Copi
Encyclopedia
Raúl Damonte Botana better known by the nom de plume Copi (for "copito de nieve", Spanish for "little snowflake"), was an Argentine
writer, cartoonist, and playwright who spent most of his career in Paris
.
. His maternal grandfather was the journalist Natalio Félix Botana and his father was the journalist Raúl Damonte Taborda, an antiperonist Radical
politician and director of the journal Tribuna Popular. Raúl showed an early talent for drawing and, from his adolescence, contributed caricatures to his father's publication and to the satirical magazine Tía Vicenta.
His father's political activities forced the family into exile in Uruguay
, Haiti
, and later New York
. He finally settled in Paris, where he embarked on a career as a cartoonist for such newspapers as Le Nouvel Observateur
. His most notable character during this period was La Femme assise, The Sitting Woman.
He was a member of Tse, an association of Franco-Argentine artists with whom in 1969 he staged a biographical play about Eva Perón
. His theatrical works, influenced by Samuel Beckett
, are characterized by the failure of characters to communicate.
Copi also collaborated with the avant-garde group Pánico, which included Fernando Arrabal
, Roland Topor
, and Alejandro Jodorowsky
.
Copi contributed cartoons to the magazine Gai Pied
.
He died of an AIDS-related illness in 1987, at the age of 48.
The Argentine writer César Aira
, who wrote an essay on Copi, has given lectures on his works in the Ricardo Rojas Cultural Center and is credited with popularizing Copi in Argentina. His posthumous reputation is based largely on his plays, stories, and novels.
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
writer, cartoonist, and playwright who spent most of his career in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.
Biography
Damonte spent most of his youth in MontevideoMontevideo
Montevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento...
. His maternal grandfather was the journalist Natalio Félix Botana and his father was the journalist Raúl Damonte Taborda, an antiperonist Radical
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...
politician and director of the journal Tribuna Popular. Raúl showed an early talent for drawing and, from his adolescence, contributed caricatures to his father's publication and to the satirical magazine Tía Vicenta.
His father's political activities forced the family into exile in Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
, Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
, and later New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. He finally settled in Paris, where he embarked on a career as a cartoonist for such newspapers as Le Nouvel Observateur
Le Nouvel Observateur
Le Nouvel Observateur is a weekly French newsmagazine. Based in Paris, it is the most prominent French general information magazine in terms of audience and circulation ....
. His most notable character during this period was La Femme assise, The Sitting Woman.
He was a member of Tse, an association of Franco-Argentine artists with whom in 1969 he staged a biographical play about Eva Perón
Eva Perón
María Eva Duarte de Perón was the second wife of President Juan Perón and served as the First Lady of Argentina from 1946 until her death in 1952. She is often referred to as simply Eva Perón, or by the affectionate Spanish language diminutive Evita.She was born in the village of Los Toldos in...
. His theatrical works, influenced by Samuel Beckett
Samuel Beckett
Samuel Barclay Beckett was an Irish avant-garde novelist, playwright, theatre director, and poet. He wrote both in English and French. His work offers a bleak, tragicomic outlook on human nature, often coupled with black comedy and gallows humour.Beckett is widely regarded as among the most...
, are characterized by the failure of characters to communicate.
Copi also collaborated with the avant-garde group Pánico, which included Fernando Arrabal
Fernando Arrabal
Fernando Arrabal Terán is a Spanish playwright, screenwriter, film director, novelist and poet. He settled in France in 1955, he describes himself as “desterrado,” or “half-expatriate, half-exiled.”...
, Roland Topor
Roland Topor
Roland Topor , was a French illustrator, painter, writer and filmmaker, known for the surreal nature of his work...
, and Alejandro Jodorowsky
Alejandro Jodorowsky
Alejandro Jodorowsky Prullansky, known as Alejandro Jodorowsky, is a Chilean filmmaker, playwright, actor, author, comic book writer and spiritual guru...
.
Copi contributed cartoons to the magazine Gai Pied
Gai pied
Gai pied or Gai pied hebdo was a monthly French gay magazine, founded by Jean Le Bitoux. Its name, which literally means "Gay foot", is a homophone of guêpier, which means a hornet's nest or, figuratively, a trap or pitfall — a reference to the magazine's determination to torment the...
.
He died of an AIDS-related illness in 1987, at the age of 48.
The Argentine writer César Aira
César Aira
César Aira is an Argentine writer and translator, and an exponent of Argentine contemporary literature. He has published over fifty books of stories, novels and essays...
, who wrote an essay on Copi, has given lectures on his works in the Ricardo Rojas Cultural Center and is credited with popularizing Copi in Argentina. His posthumous reputation is based largely on his plays, stories, and novels.
Novels
- L'Uruguayen, Christian Bourgois, 1973
- Le bal des folles, Christian Bourgois, 1977
- Une langouste pour deux, Christian Bourgois, 1978
- La cité des rats, Belfond, 1979
- La vida es un tango, Anagrama, 1981(his only finished novel in Spanish)
- La guerre des pédés, Albin Michel, 1982 (written in Spanish but unedited)
- Virginia Woolf a encore frappé, Persona, 1983
- L'Internationale argentine, Belfond, 1988
Theater
- Un ángel para la señora Lisca, Buenos Aires, directed by Copi, 1962.
- Sainte Geneviève dans sa baignoire, Le Bilboquet, directed by Jorge LavelliJorge LavelliJorge Lavelli is a French theater director of Italian ethnicity and Argentine origin.The son of Italian immigrants in Argentina, Lavelli has lived in France since the early 1960s. He became a French citizen in 1977....
, 1966. - L'alligator, le thé, International festival of UNEF, directed by Jérome SavaryJérôme SavaryJérôme Savary is a French theater director and actor. His work has democratized and widened the appeal of musical theater in France, drawing together and blending such genres as opera, operetta, and musical comedy.- Biography :...
, 1966. - La journée d'une rêveuse, Theater of Lutèce, directed by Jorge Lavelli, 1968.
- Eva Perón, Theater of l'Épée-de-Bois, directed by Alfredo Arias, 1970.
- L'homosexuel ou la difficulté de s'exprimer, City University Theater, directed by Jorge Lavelli, 1971. Spanish title: El homosexual, o la dificultad de expresarse.
- Les quatre jumelles, Le Palace, directed by Jorge Lavelli, 1973.
- Loretta Strong, Theater of the Gaïté MontparnasseThéâtre de la Gaîté-MontparnasseThe Théâtre de la Gaîté-Montparnasse is a venue situated at 26, rue de la Gaîté, in the Montparnasse quarter of Paris, in the 14th arrondissement...
, directed by Javier Botana, 1974. - La Pyramide, Le Palace, directed by Copi, 1975.
- La coupe du monde, Le Sélénite, directed by Copi, 1975.
- L'ombre de Venceslao, Festival de la Rochelle, directed by Jérome Savary, 1978.
- La Tour de la Défense, Teatro Fontaine, directed by Claude ConfortèsClaude ConfortèsClaude Confortès is a French director for stage and film and actor. As an actor he starred in Yves Robert's War of the Buttons in 1962.-External links:...
, 1981. - Le Frigo, Fontaine Theater, 1983.
- La nuit de Madame Lucienne, Avignon Festival, directed by Jorge Lavelli, 1985.
- Une visite inopportune, Théâtre de la Colline, directed by Jorge Lavelli, 1988.
- Les escaliers du Sacré-cœur, Aubervilliers Theater, directed by Alfredo Arias, 1990.
- Une visite inopportune Konex Theatre Buenos AiresBuenos AiresBuenos 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...
,directed by Stephan Druet with Moria CasanMoria CasánMoria Casán is an Argentine actress, television host, producer, media personality and vedette. Her Net worth estimated in $300 million. She is one of the most important women in Argentine show. She has a long career in cinema, theatre and television.- Career :Casán was born in Buenos Aires...
,2009
Comics
- Le dernier salon où l'on cause, Ediciones de Square.
- Et moi, pourquoi j'ai pas de banane?, Ediciones de Square, 1975.
- Les vieilles putes, Editions du Square, 1977. Italian title: Storie puttanesche, Mondadori, Milan 1979.
- Le monde fantastique des gays 1986. Italian title: Il fantastico mondo dei gay... e delle loro mamme!, Glénat Italia, Milan 1987.
- La femme assise, Stock, 2002.
- Un livre blanc, Buchet-Castel, 2002. Italian title: Un libro bianco.
- Les poulets n'ont pas de chaises. Italian title: I polli non hanno sedie, Glénat Italia, 1988. ISBN 88-7811-015-9.
Opera
- Les quatre jumelles, composed by Régis CampoRégis Campo- Biography :Born in Marseille in 1968, Régis Campo is one of France’s best-known young composers. His music possesses a distinct rhythmic energy and vitality, is highly melodic, and possesses a certain humour that found in the work of French composers such as Janequin, Rameau, Couperin, Satie or...
, premièred in Nanterre, France, Jan. 2009 - Cachafaz, composed by Oscar StrasnoyOscar StrasnoyOscar Strasnoy is a French-Argentine composer, conductor and pianist. Although primarily known for his nine stage works, the first of which Midea premiered in Spoleto in 2000, his principal compositions also include a secular cantata and several song cycles.-Career:Oscar Strasnoy was born in...
, premièred in Quimper, France, Nov. 2010