Director, Choreographer and Producer Rodrigo Gonzalez Met him 7 years ago Warsaw Street Building 9, At Zona Rosa in Mexico City, I discovered that on the ground floor it was built by the architect Mario Pani A theater like no other since its construction in 1959.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, it hasn’t been all bad news for the arts. He and his partner Raoul Tams I decided to give a second life to this scenario, which He only served for union and administrative meetings Of the public institutions that have passed from there for more than six decades.
And starting today, the Warsaw Theater will be like this for the first time: A space, with a capacity of 180 people, for dance, drama, comedy, cabaret, music and opera, just a few steps away from the Angel of Independence. In addition, it will host the Infinite Company, created by Gonzalez and Tamiz, which has produced dance works based on operatic or literary works, such as Madama Butterfly, Emotions according to San Mateo, and Tellini, performed in Helenico or in Chapultepec Castle.
Photo: Ariana PL
Fantastic find
Before the pandemic, theaters were already closed. Why are you opening one now?
“Art has always been a great response to humanity’s greatest tragedies, we have seen it after wars, tragedies, and destruction that humanity has suffered. The return of the arts is a human need, indispensable, and urgentGonzalez explains.
We found this discovery, this wonderful place, in the midst of a pandemic. And after the pandemic, what do we have to lose? Everything must be won, everything that is done in our favor. Re-opening this space for the performing arts is very fortunate, we need a stage for our business and for the community and colleagues from other businesses and disciplines to participate,” adds the young entrepreneur.
Warsaw 9 is a building roughly on the corner of Paseo de la Reforma Street that has been occupied by public institutions for decades, but in recent years it has been redesigned by a construction company that took it over on loan, the building that now rents out the theater space, which maintains all its facilities, such as dressing rooms, bathrooms, and a theater, to be able to display works there for the first time, according to Gonzalez, who hopes “Work magic” with good management to solve all the expenses involved.
At the end of last year, Teatro UNAM presented the results of its theatrical observatory, Operational Scenic Spaces in Mexico, documenting the fragility of the economy, employment and creativity in the sector. I paraphrased the first question: Why the foolishness of opening theaters?
Because that’s what we do, it’s our life and what we breathe. An artist, an artist, without a stage, does not live. The air we breathe is the stage, we don’t see each other anywhere but the top of the stage, it’s our motive for life and our way of being.”
Photo: Ariana PL
Builder, architect of Ciudad Universitaria, Escuela Normal Superior and National Conservatory of Music, built multi-family buildings such as Nonoalco Tlatelolco and the building in the Juárez district where the Warsaw Theater is located, which has analogues and acoustics suitable for its theater. 9×10 square metres, technical equipment from bars, lights, a projector and a screen, explains Gonzalez.
“It’s a theater, not a converted garage, not a house, not an apartment. Mario Bunny envisioned in 1959 that there would be a space for culture in this building that would nurture multifamily homes and neighborhood dynamics. It is a national heritage property, cataloged by Inbal“, he added.
“I inquired of teachers and neighbours, and there is no previous record of theatrical or theatrical performances in general in this space; it was used for union, administrative, and office meetings. It was very far from its origin, but we shall make it theatrical for the first time”; Gonzalez points out.
the first show
This Thursday, March 3, at 8:00 p.m. the curtain goes up with choreography 20:21the company Ouroboros scenery which won the Guillermo Arriaga National Dance Award from Inbal-UAM. The multidisciplinary show will be presented on Friday 4 March and Saturday 5 March at 9:00 pm and on Sunday 6 March at 6:00 pm red fish memorywritten by Jaime Camarena, who identifies it as the Comedy Globe, with a play by Jose Alberto Gallardo and starring Emmanuel Sanders.
On the same Sunday 6, at 1:00 p.m., Baraka Banda Mexican band that performs music from Egypt, Turkey, Afghanistan, Algeria and other countries in the Middle East
In this regard, Camarena explains that his company has more than 25 years of experience and an engineer to study quarry, In the La Tabacalera district, he has always chosen the innovative work of dance, new spaces and expressions, which he is pleased to patronize for the Warsaw Theatre.
On red fish memory It offers an interdisciplinary piece about failure.
“With great humor, it forms a reflection of that deep imprint of failure and loneliness, based on a dialogue – a monologue between the protagonist and his pet, a red fish, as they play chess,” explains Camarena, who has been collaborating for decades. Prior to that with Gonzalez and distinguished.
Later, from March 11 to 27, the Warsaw Theater will host the meeting New dance, new musicDirected by Consuelo Sanchez Salas. She will attend the cabaret with Astrid Haddad on the 8th, 9th, 15th and 16th of April.
It will also be served tree nowWritten by Arturo Serrano, 5PA Brass Ensemble, for Martin Hernandez Sanchez, performances by La Calavera and Marin Loivano Orchestra, and choreography secret happinessWritten by Ignacio Pereda and Anna Paola Riccaldi, among many other scenic expressions.
Tickets can be purchased at the box office or Ticketmaster and the bulletin board can be found on the social networks of the Warsaw Theater and Unlimited: @teatrovarsovia and LaInfinitaCia on Facebook
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