The federal Ministry of Culture and Inbal remember this September 13 the actress, director and cultural promoter
One of the most important cultural promoters in 20th century Mexico was, without a doubt, the teacher Clementina Otero, who had a decisive influence in the configuration of artistic and cultural institutions in the fields of theater and dance, mainly as inalienable rights both of boys and girls as well as adults.
This September 13th would mark another anniversary of the birth of Clementina Otero, artist and muse, which is why the Ministry of Culture of the Government of Mexico and the National Institute of Fine Arts and Literature (Inbal) remember her as one of the pioneers in the fight for the right to art and culture and women’s rights in a world dominated by men.
Teacher Otero stood out as the first actress, writer and cultural promoter, making her voice and thoughts heard within one of the most important and transcendent men’s groups of the early 20th century in Mexico: the Contemporáneos. There she shared talent and interests with intellectuals of the stature of Xavier Villaurrutia, Gilberto Owen, Salvador Novo, Carlos Pellicer, Jorge Cuesta, Roberto Montenegro, Manuel Rodríguez Lozano, Celestino and José Gorostiza.
The teacher Clementina Otero de Barrios (as she is still called in the cultural environment, mainly by young people), developed a life always linked to the arts: theater, literature, dance and the creation of cultural institutions, in addition to linking her life and work to the National Institute of Fine Arts and Literature (Inbal), where she directed artistic groups that she herself promoted since its foundation, such as the National School of Theater Art, the National Dance Company and the Children’s Theater Program and School, still valid in the 21st century.
Another important part of his life was linked to the promotion of dance, especially folk dance. At 64 years of age, the teacher dedicated another 23 years of work to the dissemination and consolidation of another cultural institution in the country: the Ballet Folklorico de México of Amalia Hernández, in which she continues her task as a trainer of new generations of dancers.
As a stage artist, she was recognized as “the best actress in Mexico”, participating in numerous productions – many of them at the Palacio de Bellas Artes – alongside artists such as Gilberto Owen – her eternal lover, whose letters gave rise to the book I’m dying without you. Love letters to Clementina Otero—, Virginia Fabregas, Maria Teresa Montoya, Alberto Galan, Carlos Lopez Moctezuma and Enrique Herrera, among others, directed by Villaurrutia, Novo, Gorostiza, etc.
Clementina Otero was born in Mexico City on September 13, 1909. Very young, at age 17, she joined the Teatro de Ulises—sponsored by Antonieta Rivas Mercado—where she shared with the Contemporáneos, thus beginning her career in the arts. scenic.
His first work was The pilgrim, by Charles Vildrac, directed by Celestino Gorostiza, with whom he continued working, from 1932 to 1938, in a second stage, this time in another of the pillars of Mexican performing arts: the Teatro de Orientación. From that time he is remembered for the work Minnie the candidby Massimo Bontempelli, directed by Xavier Villaurrutia and staged at the Teatro del Palacio de Bellas Artes
Then he worked with La Comedia Mexicana (with María Tereza Montoya, Virginia Fábregas and Fernando Soler) and with Teatro de Media Noche (with Rodolfo Usigli). In 1942, the Rockefeller Foundation gave him a scholarship to study drama at Yale University. Upon her return, she joined the companies of Alfredo Gómez de la Vega and Teatro de México with which she premiered Carlota de México, by Miguel N. Lira, directed by Villaurrutia, which earned her the award for Best Actress of the year. 1943.
Two years later, when she was described as “the best actress in Mexico,” Clementina Otero left the stage and married Carlos Barrios, but her work in theater and dance continued from another trench: teaching. Over 35 years she guided actors such as José Solé, Luis Gimeno, Ignacio López Tarso, Enrique Alonso, Héctor Gómez and Martha Ofelia Galindo, among many others, in the performing arts.
Upon her return from the United States, teacher Otero had committed herself to the creation of a theater school, a project that she presented to the then director of Fine Arts, Carlos Pellicer. In 1946, with the help of Concepción Sada, the now known National School of Theater Art (ENAT) of Inbal became a reality. Clementina Otero was its director from 1963 to 1965.
She also created, in the 1940s, the Fine Arts Children’s Theater Company, with the support of Carlos Pellicer and Xavier Villaurrutia, since the teacher considered that the future of theater lay in children. The company received the support of Benito Coquet, then director of Extracurricular and Aesthetic Education of the Ministry of Public Education. From there emerged what is known to this day as the Inbal School Theater Program.
After arduous work for the benefit of the theater, Clementina Otero was appointed by José Luis Martínez, then general director of Inbal, director of the Dance Department, a position she held from 1965 to 1971.
At that time he gave a strong boost to dance, organized national and international seasons and festivals; He created the Ballet of the Five Continents and promoted the National Dance Company, the Classical Ballet of Mexico and the folkloric group of the Mexican Dance Academy. Furthermore, he promoted the renewal of the choreographic concept by inviting artists such as José Limón, Aurora Bosch and Ana Sokolow to Mexico.
In 1973, the teacher joined Amalia Hernández’s Ballet Folklorico de México to direct its Modern Dance and Folkloric Dance schools, which she did until her death on September 30, 1996.
2023-09-13 00:43:08
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