‘Balam El Jaguar’ takes up the Mayan cosmogony to denounce an environmental drama

The Mayans observed as many jaguars as there are stars in the universe. This sacred animal in pre-Hispanic civilization is the inspiration of Jesús García Ra to write and direct the play Balam The Jaguar in which he returns to the ancestral cosmogony, colonization and the current disappearance of the feline.

Starting tomorrow, the National Center for the Arts (Cenart) will present the scenes with this character representing power, who with his spotted skin, which resembles the starry sky, had dominion over the night and the underworld.

Research by those dedicated to caring for the environment estimate that in Mexico there are only about 3,000 jaguars, the playwright points out movedly in an interview: it’s extinguish.

Of those large numbers of jaguars that the Mayans observed, Now we, the largest predators, are destroying this emblematic animal, adored and feared by our people, which is as representative as the eagle. It is not part of our flag, but it would easily represent Mexico anywhere in the world.

Among the legends that are told in the southern territory of the country, it is said that the Mayans predicted the end of the Earth when the jaguars ascended from the underworld to devour the Sun and the Moon; an eclipse would be a sample of the final event. This Mesoamerican civilization identified the rulers with the jaguar, which is why they were represented with belts, pectorals, sandals and headdresses made of their skin; their bones were even used to make command staffs.

In his career as a director and producer there are works by authors as diverse as Mario Benedetti, Yukio Mishima or León Felipe, as well as Greek classics, including King Oedipus y The Cyclops Jesús García reflected that after 40 years of doing theater from other latitudes and Eurocentric thinking, he would like to write something that talks about our origins.

What was born as a poem became a staging, which premieres tomorrow at the Salvador Novo theater, says the Tabasco creator who graduated from the National School of Theater Art in an interview.

This emblematic animal of our people sees the creation of the first men by the Mayan gods. First they made men from clay, then from wood and, finally, they created men from corn; They saw that it worked very well, because they could now think, feel and worship the gods. To build the script, he was inspired by some of the stories told in the Popol Vuh and ancient stories. The theatrical piece moves forward in time, also taking up colonization and the contemporary environmental massacre that scientists have detected.

Theater is not considered an industry

The director, actor and poet came to knock on the doors of the Mayan Train to propose the presentation of the work on the railway route that crosses the southeast and where he was worshiped. However, although he was able to raise the idea with former senator Javier May, no agreement was reached. In this regard, García considered it positive to carry out the work Baby to the area, because many people They don’t know the magnitude of culture we have and had. I would love to go to the entire Mexican Republic, because it has to do with our roots.

Six actors on stage wear costumes of pre-Hispanic essence, with elegant headdresses and skin painted yellow with black spots, inspired by Mayan stelae with lavish characters and beautiful plumes. The costumes are also the author of García Ra, as is the case when one works independently, without a budgetso he decided to take charge, since during his studies outside the country he learned to make masks, puppets and costumes.

The creator regretted that It is very difficult for the arts anywhere in the world, but more so for theater because it is not considered an industry. Being an artist does not mean that you should starve, it also has value and can be spread. I don’t know what’s happening, they’re beating the theaters in Mexico, it’s not widely spread. But not everything is social networks. Many of us are virtually illiterate; it is no longer so easy to see the cultural offer.

Balam The Jaguar It will have a season until April 21 at the Salvador Novo del Cenart theater (Río Churubusco and Tlalpan). Performances are on Saturdays at 7 p.m. and Sundays at 6 p.m.