THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY AND NYC’S REPERTORIO ESPAÑOL PRESENT GABRIEL GARCÍA MÁRQUEZ’S ‘CHRONICLE OF A DEATH FORETOLD’

"Hypnotizing! Poetic!" -The Village Voice

Columbus, OH — New York City’s Repertorio Español makes its Columbus debut Friday, October 12, at 7:30 p.m. at The Ohio State University’s Wexner Center Mershon Auditorium, when it will present famed Colombian author Gabriel García Márquez’s “Crónica de una Muerte Anunciada” (Chronicle of a Death Foretold).
The production brings to life one of García Márquez’s best known works that displays his brilliance. Chronicle of a Death Foretold is a murder mystery and also an exploration of human nature and the power of the collective over the individual. The recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1982, García Márquez is one of the leading Latin American authors of our time. The production company, Repertorio Español, includes actors with roots in Colombia, Argentina, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic.
Chronicle of a Death Foretold will provide a unique opportunity to enjoy a live theatrical performance in Columbus staged completely in Spanish, with an audio English translation available with special headphones, which can be requested at the time of ticket purchase. Repertorio Español was founded in 1968 and has made it its mission to bring theatre to broad audiences. The event is organized by the Hispanic/Latino community at The Ohio State University in an effort to provide diverse Latino experiences for the university community and Central Ohio.

Tickets are $10 for the general public and $2 for students, and are available now at the Wexner Center (614-292-3535) and Ticketmaster (614-431-3600).

Following the performance, the Columbus Dispatch’s Spanish publication, Fronteras de la Noticia, will be hosting their second anniversary party in the neighboring Wexner Center. Live music and a cash bar will be available. Admission is free.

ABOUT REPERTORIO ESPAÑOL
Repertorio Español was founded in 1968 by Producer Gilberto Zaldivar and Artistic Director René Buch to introduce the best of Latin American, Spanish and Hispanic-American theatre in distinctive, quality productions, and to bring theatre to a broad audience in New York City and across the country, including seniors, students, and Hispanics of all national backgrounds. Robert Weber Federico joined the company two years later as Resident Designer and Associate Artistic Producer and is currently the organization’s Executive Director.

For more information, visit www.repertorio.org

ABOUT GABRIEL GARCÍA MÁRQUEZ
Gabriel García Márquez is a Colombian novelist, journalist, publisher, political activist, and one of the best known Latin American writers of all time. He was born in the northern Colombian town of Aracataca on March 6, 1928.
In 1967, García Márquez published his most famous work, Cien Años de Soledad (One Hundred Years of Solitude) and was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1982. By the end of the 20th century, Cien Años de Soledad had sold more than 10 million copies in 30 different languages.

EVENT SUPPORT
Chronicle of a Death Foretold is presented by the Hispanic/Latino Community at The Ohio State University.
Major support for Chronicle of a Death Foretold is provided by the following Ohio State University units: Hispanic Oversight Committee, Organization of Hispanic/Faculty & Staff, Office of Minority Affairs, Facilities Operations & Development, Department of Athletics, The College of the Arts, Office of Student Affairs, and the Wexner Center for the Arts.
Promotional support provided by Fronteras de la Noticia.

SYNOPSIS

Chronicle of a Death Foretold is set against the backdrop of a small Colombian town and explores the chain of events, false accusations, petty errors and biases that lead to the unnecessary, yet pre-determined murder of a young man. It is a tightly woven tale that reflects García Márquez’s inimitable spin on “magic realism”, exploring the antiquated moral codes, the conspiracy of silence, and the explosive issues of race and class that lead the story to its tragic ending.

" There had never been a death more foretold...”

A spectacular wedding is followed by a stunning scandal and a savage murder to which everyone in a small Latin American town is an accomplice to the crime. The harrowing action that shapes this riveting and startling story is the murder of Santiago Nasar by the Vicario Brothers in a “legitimate defense” of their sister’s honor. Gabriel García Márquez brilliantly conceives a murder that stands as one of the best and most powerfully rendered.

When Angela Vicario’s husband, Bayardo San Román, discovers his bride’s lost virginity the night of their wedding, he returns her to the house of her mother, as is his right. She is considered “damaged goods”, a disgrace to her family’s name, and so her mother beats her for hours. When questioned, Angela Vicario names Santiago Nasar as the “perpetrator.” This begins a chain of events that leads to Santiago’s eventual murder.

Angela’s twin brothers, Pedro and Pablo - pig butchers by trade - pick up their tools and set out to revenge their sister’s lost honor. Drunk from the wedding festivities, and announcing their intentions all over town, the sleepless pair at last meet up with Santiago in the early morning hours. Santiago seems unable to protect himself from attack. With the local bishop’s boat passing by in the background, against an ominous chorus of crowing cocks and barking dogs, in the blinding white light of day, the murderers move in on their victim. When the attack begins there are many witnesses, none of whom try to stop it. Santiago’s cries resound as the Vicario brothers keep knifing him with alternate stabs. After the final stabs, Santiago rises, enters the house of his mother and falls.

Through a series of flashbacks, detailed circumstances of the murder are retraced and innumerable moments are revealed in which the right word or the right action from the villagers could have prevented the murder from occurring. In the end, the question of whether Santiago Nasar actually deserved his fate remains unanswered, leaving one with a strange sense of inevitability and passions gone terribly wrong.