As part of the celebration of the National Hispanic Heritage Month, Repertorio Español presented Crónica de Una Muerte Anunciada (Chronicle of a Death Foretold) at The Ohio State University on Oct. 12, 2007. Described as a “drama without borders” by Columbus Alive, the play captivated the interest of approximately 1,200 people, including OSU President Dr. Gordon Gee and Latin@ student leaders, who enjoyed this special cultural evening at the Mershon Auditorium. The play was complemented afterwards by Latin refreshments, music and dance at the Wexner Center.
A few hours before the curtains rose, ¿Que Pasa, OSU? staff talked to José Cruz, Repertorio Español’s Associate Producer, who could not hide his excitement of being at Ohio State. “The company mostly performs for small audiences,” Cruz said. “But no matter how long you have performed for, actors will always want to leave the best impression, especially in front of an audience as large as the expected for tonight.” The home of Repertorio Español, one of the few true repertoire companies in the United States, is The Gramercy Arts Theatre in New York City’s East 27th Street. Intimate, yet beautiful, this 140-seat facility is the witness of more than 350 performances per year to audiences that range from middle and high-school students to sophisticated theater-goers.
Resulting from the efforts of the Hispanic faculty, staff, and student leadership, with the collaboration of various offices in the university, Crónica de Una Muerte Anunciada helped promote Latin@ culture in the university community. With great student support and a very positive response was proof of the success of this cultural event --over 50 percent of attendees were students and more than half of those who completed the survey agreed that the play surpassed their expectations.
“We do not want to be panfleteros (cheap advertisers) or to tell the audience what to think; what we strive for is to inspire conversations and trigger discussions about diversity and Latino theatre.”
A festive environment welcomed people from central Ohio who came to enjoy the play and the opportunity to interact with friends, students, faculty and staff. Some even had the opportunity to get to meet the actors and even dance with them to live music. It was encouraging to see an audience of Latin@ families blended with a large number of non-Latinos taking advantage of the available English translation through headphones.
“Crónica is a beautiful play to watch,” Cruz declared. “We hope the audience enjoys this complex combination of humor, violence and passion.” Crónica de Una Muerte Anunciada was a difficult piece to stage because of the amount of light cues and the nature of the play itself, but that night everything came together wonderfully: the lights, costumes, sets, and of course the audience.
Crónica de Una Muerte Anunciada was a cultural happening that cannot be easily offered by other universities in Ohio. It unfolded as an example of how an initiative can flourish through the effort of university organizations and the goal to have a Latin@ cultural event of impact. This is a proof that at Ohio State great things can and do happen.
Repertorio Español will be celebrating its 40th Anniversary this year. Its mission is to present the best theater in Spanish from Spain and Latin American. Every year the company hosts a competition where more than 100 scripts are submitted for review; only one or two make it to the stage. Some of their most acclaimed works include la Fiesta del Chivo (The Feast of the Goat) described by the New York Times “among the best off-Broadway plays of the season”, adaptations of Federico García Lorca’s El Público (The audience) and La Casa de Bernarda Alba (The house of Bernarda Alba); Te juro, Juana que tengo ganas (I swear to you Jane, I have an itch for you) by Emilio Carballido; and La gringa, among other classics
