Carlos Gorostiza
Encyclopedia
Carlos Gorostiza is a prominent Argentine playwright, theatre director and novelist.
borough of Palermo
. He and an older brother enjoyed a happy early childhood until, in 1926, their father, Fermín Gorostiza (among the first Argentines to receive a pilot's licence) abandoned the family. Mrs. Gorostiza, who took up employment with a clothing designer, and her two sons, who entered the labor force as children, gradually recovered from the setback and, in 1931, she remarried and had a daughter, María Esther, who went on to become a moderately successful actress under the pseudonym Analía Gadé
.
His stepfather, a playwright born in Spain
, introduced Carlos to the theatre and in 1943, he debuted his first work, a puppet show titled La clave encantada ("The Enchanted Key"). The show's draw allowed him to open a puppet theatre, La Estrella Grande ("Big Star") and he began frequenting the Máscara (Mask) Theatre, where he began a successful run as Creon
in their productions of the classic Greek tragedy, Antigone
. Encouraged by friends, he presented his first play at the Máscara Theatre in 1949, El puente ("The Bridge"). Capturing the tension between different social classes in Buenos Aires, the realist El puente drew partly on his own childhood experiences with his mother's fallen social status and secured his reputation in Buenos Aires' vibrant theatre scene. Produced in a professional version by director Armando Discépolo at the prestigious Argentine Theatre, El puente was adapted into a film version under Gorostiza's direction in 1950.
Following El puentes success, Gorostiza returned to theatre direction, though without the draw of spectators he had earlier enjoyed. Turning to work as a publicist for an ad agency whose chief customer was a laundry soap maker, his fame returned somewhat as a screenwriter for Julio Saraceni
's drama Marta Ferrari (1956) and when his play El pan de la locura ("The Bread of Madness") was produced at Buenos Aires' famed Cervantes Theatre
to acclaim in 1958. The tragedy won him the coveted Municipal and Argentores Prizes, awards that earned him an invitation to the Central University of Venezuela
Drama School in 1960, where he taught and co-wrote Los Caobos ("The Mahogany
Trees") with Juana Sujo. Returning to Argentina in 1964, he continued his academic experience as Professor of Drama at the University of Buenos Aires
, whereby he was honored with a Fullbright scholarship in 1966. His next play, the tragedy Los prójimos ("Fellow Men"), earned him a second Municipal Grand Prize in 1967.
Devoting himself mostly to teaching, Gorostiza produced only two new plays in the next decade. A novel published early in 1976 (Los cuartos oscuros - "The Voting Booths") yielded him a National Grand Prize for Literature. This, his first novel, coincided with the military coup that would usher in the most brutal Argentine dictatorship
of the 20th century; shortly thereafter, Gorostiza lost his tenure at the University of Buenos Aires.
Cautious but undeterred, Gorostiza published a second novel, Los hermanos queridos ("Dear Brothers"), in 1978. A subtle criticism of the era's climate of fear, it earned him another Municipal Grand Prize and National Grand Prize. A certain loosening of censorship in 1980 led his fellow playwright Osvaldo Dragún
to form a partnership with Gorostiza, writer Roberto Cossa
, actor Pepe Soriano
and others in an Argentine Open Theatre
in the hope of encouraging a further return of the freedom of expression whose absence had led so many other cultural figures to leave Argentina since 1975. Convering a shuttered sparkplug factory in the Balvanera
district of Buenos Aires to the "Picadero Theatre," they premiered a festival of their collective new works (including Gorostiza's El acompañamiento - "The Entourage") to acclaim on July 28, 1981. This success was marred by the theatre's fire bombing a week later, still an "unsolved mystery" (the Picadero reopened in 2001).
The return to democracy imminent following the tragic Falklands War
and economic collapse at the hand of the dictators' economists, Gorostiza produced "Killing Time" and "A Fire to Put Out" in 1982, plays which earned him another Argentores Prize and the Rotary Club's Silver Laurel. Elections
called for October 1983 drew Gorostiza to a progressive UCR
candidate, Raúl Alfonsín
. Facing a close contest with Peronist candidate Ítalo Lúder
and with elections but three months away, the UCR nominee was given a simple slogan by the former publicist: the alliterative Ahora, Alfonsín! Facing a harried timetable and with his candidate unable to break out in the polls, Gorostiza was struck by President Reynaldo Bignone
's snide dismissal of the historic elections as a "democratic way out," whereby he created ads appealing for votes for "more than a democratic way out...a way into life." Alfonsín won the 1983 election by a surprising 12-point margin, carrying majorities in Lower House of Congress.
Appointed Secretary of Culture by President Alfonsín upon taking office on December 10, he rescinded the National Film Rating Entity and devoted his time to the post, helping encourage a strong recovery in the theatre and cinema of Argentina
amid continuing economic malaise and budgetary scarcity. Frustrated by the post's limitations, he resigned amicably at the end of 1986. Gorostiza returned to writing, publishing a novella, collaborating on an acclaimed 1989 documentary of the Open Theatre and penning a nostalgic look at his brief time with his barnstorming
natural father, Aeroplanos. The 1990 play earned him numerous awards and reconnected him to his theatre audience.
Turning increasingly to the past, his sentimental 1994 play "Rear Patio" and 1999 historical novel Vuelan las Palomas ("Pigeons Fly") were less-well received, though Gorostiza retained his loyal following. His existentalist 2001 novel "Good People" was followed in 2004 by another tale of his own childhood curiosity, "The Masked Marauder." Gorostiza debuted his long-awaited El alma de papá ("Dad's Soul") in 2008. Starring Open Theatre colleague Jorge Rivera López in the title role, it continues Gorostiza's distinction as the dean of Argentine realist playwrights.
Life and work
Carlos Gorostiza was born to Basque Argentine parents in the upscale Buenos AiresBuenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
borough of Palermo
Palermo, Buenos Aires
Palermo is a neighborhood, or barrio of the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires. It is located in the northeast of the city, bordering the barrios of Belgrano to the north, Almagro and Recoleta to the south, Villa Crespo and Colegiales to the west and the Río de la Plata river to the east. With a total...
. He and an older brother enjoyed a happy early childhood until, in 1926, their father, Fermín Gorostiza (among the first Argentines to receive a pilot's licence) abandoned the family. Mrs. Gorostiza, who took up employment with a clothing designer, and her two sons, who entered the labor force as children, gradually recovered from the setback and, in 1931, she remarried and had a daughter, María Esther, who went on to become a moderately successful actress under the pseudonym Analía Gadé
Analía Gadé
Analía Gadé is an Argentine film actress. She appeared in over 60 films between 1948 and 2001. She appeared in the film Emergency Ward which was entered into the 1953 Cannes Film Festival.She was born in Córdoba, Argentina....
.
His stepfather, a playwright born in Spain
Spanish Argentine
Spanish settlement in Argentina, that is the arrival of Spanish emigrants in Argentina, took place firstly in the period before Argentina's independence from Spain, and again in large numbers during the late 19th and early 20th centuries...
, introduced Carlos to the theatre and in 1943, he debuted his first work, a puppet show titled La clave encantada ("The Enchanted Key"). The show's draw allowed him to open a puppet theatre, La Estrella Grande ("Big Star") and he began frequenting the Máscara (Mask) Theatre, where he began a successful run as Creon
Creon
Creon is a figure in Greek mythology best known as the ruler of Thebes in the legend of Oedipus. He had two children with his wife, Eurydice: Megareus and Haemon...
in their productions of the classic Greek tragedy, Antigone
Antigone
In Greek mythology, Antigone is the daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta, Oedipus' mother. The name may be taken to mean "unbending", coming from "anti-" and "-gon / -gony" , but has also been suggested to mean "opposed to motherhood", "in place of a mother", or "anti-generative", based from the root...
. Encouraged by friends, he presented his first play at the Máscara Theatre in 1949, El puente ("The Bridge"). Capturing the tension between different social classes in Buenos Aires, the realist El puente drew partly on his own childhood experiences with his mother's fallen social status and secured his reputation in Buenos Aires' vibrant theatre scene. Produced in a professional version by director Armando Discépolo at the prestigious Argentine Theatre, El puente was adapted into a film version under Gorostiza's direction in 1950.
Following El puentes success, Gorostiza returned to theatre direction, though without the draw of spectators he had earlier enjoyed. Turning to work as a publicist for an ad agency whose chief customer was a laundry soap maker, his fame returned somewhat as a screenwriter for Julio Saraceni
Julio Saraceni
Julio Saraceni was a prolific Argentine film director whose career in the Cinema of Argentina as a movie director spanned six decades....
's drama Marta Ferrari (1956) and when his play El pan de la locura ("The Bread of Madness") was produced at Buenos Aires' famed Cervantes Theatre
Cervantes Theatre (Buenos Aires)
The Cervantes National Theatre in Buenos Aires is the national stage and comedy theatre of Argentina.-History:The Cervantes Theatre of Buenos Aires owes its existence, in part, to the 1897 relocation to Argentina of Spanish theatre producer María Guerrero and her company, who popularized...
to acclaim in 1958. The tragedy won him the coveted Municipal and Argentores Prizes, awards that earned him an invitation to the Central University of Venezuela
Central University of Venezuela
The Central University of Venezuela is a premier public University of Venezuela located in Caracas...
Drama School in 1960, where he taught and co-wrote Los Caobos ("The Mahogany
Mahogany
The name mahogany is used when referring to numerous varieties of dark-colored hardwood. It is a native American word originally used for the wood of the species Swietenia mahagoni, known as West Indian or Cuban mahogany....
Trees") with Juana Sujo. Returning to Argentina in 1964, he continued his academic experience as Professor of Drama at the University of Buenos Aires
University of Buenos Aires
The University of Buenos Aires is the largest university in Argentina and the largest university by enrollment in Latin America. Founded on August 12, 1821 in the city of Buenos Aires, it consists of 13 faculties, 6 hospitals, 10 museums and is linked to 4 high schools: Colegio Nacional de Buenos...
, whereby he was honored with a Fullbright scholarship in 1966. His next play, the tragedy Los prójimos ("Fellow Men"), earned him a second Municipal Grand Prize in 1967.
Devoting himself mostly to teaching, Gorostiza produced only two new plays in the next decade. A novel published early in 1976 (Los cuartos oscuros - "The Voting Booths") yielded him a National Grand Prize for Literature. This, his first novel, coincided with the military coup that would usher in the most brutal Argentine dictatorship
National Reorganization Process
The National Reorganization Process was the name used by its leaders for the military government that ruled Argentina from 1976 to 1983. In Argentina it is often known simply as la última junta militar or la última dictadura , because several of them existed throughout its history.The Argentine...
of the 20th century; shortly thereafter, Gorostiza lost his tenure at the University of Buenos Aires.
Cautious but undeterred, Gorostiza published a second novel, Los hermanos queridos ("Dear Brothers"), in 1978. A subtle criticism of the era's climate of fear, it earned him another Municipal Grand Prize and National Grand Prize. A certain loosening of censorship in 1980 led his fellow playwright Osvaldo Dragún
Osvaldo Dragún
Osvaldo Dragún was a prominent Argentine playwright and theatre director.-Life and work:Osvaldo Dragún was born in Colonia Berro, a Jewish agricultural settlement in Entre Ríos Province, Argentina. After his father's linseed farm suffered from recurrent locust problems, the family left the...
to form a partnership with Gorostiza, writer Roberto Cossa
Roberto Cossa
Roberto Cossa is a prominent Argentine playwright and theatre director.-Life and work:Roberto Cossa was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and raised in the quiet residential borough of Villa del Parque. He first performed in theatre at the age of 17 and, in 1957, he and friends founded the San...
, actor Pepe Soriano
Pepe Soriano
Pepe Soriano is a prominent Argentine actor and playwright.-Life and work:Soriano was born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina...
and others in an Argentine Open Theatre
Argentine Open Theatre
The Argentine Open Theatre was an independent theatre company in Buenos Aires, Argentina.-Origins:The theatre in Argentina had developed alongside the nation's emergence as a modern economy in the late 19th and early 20th centuries...
in the hope of encouraging a further return of the freedom of expression whose absence had led so many other cultural figures to leave Argentina since 1975. Convering a shuttered sparkplug factory in the Balvanera
Balvanera
Balvanera is a neighborhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina.-Origin of Name and Alternative Names:The official name, Balvanera, is the name of the parroquia centered around the church of Nuestra Señora de Balvanera, erected in 1831.The zone around Corrientes avenue is known as Once after Plaza Once de...
district of Buenos Aires to the "Picadero Theatre," they premiered a festival of their collective new works (including Gorostiza's El acompañamiento - "The Entourage") to acclaim on July 28, 1981. This success was marred by the theatre's fire bombing a week later, still an "unsolved mystery" (the Picadero reopened in 2001).
The return to democracy imminent following the tragic Falklands War
Falklands War
The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...
and economic collapse at the hand of the dictators' economists, Gorostiza produced "Killing Time" and "A Fire to Put Out" in 1982, plays which earned him another Argentores Prize and the Rotary Club's Silver Laurel. Elections
Argentine general election, 1983
The Argentine general election of 1983 was held on 30 October and marked the return of Democracy after the 1976's dictatorship self-known as National Reorganization Process...
called for October 1983 drew Gorostiza to a progressive UCR
Radical Civic Union
The Radical Civic Union is a political party in Argentina. The party's positions on issues range from liberal to social democratic. The UCR is a member of the Socialist International. Founded in 1891 by radical liberals, it is the oldest political party active in Argentina...
candidate, Raúl Alfonsín
Raúl Alfonsín
Raúl Ricardo Alfonsín was an Argentine lawyer, politician and statesman, who served as the President of Argentina from December 10, 1983, to July 8, 1989. Alfonsín was the first democratically-elected president of Argentina following the military government known as the National Reorganization...
. Facing a close contest with Peronist candidate Ítalo Lúder
Ítalo Argentino Lúder
Ítalo Argentino Lúder was an Argentinian politician who served as the acting President of Argentina from September 13, 1975 until October 16, 1975, for Isabel Perón....
and with elections but three months away, the UCR nominee was given a simple slogan by the former publicist: the alliterative Ahora, Alfonsín! Facing a harried timetable and with his candidate unable to break out in the polls, Gorostiza was struck by President Reynaldo Bignone
Reynaldo Bignone
Reynaldo Benito Antonio Bignone is an Argentine general who served as dictatorial President of Argentina from July 1, 1982 to December 10, 1983. In 2010, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison for his role in the kidnappings, torture, and murders of the Dirty War.-Early career:Reynaldo Benito...
's snide dismissal of the historic elections as a "democratic way out," whereby he created ads appealing for votes for "more than a democratic way out...a way into life." Alfonsín won the 1983 election by a surprising 12-point margin, carrying majorities in Lower House of Congress.
Appointed Secretary of Culture by President Alfonsín upon taking office on December 10, he rescinded the National Film Rating Entity and devoted his time to the post, helping encourage a strong recovery in the theatre and cinema of Argentina
Cinema of Argentina
The cinema of Argentina has a tradition dating back to the late nineteenth century, and continues to play a role in the culture of Argentina....
amid continuing economic malaise and budgetary scarcity. Frustrated by the post's limitations, he resigned amicably at the end of 1986. Gorostiza returned to writing, publishing a novella, collaborating on an acclaimed 1989 documentary of the Open Theatre and penning a nostalgic look at his brief time with his barnstorming
Barnstorming
Barnstorming was a popular form of entertainment in the 1920s in which stunt pilots would perform tricks with airplanes, either individually or in groups called a flying circus. Barnstorming was the first major form of civil aviation in the history of flight...
natural father, Aeroplanos. The 1990 play earned him numerous awards and reconnected him to his theatre audience.
Turning increasingly to the past, his sentimental 1994 play "Rear Patio" and 1999 historical novel Vuelan las Palomas ("Pigeons Fly") were less-well received, though Gorostiza retained his loyal following. His existentalist 2001 novel "Good People" was followed in 2004 by another tale of his own childhood curiosity, "The Masked Marauder." Gorostiza debuted his long-awaited El alma de papá ("Dad's Soul") in 2008. Starring Open Theatre colleague Jorge Rivera López in the title role, it continues Gorostiza's distinction as the dean of Argentine realist playwrights.