Posted by Anthony Ferro on March 21, 192003 at 15:01:45:
Juan Moriera
The internal structure of the play lends itself to what I venture to label as “melodramatic form.” The audience is given each scene’s intent with the added exclamation point. I thought this as being very similar to the manner in which vaudeville and silent film productions were run. This code of conduct creates both a vehicle whereby the drama may logically unfold and present a lesson plan to warn gauchos of despicable acts. The intimacy of the work, placed on our first proscenium stage tailored with set design, advances the work into the arena of “schooled” professionals. We have arrived on a European stage with all of its dressings. [I am well aware of our “indigenous upbringing” in this course and make this last statement as a mere landmark from which to generate discourse. A discussion with regard to the jump into a formal concert/play house is compelling.] The notion of mysticism in the gaucho cosmology is revealed through reflections of Julian Andrade and Moriera. They communicate via the wind as if ancestral voices guide their existence. The text addresses not only the plight of the gaucho as a half-breed (Spanish-Argentine Indian), but also the dynamic relationships within their personal and cultural development. The figures of Juancito and Tata Viejo seem to symbolize hope. Wisdom shall love and encourage the naïve new. The sadness of the play lies in the destruction of the vital men and women who must reap security within the society, but fall victim to vengeance, jealousy, adultery and treachery.