The Chamizal's Siglo de Oro Drama Festival: Its Past and Its Future

FORUM THE CHAMIZAL'S SIGLO DE ORO DRAMA FESTIVAL: ITS PAST AND ITS FUTURE DONALD T. DIETZ Texas Tech University As the Rio Grande winds its way down through New Mexico, the once mighty river crosses the U. S. border and enters Old Mexico at El Paso, Texas. According to American geologists and surveyors, in 1864 the river drastically changed its course at the border of the two countries. On and off for the following ninety-nine years, Mexico and the United States squabbled over the rights to the territory on either side of the river whose fluctuation had altered the traditional boundaries. In 1963 under the Johnson administration, a treaty settled the issue for the contested land. The United States agreed to give back to the state of Juarez 437 acres. Subsequently, both governments set aside the immediate vicinity of the river at El Paso and Ciudad de Juárez as national parks. The Mexicans planted acres of beautiful shrubs and trees and constructed a historical and anthropological museum. The 54.9 acres on the American side known as the Chamizal was designated a National Monument and Park. In the «thicket» of the Chamizal region, the United States government in recent years has opened a cultural center for citizens on both sides of the border. The bicultural complex, which is relatively simple and architecturally harmonious with the natural landscape of the semi-arid desert and dry mountains , consists of a small gallery for art and cultural artifacts and a large auditorium. This 502 seat theater with its spacious stage is the home of the Chamizal Siglo de Oro Drama Festival. Since its inception in 1976, this country's bicentennial, the Siglo de Oro Drama Festival at the Chamizal has hosted theatrical troupes from Latin America, Spain, and the United States. The Festival is held for approximately two consecutive weeks in March, and each year invitations are extended by Walker Reid, Director of Cultural Affairs, and Frank Smith, Superintendent of the Chamizal National Memorial, to acting groups to compete in the two 155 156Bulletin ofthe Comediantes categories of academic and repertory. Three judges serve as members of the jurado and designate awards to the best actor and best actress, the best supporting actor and actress, the best director. Recognitions are also given for the best over-all production, the best staging, scenery, costumes and lighting. Included among those who have served as members of the jurado are: the Mexican playwrights Emilio Carballido, Hector Azar and Luisa Josefina Hernández. Others who have functioned as judges are: Jorge Rufinelli from Mexico; Carlos Miguel Suárez Radillo from Spain; and from the U. S., George Woodyard, William I. Oliver, Sergio D. Elizondo, Arturo Pisonero and Donald T. Dietz. I. THE PAST The Festival's history for the past five years has truly been impressive both from the point of view of the variety of productions and their quality. No less than 18 different pieces of the four major playwrights have been staged: ten by Lope, three by Calderón, three by Alarcón, and two by Tirso. Lope's plays include: El lacayo fingido, Los melindres de Beiisa, Peribáñez y el comendador de Ocaña, La dama boba, La hermosafea, El mejor alcalde, el rey, El caballero de Olmedo, La creación del mundo. Lope's comic El anzuelo de Fenisa and his classic Fuenteovejuna have appeared twice. The two renditions oíFuenteovejuna are particularly interesting because of the contrasting modes and styles; the 1977 version was a classical rendition while the 1979 version was a highly controversial blend of the traditional with the chicano South West.' Calderón's theater has been viewed seven times by audiences at the Chamizal. Interestingly, however, only three of his plays have been rendered. Perhaps because of its religious and didactic tone and its modest length, El gran teatro del mundo has found its way onto the Chamizal stage three of the five years of the Festival's existence. La dama duende and La vida es sueño have been repeated once. To a critic or student of Golden Age theater, the variety in the staging, production, and creative adaptations of these plays has...