In Havana downtown’s streets of Linea and B, the outstanding scenic Cuban actress and director Raquel Revuelta has been reborn. A birth can take place in many ways, especially when the magic of the scene plays a part. And that is what happened in the Cultural Complex of the National Council of Performing Arts that was baptized, from its inception almost five years ago, with the name of the founder of Studio Theater.
Once the capital repairs of the property were over, in this 2012, the Revuelta theater finally opened its doors; the Osvaldo Dragun space for conferences and special format plays, as well as the “El tandem” building, which became the new headquarters for Tablas-Alarcos publishing house. National companies such as Teatro D’Dos, Open Dance, Teatro de la Luna, Entropy Theatre, humorist Rigoberto Ferrera, among others, and international groups and artists like Russian troupe Etcetera and author German Roland Schimmelpfennig have passed through the main areas of the new center.
The director of the Raquel Revuelta Cultural Complex (CCRR), actor and director Julio César Ramírez, and playwright Valiño Omar, head of the publishing house, aspire to turn this venue into a theater creation factory, where the performing arts from representation, to theory and literary creation can find a space.
The changing of the Tablas-Alarcos headquarters from San Ignacio 166, in Old Havana, to the newly revamped building occurred precisely in the year in which the magazine marks its 30 years of existence. Another new life: with the swap it was born another time for the publication, a change of its graphic image, putting online a new website (www.tablasalarcos.cult.cu) and the growth of its most recognized publisher’s collections, as Escenarios del Mundo and Aire frío.
All that is done under the roof of the CCRR will be a tribute to the strong actress indisputable, as the complex management people have declared. But from this same 2012, every November they will hold special days of celebration to mark her birthday. Exhibition of her anthological films that she starred in different eras, talks about her work, samples of her theater, exhibition panels, all those will be some of the activities every 14 November, which will certainly further increase in quality and number in 2015, when Rachel’s 90th birthday will be held.
For now, the center has revived Raquel on stage begins strong its theatrical march. For December 6 they are announcing a special presentation of Teatro Completo by renowned Cuban playwright Abelardo Estorino, preceded by the premiere of the short documentary “Adagio de la memoria” by filmmaker Alina Morante. In that same month they will publish the Tablas magazine’s 2 and 3 editions of 2012.
They also announced a sui generis season of the Matanzas Teatro de la Estaciones, led by Rubén Darío Salazar. Puppet shows for children and adults occupy the morning and evening of the last weekend of November in the theater.
There, where actress Raquel Revuelta was reborn, a movement is becoming stronger and tries to always be active based on scenic diversity. There she begins to live another life, this from her many legacies to the national scene.
