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Emilio Carballido (1925-2008)
was born in Córdoba-Veracruz. He
has been the most-loved and admired playwright in Mexico for many years; a
pillar of contemporary theater. Through his plays, which go from the
specific to the universal, one could reconstruct a great part of the history
of his country of birth; especially from 1940 on. Besides being a
playwright, he is also a novelist; the last of which, Las Visitaciones
del Diablo (Visits with the Devil) is being translated to the silver
screen. He also wrote TV scripts, and he took great pride in being a mentor
to young playwrights. Since 1975, when he founded it, he was the editor of
the magazine Tramoya. He wrote dozens of plays, without counting his
numerous ‘Estampas’ or short scenes, of which there were more than
30. He experimented with all sorts of styles, from auto-da-fés to farse,
and including extreme realism. Among his works are Rosalba y los Llaveros
(Rosalba and the Key Rings) first produced in 1950; Medusa,
Felicidad (Happiness – Juan Ruiz de Alarcón Prize), Un Pequeño
Día de Ira (A Short Day of Rage – Casa de las Américas Award);
Silencio, Pollos Pelones, Ya Les Van a Echar Maíz (Quiet, Bald
Chicken, You’ll Soon Get Some Corn); Hombre (Man) No. 31; El
Relojero de Cordoba (The Watchmaker of Cordoba); El Día Que
Soltaron Los Leones (The Day They Freed the Lions); Te Juro,
Juana, Que Tengo Ganas (Honestly, Juana, I Really Wanna); Las
Cartas de Mozart (Mozart’s Letters); D.F. 26 Obras en un Acto
(D.F. 26 One-Act Plays); Fotografías en la Playa (Photographs on
the Beach) and many more. He received the National Prize for Literature
in 1996, and in 2002 he was received into the Mexican Academy of Arts,
having been honored by numerous cultural institutions and universities. His
plays have been presented throughout the Spanish-speaking world, and have
also been performed in France, Germany, Switzerland and Belgium.
Carballido’s contribution to Mexico’s culture is invaluable and occupies the
highest niche of realism and Mexican way of life. |
