The theme of the disappearance of people in Mexico seen from the perspective of a child is the main focus of the work. You can see me?written and directed by Valentina Sierra of the company Puño de Tierra.
Nine-year-old Barbara feels like she is disappearing and is convinced that only one person could draw her again. So she decides to look for her and, on this journey, meets a group of children who will help her reappear.
The actor Demetrio Bonilla, grandson of Héctor Bonilla and son of the actor and director Fernando Bonilla, is part of the cast of this production that is presented at the Teatro Helenico until July 14.
This work touches on very important and profound themes, in a very fun and playful way for children. The main one is forced disappearance and what it can do to the people around this missing person. He talks about the pain that a disappearance can cause in a family and how not talking about it can become very dangerous.
The play tells what happens to a girl who is disappearing and doesn’t know why. There is something she doesn’t understand, a family pain that is not talked about, because adults think it is easier not to talk about it so as not to share the pain with their child, when, in reality, that grief or mourning will always be there and the most important thing is to talk about it, not hide it,” said Demetrio Bonilla in an interview with Excelsior.
The actor, who recreates three characters, explained that this proposal is fun, playful and respectful. The creative process, led by Valentina Sierra, who is also Demetrio’s mother, allowed the company to also create collectively.
“From the beginning, the director allowed us to talk, reflect, change the text. The position that the text is 100 percent the end and that we can discuss it is a way of creating and making theatre that I agree with and like a lot,” he said.
Prior to the premiere, the director had contact with Bordando por la paz, a group of civil groups and organizations that protest against the disappearance of people, violence and murders in Mexico.
They are seekers who embroider so as not to forget. “It is a very beautiful movement, so we had an embroidery and dance laboratory beforehand,” she detailed.
According to the Ministry of the Interior, the number of missing or unlocated people in Mexico is 99,729, as of March 15.
It seems that we are already accustomed to seeing those figures, to seeing only numbers, but a fundamental part that this work seeks is to stop seeing it like that and, for a moment, understand what is happening and what each number means. You have to raise awareness about it. It is a work that is for children, but also for the whole family, because it has many layers and, from many different ages, finds other things, which is very nice.
The girl in the story suddenly begins to disappear: they stop listening to her, they don’t put her on the list at school, they don’t serve her soup, so it’s about the journey of finding herself again and understanding why she was erased. , why is it not being listened to.
He talks about his confrontation with violence. One of the things that the director says is that in our society, depressed children, who are sad, who do not speak, are well-behaved children; A depressed child can be confused with a very obedient or well-behaved child. And not. You have to talk, shout, be listened to like children,” Bonilla emphasized.
WORK WITH FAMILY
Demetrio, 19 years old, shared what it is like to work with his family, whose artistic legacy has marked national cinema, television and the scene, since it includes names such as actors, writers and directors Héctor Bonilla (his grandfather) and Fernando Bonilla (his father), as well as actor Sergio Bonilla (his uncle), actress Sofía Álvarez (his grandmother) and playwright, director and actress Valentina Sierra (his mother).
This is the first time my mother has directed me in an official staging. The first time was in a dramatized reading, but now it is a play. I have always been, not working, but doing tasks in the dressing rooms, having breakfast there while they rehearse, things like that. I loved it, it was something that I am very grateful for, being able to be there.
Now that she is directing me, it has been very joyful, because she is a very fun director, with whom you play a lot when it comes to making theater. The rehearsals are very fun, she always seeks to have a cast of very talented people, but also people who are very enthusiastic, fun and hard-working; make it easy to work with. So this process has been easy and joyful. It is a gift and I appreciate it very much,” she said.
This he said about his family’s influence on the career choice he made: acting.
My parents were always very insistent that I did not have to dedicate myself to this, that I did not have to do it as such. It’s not that they told me not to do it… well, sometimes yes, sometimes they did tell me ‘better be a doctor’. I thank you for giving me the option to dedicate myself to anything else, but having breakfast, while there was a rehearsal and watching the plays from the
public or from behind the scenes is something that attracts and bewitches a lot.
When did I choose it? I don’t remember, but from a very young age I said ‘I want to do that’. I remember that before I wanted to be a paleontologist. I don’t know when I changed to being an actor, but he’s very cool,” he concluded.
MEMORIES OF YOUR GRANDFATHER
In 2022, actor Demetrio Bonilla presented the monologue Feeds from the right frontal lobewith reflections about a teenager with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). His grandfather Héctor Bonilla (1939-2022) still came to see his work.
My grandfather was always very close to his family. He was a man who really liked to be around. I remember that he had the opportunity to see I think…, that I sent him the script and he clearly didn’t like it, because it doesn’t follow the Aristotelian structure. So his note was like ‘hey, um, plays have a beginning, a conflict and an end, look it up.’
When he went to see it, I thought he wouldn’t like it, because it’s a biodrama that makes fun of being one, that doesn’t have a beginning as such and partly it’s because it doesn’t have an ending. And he was very surprised, he liked it a lot when he saw it. He hugged me and told me it was very good and that he liked it a lot. It was something I didn’t expect at all, and I’ll take it as a gift for life, that (my grandfather) was able to see that play,” said Demetrio Bonilla.
-Nancy Mendez C.
Where to watch it?
- Dramaturgy and direction: Valentina Sierra.
- Production: Fist of Earth Company.
- Cast: Juan Carlos Medellin, Daniela Arroio, Valeria Fabbri, Malcolm Mendez, Maria Kemp and Demetrio Bonilla.
- Venue: Hellenic Theater. Av. Revolución 1500, col. San Angel Inn.
- Hours: Saturday and Sunday 1:00 p.m. Until July 14, 2024.
- Tickets: 248 pesos.
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2024-06-30 17:47:53
