the dialogue was not written out. There
through the early eighteenth century inwere certain traditions, some of ancient ori-
Seville, Malaga, Valencia, Madrid, andgin, such as the preliminary harangue, the
Valladolid serve as evidence of the wide-
distortion of the manipulator's voice, the
spread popularity of puppet shows, espe-
appearance of the figure of Death and even
cially in established public theaters during more often that of the Devil, who was por-
Lent. At that season certain forms of enter-trayed as a ridiculous character. The big
tainment, like puppetry, which was official- stick was essential, usually upon the Devil's
appearance, and the show ended with a
ly classified as non-dramatic, enjoyed a brief
heyday (as in Rome, too8) unharassed by
song and dance.
competing human actors. Since puppet Probably improvisation and oral trans-
companies traveled about, it is only reason-mission were the rule then as now. Even
able to suppose that many other Spanishtoday it is no simple matter to find out
cities witnessed such performances, butmuch of a specific nature about a puppet
there is not any definite proof yet, in view
player's collection of texts. Commenting on

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 SPANISH PUPPETRY 207

Catalan puppetry inglass

April, 1948, made
eyes, were customarily Tozer
by carv-
observed (in the British journal
ers of religious The
effigies. They Pup-
were con-
pet Master, p. 43) that "the
trolled plays
by an operator who them-
inserted three
selves are usually basedfingers
on into the shoulder
simple block, using his
domestic
themes, the whole plot, thumb
in and little finger
some cases, to move the pup-
turn-
ing on a pun, with which the
pet's arms.12 Being dialogue is
larger than the standard
generously sprinkled.threeThey finger would,
hand puppets,there-
they could be
fore, lose most of their point
seen clearly at in translation,
a considerable distance.
One barrier to an understanding
even if the text were obtainable. . ... Eachof
showman has his own repertory, learnt
whether hand or string puppets dur-
were being
ing his apprenticeship under
used hisin predeces-
is the absence, Spanish, of a clear-
cut distinction
sor. At best, a few plays are inrecorded
nomenclature. Thein word
jealously-guarded and dog-eared
titere, manu-
of still uncertain etymology, has
scripts." A letter from
often Tozer, written
been applied to in
either type of figure
July, 1957, informed andme that
was once even one
used in native
referring to
showman has his plays other forms written
of entertainment,out in
acrobatic and
promptbook form, and some
sleight of
of hand. them
Amades tape-
preferred to think
recorded, but that he of has
it as theshown
offspring of a reluc-
a double diminu-
tance to divulge them tive
even from to scholars.
the French side of the Pyrenees,
Both hand and stringrelated
puppets are
to petit and known
petitel, in view of the
to have existed during Catalan
the word for puppet, Golden
Spanish titella. He also
Age. String puppets offered
(or marionettes), in
an alternative solution, that of a se-
Varey's opinion, seem to shift
mantic have been
of titella frommore
the possible
frequently employed in Minorcan
the meaning
affluent of "brains"
showsto "head"
and thence
given in established play yards. to "puppet,"
Hand thepup-
prominent
pets, like those mentioned by
feature of whichCovarrubias,
was its head. Jos6 GAlvez,
would have been convenient for
writing of Peruvian players
puppetry in 1938, even
preferring to use less bulky
speculated equipment
that titere might stem from the
than marionettes usually
Greekrequire,
TyTOr8, meaning but if the
'"ittle."13 In 1953
smaller and more mobile
Juan Corominas hand puppet
found the word's history
shows managed to escape suppression
still blurred, orand
though certain Provengal
taxation, they probablyCatalan
also forms and theoblivion.
risked reduplication of a
Both string and hand widespreadpuppets could
term for puppeteer (titiritero)
have been used to advantage inclined him toward
in the the tentative
puppet con-
adaptations of dramas like Mira de Ames-
clusion-which seems similar in a way to
cua's El esclavo del demonio, that of Covarrubias
where in a
thesuper-
seventeenth
natural element was present. century-thatFrom
titere could
a be an onomato-
tech-
nical viewpoint the choice of the
poetic-expressive type by
word, suggested of the
puppet may have depended shrill, squeaking
on whethersound ti ti which
the the
Devil were to burst forth with violence showman made to distort the voice of his
from a mouth of Hell or whether flyingpuppets.14 Am6rico Castro's theory that
angels and demons were required to do titere came from French titre and ultimately
battle in mid air." Latin titulum (presumably in the sense of
A curious contribution of Catalonia to "church as building" as well as the attested
puppetry was the introduction of a special "parish") would be strengthened by further
type of large hand puppet with head andconcrete testimony.15
shoulders carved out of a solid wooden Both the hand puppet and the string pup-
block. According to Tozer these figures, pet are ably represented in present-day
with their lifelike features and realistic Spain. Ezequiel Vigu6s (known as "Did6"),

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208 HisPrANA
the principal full-time hand
the motion puppet
picture.
tours the fairs in cline
Catalonia from numbe
in mere March
November, havingif
found
those this mobile ac
performers w
ty financially more successful than
and imagination tog
fixed urban theaterness withtoits
adapt themse
strenuous r
tory demands andmass the competition it
entertainment i m
face from motion leisure. pictures and other
tractions. Vigues is an educated man wh
child-oriented shows areNOTES
scenically tast
and free from any form of vulgarity.
1 J. E. Varey, Historia de los titeres en Espaiia,
vocal versatility desde
is sus
an advantage
origenes for
hasta mediados del siglo XVIII
(Madrid:themselves
puppets, which lend Revista de Occidente, 1957).
toSee also
imp
Varey's
sation and need no set articles, "Representaciones
script so de titeres en
long as
teatros piiblicos y palaciegos: 1211-1760," RFE,
dialogue is lively.
xxxviii (1954), 170-211; and "Titiriteros y
volatines calls
If the hand puppet en Valencia: 1585-1785,"
for livelyRevista d
Valenciana de Filologia, in (1953), 215-276.
logue to be at its best, the marionet
2 Reference to the use of puppets by medieval
not so demanding in
jongleurs this
is also made by respect.
Paul McPharlin in hisIt
certain The for
advantages Puppet Theatre
thein performance
America. A History: 1524
to Now (New York, 1949; see p. 3). McPharlin's
tricks, transformations andinformation
history contains much valuable pantom about
which have an international appeal
the development of puppetry in Spain's former
colonies. See also J. E. Varey, "The Carrillo, a
which continue to form part of the
Popular Puppet Theatre in the Philippines, 1880-
popular variety 1900,"
bill. Harry
in the British journalV. Tozer
The Puppet Mase
Englishman who ter, I, No. 6, New Series (August 1953), pp.
46-49. has lived in Spain
more than thirtySSee
years
passages by and who
these writers direct
cited in Am6rico
troupe known asCastro's
Marionetas de MLN,
article "La palabra titere," Barce LvI
has mastered the 181. exacting technique
(1942), 505-506, and also Varey, RFE, xxxviin,
constructing and manipulating
4 Varey, RFE, xxxviii, 196-197. trick
5 Charles Magnin,
pets. Some of these figures Histoire des are
marionnettes
used en
short interludes Europe
that depuisoccasionally
l'antiquitgd jusqu'a nos jours (2nd
ed., Paris, 1862), p. 103. ser
a satirical commentary on
6 Joan Amades, modern
"Titelles life.
i ombres xineses," in
Serie A, Vol. viii
such interlude, called The of the Biblioteca
Robot de tradicions
Rebe
populars (Barcelona, 1933). This was a limited
portrays the monotonous,
edition of some 150 copies,mechanized
now hopelessly outof-
of factory workers in
print. I have usedthe year
the English 3000.
translation of the
first part, by
of the workers leads a H.revolt
V. Tozer, who kindly
againstlet me
have a typewritten copy. During World War II
maddening routine. For
this English versiona was
short
published in time
mimeo-
successful and rejoices with
graphed form by the Puppeteers his
of America. fe
7 Federico Garcia Lorca, Obras completas (Ma-
workers, but eventually
drid, 1954), pp. a vengeful fore
950-951.
lowers a powerful electro-magnet
8 McPharlin, p. 78: "Even in Rome Lentover
was the
liveliest season
unsuspecting rebel, for puppets,
lifts and when scores
dropsof little
theatres were open to take the place of the closed
repeatedly untilopera
he is annihilated. O
and playhouses."
9 Varey, RFE, xxxviii,
signal from the foreman the 201-204.
rhythmic
10 See Varey's
notony of the work begins article "The Puppet Theatre
again. Fantaof
Natalio
whether of this sort Rodriguez,"
or 1952), in The
of 45-51. Puppet
the gentlerMaster, iv,
No. 3 (October
directed at child11Although
audiences,
hand and string is the
puppets gr
have been
the principal types used in Spain, as elsewhere in
where the
puppetEurope,
stands most
shadow figures firmly.1
were not unknown.
Although Tozer, Vigues
Varey and a
found in the Barcelona few
Municipal Ar- o
ers continue to give performances
chives sheets of nineteenth-century shadowof
pup- h
pets and the accompanying plays. See his article
quality, the number
"Puppets in of showmen
Spain Today (Part I)," in The in
has steadily decreased since
Puppet Master, iii, No. 2 (Aprilthe adven
1950), p. 49.

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 SPANISH PUPPETRY 209

12 Tozer gives detailed 15 Castro, MLN,

descriptions LVII,
of the 507-
Catalan
type hand puppet in The 16 For an interesting
Puppet report
Master, II, No.
in early
2 (April 1948) 43-44, and with nineteenth-cent
diagrams in the
Mexico see
American yearbook Puppetry the anonymous
(Detroit, 1932),
mIgicos
pp. 24-26. For repertory en
see also myel essay
Callejdn
"Sev-de
en Rare Catalan Puppet Plays,"
1823), now The
partPuppetry
of the Sut
Journal, ix, No. 6 (May-June 1958).
in San Francisco. This work
in "Puppets and Politics i
13 McPharlin, pp. 255-256.
Puppetry
14 J. Corominas, Diccionario Journal,
critico viii (Ma
etimoldgico
de la lengua castellana (Bern: 1954), Iv, 463-464.

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