Next Thursday, May 19, the Mexican government, through the federal Ministry of Culture, will use the Main Hall of the Palace of Fine Arts to pay a national tribute to the Mexican writer and journalist Elena Poniatowska Amor, 2013 Cervantes Prize winner, in occasion of his 90th birthday precisely that same day.
Last Monday, the Secretary of Culture, Alejandra Frausto Guerrero, officially announced that the ceremony in honor of the author of “Hasta no verte Jesús mío”, “La piel del cielo” and “Tinísima” will begin at noon and It will be broadcast on Canal 22 and Capital 21.
In her announcement, the official referred to Poniatowska as “the greatest Mexican writer of our times, an ally of the most just causes, a witness and participant in the cultural revolution that the country is experiencing.”
According to information provided to this newspaper, the choreographer and theater, opera and dance stage director Ruby Tagle Willingham was hired by direct award by the General Subdirectorate of Fine Arts to be in charge of the production of the national tribute whose planning will have to be resolved in a period of ten days, from May 10 to 19.
What is being prepared for the tribute?
The tasks that the choreographer must carry out, as stipulated in the information received by this editorial office, range from stage design and organization, lighting design, the selection of images for the making of a video, the adaptation of texts for the elaboration of a script, the delivery of a technical script and even scenic elements and multimedia supports.
Ruby Tagle will have to coordinate the rehearsals of each of the groups to be presented during the tribute, among them, three groups from the Semilleros program, from Tenancingo, Ecatepec and Coahuila, as well as the presentation of three monologues by the Compañía Nacional de Theater and the participation of the Carlos Chávez Orchestra. Likewise, she must choose the costumes for the stage presentations.
The document, in the possession of this newspaper, explains that after a series of searches and quotes from providers for the service via the Internet and via CompraNet, none of the options to be considered fully met the characteristics of the service requested by the General Subdirectorate of Fine Arts. Arts, for which it explains the reasons for the decision for the direct award: “Ruby Tagle Willingham proposes the best economic conditions, as well as the technical conditions required” and emphasizes that “the services will be provided by herself, without requiring the use of any specialist or technician”, given that “he has the necessary experience and professional technical knowledge”.
The choreographer’s credentials
Ruby Tagle Willingham has done professional work in Mexico, the United States, France, Brazil, Spain and Germany, among other countries, and has worked for creators such as film directors Peter Greenaway, opera Sergio Vela and theater Mauricio García Lozano and Henry Singer.
He has presented his work on stages such as the Edinburgh Festival, the Cervantino International Festival, the Fine Arts Opera and the Nezahualcóyotl Hall, to name a few.
In addition, she has worked as a teacher at Casa Azul, Casa del Teatro, at the Bellas Artes Opera Studio and at the Impulso de Monterrey Ballet, a company of which she was also director. She has also been part of juries of the late Fonca, of which she was also an intern.
ricardo.quiroga@eleconomista.