Photograph extracted from the short video "Un recuerdo en cuatro actos", directed by Omar Ramírez Casas (2012)
My last visit to Mexico City was in May 2011 and I went there for a very personal affair, even though I could save some time to meet my dear friend, the poet and video artist Omar Ramírez Casas.
Omar and I have talked about working together with our own video explorations for some years now, and this was a short but unique opportunity to do something we wanted. Without more preparations we decided one afternoon to go to plaza Río de Janeiro (Rio de Janeiro square) in la colonia Roma and play, as simply as that: he exploring with his camera and me exploring with my physical movement. After some random shots we headed to his home where we recorded some other scenes, and we finished the day drinking some mezcales at a bar in Mexico City downtown.
Omar Ramírez Casas during that video session recording in May 2011 (Photo by Gustavo Thomas. 2012)
During some time we interchange some mails with ideas and video and sound archives trying to finish something with the material recorded in May but, as it happens with many projects, the distance and our occupations left the time go.
It wasn't till August 15, 2012 that I received a private message from him sending me the link to the video I'm showing today in this post; this video was edited by Omar as a gift for my birthday (the next day, on August 16th). Omar, as the poet he is, knows how to work with images in different ways than the usual story-telling of other video film makers, and his work has a very interesting aura of mystery and novelty (from my point of view); I really like his interpretation of what we recorded last year without any planning.
I'm happy to be the origin of this creation and also very proud of being his colleague in it.
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If you have any interest in using any text, photograph or video from this Blog, for commercial use or not, please contact Gustavo Thomas at gustavothomastheatre@gmail.com.
Some days ago Alejandro Yustiaza, a former member of Esférica Ludens, sent to me a whole set of photographs of Antonio González Caballero at his home (and work place) in 1999.
There is something interesting in this set, aside of presenting more images of González Caballero the man, they show to us another González Caballero's home, the last one, in 20 de Noviembre Avenue, very close to the other one, both in México City Historic Downtown. We can see some of his paintings on the background of almost all the photographs of the set, and also we can get a glance of the last place he used to work at, giving lessons and transmitting his Acting Method.
At that moment González Caballero's body was very weak after suffering several complicated surgeries, and we see him thin and tired; his hands, under the skin, are almost bones and veins, very impressive.
In this post I only share those photographs showing González Caballero alone, next week I will post more, he having a conversation with me and giving lessons.
You will notice that there are some images a little bit dirty or with some scratches, that's because of the time and problems with the digitalization. Be kind.
On Wednesday February 11th 2009 I received an email from Ángeles León, a student at Antonio González Caballero's workshop during the nineties, in response to my post of February 10th 2009 about the apartment where González Caballero had lived for over 50 years and its mural paintings inside. This is the Ángeles León's mail (with the Spanish original):
"Hi Gustavo,
Greetings.
I'm Ángeles León. I studied under González Caballero from 1992-1996. I experienced the teacher's moving from Pino Suárez Avenue to 20 de Noviembre Avenue. I have a video with all the murals of the apartment at Pino Suárez.
I do not know if someone's already written to you about this, but the murals were destroyed by the building's owner. He even told that to the teacher personally, his words were "it gave us so much pleasure to destroy them, we threw paint, crap and more on them." Whether this is true or not, we were with our teacher in those days and we took it for true that the murals were destroyed. The teacher was depressed for several days. Then he started painting black and white pictures, where some of the faces were similar to those in the murals and the teacher himself said that they represented the suffering of the murals at the time of being destroyed. They were very expressive faces, grotesque and large. He made several paintings in that style.
The building was being renovated inside to turn it into a place to rent offices. Even the master used to greet the workers, until the turn to remodel his apartment arrived and that was when they took him out. After that, everything stopped, as you can imagine.
That's it. I send you a big hug.
Sincerely
Ángeles León
And it was not until a few weeks ago, nearly a year and a half later, that I received a new email from her announcing the digitization of the video she had mentioned before, and with that news the possibility to edit it and publish it on the Internet.
Why do I think this video is so important?
First of all it is a personal matter: González Caballero was my teacher and friend, and in many ways he also was a father to me. Furthermore, his apartment at 36th Pino Suárez Avenue was where I was educated in theatre for 9 years, it was the place where I learned acting, and the place where I decided to start writing and then to develop my own concepts of stage direction and my interest in researching about performing arts. What is impressive, I am sure, is that I was not the only one that experienced big changes there: generations of actors, playwrights and directors who passed by his acting workshop did, as well as friends and strangers seeking help in their professional work.
González Caballero's apartment was as peculiar as a place where an artist, a painter, a writer and a teacher has lived can be: a place that becomes home, meeting room, rehearsal room, painting and sculpture studio, art school, etc. Its rooms were galleries of paintings by González Caballero as well of paintings by his mother, who in the last 20 odd years of her life was entirely devoted to painting; he also had a small collection of original prehispanic pieces and paintings by other artists of his generation. In his dinning room there was a mural painting on two entire walls showing images that would be identified with the best of the so-called Mexican school of painting (Escuela mexicana de pintura), of which he was an heir. Other paintings had been done on the wall of the main hall too.
As it was explained in the mail from Ángeles León, those murals were destroyed; once González Caballero left that place, all that remained of them was scattered memories and some photographs.
For several years I have tried to gather visual information on all of Gonzalez Caballero's paintings, including those lost murals, and I have been able to publish a series of photographs in some sites like Picasa and Flickr, and I wrote a post in this Blog about the murals with photos by Lis Valadés, also a student at the acting workshop during the 90s.
So far there had been no more, till now.
"Atmósfera de lugar. El departamento de Antonio González Caballero en 1996" (Atmosphere of a place. Antonio González Caballero's apartment in 1996) is the name I have given to the edited version I made from the original video (digitized from a VHS) that Ángeles León gave to me. "Atmósfera de lugar" is also the name of one of the acting technique "Apoyos" that was taught in that apartment, and anyone that knows about it recognizes that there exists a world with the physical space we live or work in, as well as a history with the place that changes depending on the experiences with the place itself. The video, from my point of view, seeks to recreate the feeling the apartment left in all of those who were educated there, that somehow lived there, and that maintain an inner atmosphere of the place that made it so special.
In the eyes of a stranger unrelated to the work or to the person of González Caballero, this is a curious-eye walk through a unique place, and certainly an aid to those who want to venture into the knowledge of the life and work of this Mexican artist .
The music I used for editing the video is the work of "Bosques de mi mente" (www.bosquesdemimente.com), who very kindly accepted the invitation for his music inclusion. His musical pieces really fit into my idea of that atmosphere that is created in our physical and mental recall, and in conjunction with the video the images acquired great strength and depth.
Sharing some videos about a new theatrical production in Mexico City: Cabaret Pánico (based in texts by Alexandro Jodorowsky), by El Mago, a group of dangerous criminals, inmates in one of Mexico City Prisons.
You will see the BBC note (following the link bellow) and then the whole premier performance that took place last December.
Second post on the interview I conducted with Guadalupe Durón in Mexico City’s Historic Center on December 28th, 2008 (See introduction to the interview at the post published on 02/02/2009).
I do not transcribe my questions to Durón (they were simply invitations to speak about the method and about his experience with the teachings of Antonio González Caballero), I preferred to present only the actor’s words. I consider these words as a testimony and a raw document; therefore, I did not edit the video nor looked for adding coherence to it. Beyond Duron’s colloquial speech and his unique way of using grammar, there is his personal experience as an actor, and in the swirl of phrases we can find some "keys" to understanding the González Caballero’s Acting Method.
Durón, with his peculiar style of narrating his experiences, brought back with memories of exercises with the "Elements" at González Caballero’s laboratory, this time narrating an exercise of the “Air Element” (Elemento Aire). The "Element" is one of the main (or basic) supports (apoyos) within the acting method.
Since Durón speaks in Spanish, Tadeo Berjón helped me to make a free translation of Duron's speech to English:
"I remember his exercises (referring to Gonzalez Caballero), one people criticised me a lot for because… I was fascinated by it, because it was about an element I liked a lot, Air ... Because it is very volatile, because even if it runs into a wall it goes up or down and spreads to the sides, and whatever.
"So, he guided us, … First, he used to say ...: -" Come on, concentrate "- blah, blah blah blah. And then he would start feeding us: -" OK, let's make this element "- Of course! at that time they were... we were, like, beginners, because those were pure elements (basic), and after then they were mixed, and blah blah blah.
"So, er, that time, I remember he gave us Air (the element). (He laughs) And then something very curious happened, I started feeling very agile; yes, and I don't know how, don't ask me. I was walking and moving all over the place because... it was an old house, where we did the exercises - we had had many working spaces, blah blah blah. And that time it was an old house, from the 20s or 30s maybe. - And then there was a big staircase, - well, when you compare it with what the make nowadays.
"Then, I remember I started to feel very very light, and the teacher says: -" OK, now the wind in the desert; OK, now the wind is in the mountains; OK, now the wind is in a field, in the plains,... No it's like this, now it's like that..." - then we would respond to these impulses (indications) that he would give, so I ended up crazy afterwards, and I and I don't know ... There was a little column at the base of the stairs, very small, about 30 centimetres tall, whatever. To follow the banister then ... don't ask me how but suddenly I was... as it no longer had ... these stairs, how do you call it?, (these) little columns used to have a lamp, a carved figure on top, and there were none. Well, I ended up on those thirty centimetres, standing, pretending to be a statue, and it felt wonderful.
"Afterwards ... (he laughs) ... er..., I had fun because they said: -" Ah, ah, ah, that's what you always do! You want to be very volatile, you this and you that ..."- But no, personal volatility is one, that is, yes, I can, you know, run or walk or feel or do, but me, me! When you are given an element on purpose to work with, then no. The body's position changes, the mind changes, you do things that ... Like that with the little column, I mean, me, when! I have always suffered from (bad) balance, I mean, I can not play like the children on the rails of the railways or on the borders of ... of partitions. I've always been very awkward at doing that, and I was wondering: (he smiles) - "How the hell did I get onto those thirty centimeters and I didn't fall, if I have a lousy balance?" - Now, they say that having a lousy balance on scene is fantastic, as you can do what you want to.
"But I was surprised to have ended up on that small space and not fall, why? because the quality of the element, whichever they may be, fire, earth, air, water... it encourages imagination and you are something else; you're not... er... what you normally are! you change!, through the power of imagination, I mean, because it's a stimulus that although we are made from all the elements, when one of them predominates then you become someone else. That's that, as simple as that. "
Guadalupe Durón's original speech in Spanish:
"Recuerdo sobre sus ejercicios (en referencia a González Caballero) uno que me fue muy criticado porque a mí me fascinaba mucho, porque era sobre un elemento que a mí me gusta mucho, el aire, ...porque es muy volátil, porque aunque encuentre un muro sube o baja y se dispersa a los lados, y quien sabe qué.
"Entonces el guiaba,... primero nos ponía: -”A ver, concéntrense”-, blah, blah blah blah. Y luego nos empezaba a alimentar: -”A ver, vamos a hacer este elemento”- ¡Claro!, en aquél tiempo eran..., como éramos principiantes, pues eran elementos puros (básicos), luego ya se mezclan, y blah blah blah.
"Entonces, eh, esa vez, me acuerdo que nos dió el (elemento) Aire. (Ríe) Y entonces se dió algo muy curioso, yo me empecé a sentir muy ágil; sí, y no sé cómo, no me pregunten. Anduve desplazándome por todo el lugar, porque... Era una casa antigua donde hacíamos los ejercicios, -porque tuvimos varias sedes, blah, blah, blah. Y esa vez me tocó en una casa que era vieja, de los 20s o 30s quizá.- Y entonces había una escalera muy grande, -bueno, grande en base a las que se hacen ahora-.
"Entonces, recuerdo que empecé a sentirme ligero, ligero, ligero, y el maestro: -”A ver, el viento ahora está en el desierto; a ver, ahora el viento está en la montaña; a ver, ahora el viento está en un campo, en un llano,... Ahora está así y asá.”- Entonces iba uno repondiendo a esos impulsos (indicaciones) que él le daba a uno, de tal manera que yo terminé enloquecido después, y no sé,... Había una columnita en la base de la escalera, muy pequeña, como de unos 30 centímetros, y no se qué. Para seguir por el barandal entonces..., no me pregunten cómo pero de repente yo estaba... como ya no tenía..., Estas escaleras, ¿cómo se llama?, (estas) columnitas solían tener una lámpara, una figura esculpida ahí encima, y aquí no había. Pues yo terminé en esos treinta centímetros, parado, haciéndola de estatuita, y me sentía maravillosamente.
"Después... (Ríe) este..., me divertía mucho porque decían: -"Ah, ah, ah, ¡eso es lo que haces siempre! Tú quieres ser muy volatil, tú quien sabe que...”- Pero no, la volatilidad personal es una, o sea, sí, yo puedo, yo que sé, caminar o correr o sentirme o hacer, pero yo, ¡yo! Cuando le dan a propósito un elemento que debe trabajar, entonces no. La posición del cuerpo cambia, la mente cambia, hace uno cosas que... Como eso de la columnita, o sea, yo ¿cuándo? Yo siempre he padecido de (mal) equilibrio, o sea yo no puedo estar como juegan los niñitos, en los rieles de los ferrocarriles o en las orillitas de los... de los tabiques. Yo siempre he sido muy torpe para eso; y yo me preguntaba: (sonríe) -“¿cómo rayos llegué a estos treinta centímetros y no me caí, si tengo un pésimo equlibro?”- Ahora dicen que eso de tener un pésimo equilibro en escena es fantástico, como puedes hacer lo que se te de la gana.
"Pero yo sí me asombraba de haber terminado en ese espacio tan pequeño y no caerme, ¿por qué? Porque la cualidad del elemento, cualquiera que ellos sean, el fuego, la tierra, el aire, el agua,... estimula la imaginación y uno es otra cosa; no es... eh... ¡lo que uno es normalmente!, ¡cambia!, por el poder de la imaginación, o sea, porque es un estímulo que si bien estamos formados por todos los elementos, cuando predomina uno entonces uno se vuelve otro. Eso es, así de simple."
I've just received an invitation to the re-unveiling of the mural "La Cosecha" by Antonio González Caballero, donated by himslef to Hidalgo Theatre in Mexico City many years ago. This re-unveiling is part of the master's death commemoration and also the starting event of his National Homage.
Some memories come to me and I pleased with it.
I remember how 20 years ago (more or less) González Caballero restored the mural which was almost forgotten inside a big state cellar. Hidalgo Theatre administrators wanted to hold it on the wall theater's lobby, so the mural had to retake its brightness and González Caballero also wanted to repaint some parts of it.
During two or three Sundays and after our usual theatre laboratory session, I accompanied González Caballero to restore his painting; I saw how the mural was very damaged and how the master fixed every problem on it. After the work was finished, the painting had to be cleaned but some government employees were worried about how this could be done, then González Caballero brought one small plastic cube with colored water and told them there was a special substance inside the cube; after the employees went out assured with González's explanation, he told to me: "there is only water and soap; help me to clean this".
The painting was an interesting play of heavy figures and fluid movement, a mythic image which inevitably took me back to my first views of "The Spring" by Boticelli; it was possible to see how González Caballero mixed Classic structure with Mexican flavor bringing a beautiful and powerful stamp of life to my eyes.
Now, 20 years later the re-unveiling of this painting brings its creator back to live, a good starting point for this important national homage.
You can see the poster here, all the events are there including my participation with two lectures about González Caballero's acting method (see agcmetodo.blogspot.com), lectures that will be read by my Esferica Ludens's colleagues.
My congratulations to Wilfrido Momox and every one of the organizers and participants in this homage to Antonio González Caballero.
There is no new information about El Foco, newer than that I gave in my last post from February 7th 2008. What I actually have is some videos showing how the theatre looks and some events currently giving there.
1- A general view of El Foco and some events.
2- A González Caballero's Drawings Exhibiton at the gallery.
3- Some shots of "La Excepcional Familia Barroco-Colonial de la Narvarte" (by González Caballero), a Teatro del Arbol production, directed by Wilfrido Momox.
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After a long month of holidays (Chinese New Year and an amazing travel to Japan), I come back with very good news to write in this Blog, news I had read first on Internet and later had "officially" corroborated: Wilfrido Momox and a group of former disciples of González Caballero are now the people who manage the former Foro de la Comedia in Mexico City, a place which has been renamed as "El Foco". (1)
I have very little information so far, and I'm trying to find more and write a comprehensive post about this. It is said that "El Foco" will be a kind of headquarters for all of González Caballero's work in the arts; this means:
- Staging González Caballero's plays.
- Production of performances conceived with creative processes based on González Caballero's Acting Method.
- Painting Exhibitions of González Caballero's works.
- An archive of González Caballero's original documents.
- A Training Center with González Caballero's direct disciples as instructors.
This is not a project, it is a reality and it is working now.
Here is the e-mail Wilfrido Momox sent to me replying to my questions about what I had read in the cultural sections of some Mexican electronic newspapers (2):
“Gustavo
It all happened very quickly, all of a sudden I was managing the space.
I've got a ton of plans for it. For the time being, it's already showing seven plays on weekends, we opened a gallery in honor of AGC, with 25 of Master Caballero's original "sing-sketch" drawings, and which will be the official seat for the homage were organizing for May (this year).
It will also become the official residence for Caballero's works, as we announced on January 14th in our official press release. We're staging right now an exraordinary text by Caballero, called "The Exceptional Colonial Baroque Family from Narvarte" (La excepcional familia barroco colonial de la Narvarte), Fridays at 8pm, with very good response from the public.
I'm very happy, but I'm keeping a clear head, because there's not just creative work, but also the administration of the whole space, and that means keeping a hundred things in mind. Everything is marching alright...
Regards
Wilfrido Momox”
I'm waiting for some videos and documents about this new venue in Mexico City and I hope to soon share them with all of you.
(1)It seems that it is still called "Centro Cultural Foro de la Comedia" and the small theater "El Foco". (2) Here is the original text in Spanish:
"Gustavo
sucede que todo fue muy rápido y de pronto ya estaba al frente del espacio.
Tengo mil planes con ello. Por lo pronto ya lo tengo con siete obras funcionando los fines de semana, se inauguró la galería con el nombre de AGC y con 26 dibujos originales y a un solo trazo del Mtro. Caballero. Y será sede oficial del Homenaje que estamos organizando para mayo de este año.
Será así mismo la residencia oficial de la obra de Caballero, así lo anunciamos el 14 de enero de este año en nuestro lanzamiento oficial a la prensa.
Tengo un texto extraordinario en temporada de Caballero que se llama: "La excepcional familia barroco colonial de la Narvarte", los viernes a las 8 de la noche con muy buena respuesta de la gente.
Estoy muy contento pero con la cabeza fría porque no solamente es el trabajo creativo sino la adminsitración total del espacio y ello implica estar al pendiente de mil cosas. Todo marcha sobre ruedas...
Saludos.
Wilfrido Momox"
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Any comment, please, if you want a reply write your e-mail. China has already blocked Blogger so I can't acces to my posts and read your comments (I can read them thanks I receive a mail with them)
In 1994 Gaceta Publishers (Editorial Gaceta) and Escenología published a book with three González Caballero's plays (1); one year before Edgar Ceballos, the editor, asked me to go with González Caballero and have a photo session with the teacher and get the main photograph for the new book. The photo session was at a small square close to González Caballero's home in Pino Suárez Street, Downtown Mexico. I kept with me the 16 photographs taken that time.
Now, 14 years later, I share in a slideshow those photographs of my teacher and friend.
Slideshow with photographs of González Caballero (2):
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