Rodolfo Usigli
Encyclopedia
Rodolfo Usigli was a Mexican
playwright. He was called the "playwright of the Mexican Revolution
."
Usigli born to an Italian
father and a Polish
mother in Mexico City
. He studied drama at Yale
from 1935-1936 on a Rockefeller scholarship, later becoming a professor and diplomat. During the 1930s, he directed radio drama
s.
His 1938 play El gesticulador
was perhaps the only play ever to be censored
by the Mexican government for political reasons.
The award-winning Usigli believed the objective of theatre was to tell the truth about society. He was known for his strong representation of women in plays.
Usigli designed strong female characters in several of his plays. Two of Usigli's protégées, Rosario Castellanos
and Luisa Josefina Hernández, became important female voices on the Mexican stage. Ha was also a strong influence on his pupil Jorge Ibargüengoitia
and on Josefina Niggli
.
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
playwright. He was called the "playwright of the Mexican Revolution
Mexican Revolution
The Mexican Revolution was a major armed struggle that started in 1910, with an uprising led by Francisco I. Madero against longtime autocrat Porfirio Díaz. The Revolution was characterized by several socialist, liberal, anarchist, populist, and agrarianist movements. Over time the Revolution...
."
Usigli born to an Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
father and a Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
mother in Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
. He studied drama at Yale
YALE
RapidMiner, formerly YALE , is an environment for machine learning, data mining, text mining, predictive analytics, and business analytics. It is used for research, education, training, rapid prototyping, application development, and industrial applications...
from 1935-1936 on a Rockefeller scholarship, later becoming a professor and diplomat. During the 1930s, he directed radio drama
Radio drama
Radio drama is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance, broadcast on radio or published on audio media, such as tape or CD. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine the characters and story...
s.
His 1938 play El gesticulador
El gesticulador
El gesticulador is a 1938 play by Mexican dramatist Rodolfo Usigli.-Plot:The protagonist, César Rubio, is an unemployed professor who, in the aftermath of the Mexican Revolution, settles with his family in a small town in the north of Mexico. There, a professor from Harvard University confuses him...
was perhaps the only play ever to be censored
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
by the Mexican government for political reasons.
The award-winning Usigli believed the objective of theatre was to tell the truth about society. He was known for his strong representation of women in plays.
Usigli designed strong female characters in several of his plays. Two of Usigli's protégées, Rosario Castellanos
Rosario Castellanos
Rosario Castellanos was a Mexican poet and author. Along with the other members of the Generation of 1950 , she was one of Mexico's most important literary voices in the last century...
and Luisa Josefina Hernández, became important female voices on the Mexican stage. Ha was also a strong influence on his pupil Jorge Ibargüengoitia
Jorge Ibargüengoitia
Jorge Ibargüengoitia Antillón , was a Mexican novelist and playwright who achieved great popular success with his satires, three of which have appeared in English: Las Muertas , Dos Crimenes , and Los Relámpagos de Agosto Jorge Ibargüengoitia Antillón (Guanajuato, Mexico, January 22, 1928 -...
and on Josefina Niggli
Josefina Niggli
Josefina Niggli was a Mexican-born Anglo-American playwright and novelist. Writing about Mexican-American issues in the middle years of the century, before the rise of the Chicano movement, she was the first and, for a time, the only Mexican American writing in English on Mexican themes; her...
.