The Cuban Cultural Center of New York joins forces with Teatro Columna theater group to present a dramatic reading of legendary playwright Virgilio Piñera‘s seminal play, Electra Garrigó, based on Sophocles‘s tragedy, under the direction of the brilliant young director Leyma López.
Originally planned as a full-stage production at The Clemente Cultural Center’s Teatro LaTea, this virtual alternate presentation, conceived during the Covid 19 pandemic, will not only include its traditional musical component, but cinematic elements and exterior images as well.
Electra Garrigó is emblematic of the Cuban theater’s incursion into modernity, and it highlights some of the fundamental themes prevalent in Piñera’s works: irony, Cuban choteo, hunger, familial conflicts, and the struggle for daily survival. Although it preserves the dramatic structure of the classic Greek tragedy through the presence of the chorus, Piñera’s Electra resorts to Cuban popular music, language and symbols to mirror a rich sense of cultural identity and a national drama that transcends universally and still resonates today.
CAST:
Electra Garrigó: Annia Bu
Orestes Garrigó: Cesar Augusto Cova
Clitemnestra Pla: Zulema Clares
Agamenón Garrigó: Sandor Juan
Egisto Don: Erick Gonzalez
Pedagogo: Belange Rodríguez
Chorus: María Cotto
Film editing: Tané Martínez
This theatrical presentation is part of the CreateNYC Language Access program,
and it will be held in Spanish.
PLEASE CLICK ON THE LINK CORRESPONDING TO EACH PROGRAMMED DATE AND TIME:
FRIDAY, JUNE 26 ~ 8 pm
https://youtu.be/crY-jcH6jUs
SATURDAY, JUNE 27 ~ 8 pm
https://youtu.be/piPUVRjHC04
SUNDAY, JUNE 28 ~ 3 pm
https://youtu.be/RobDKK0wHys
Leyma López was born in San José de las Lajas in Havana. 
In 2009 she received her degree in Acting and Arts from the Instituto Superior de La Habana. López is presently Resident Director of Repertorio Español. She was the recipient of the Van Lier Award for Young Directors in 2012. At Repertorio Español she has directed: Por Gusto (For Pleasure), El Loco por Fuerza (Insane by Force), Hierba mala nunca muere (Weeds Won’t Die), Aire Frío (Cool Air), La Fiaca, Valor, agravio y mujer (Courage, Betrayal, and a Woman Scorned), La Celestina, Filomena Marturano: Marriage Caribbean Style, and a series of readings highlighting the works of
17th century women playwrights. She has received various nominations and awards
from ATI, ACE and HOLA.
A historical note:
Pictured left, a scene from the play when
it opened in Havana in 1948 with
Agrupación Teatral Prometeo, under 
the direction of Francisco Morín, pictured at right, standing in the center with the cast.
This theatrical presentation is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.
With the promotional collaboration of
