Carlos Gorostiza facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Carlos Gorostiza Rodríguez
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| Born | June 7, 1920 Buenos Aires, Argentina |
| Died | July 19, 2016 (aged 96) Buenos Aires, Argentina |
| Occupation | Playwright, theatre director, novelist |
| Years active | 1943–2016 |
Carlos Gorostiza Rodríguez (born June 7, 1920 – died July 19, 2016) was a famous writer, theatre director, and novelist from Argentina. He wrote many plays and books. His most important play, El puente (The Bridge), was first shown in 1949. He won many awards for his work. Later, he even became the Secretary of Culture for Argentina from 1983 to 1986.
Early Life
Carlos Gorostiza was born in Palermo, a nice part of Buenos Aires, Argentina. His parents were from a region in Spain called Basque Country. Carlos and his older brother had a happy childhood. But in 1926, their father left the family. Their father, Fermín Gorostiza, was one of the first Argentines to get a pilot's license.
His mother started working for a clothing designer. Carlos and his brother also began working when they were children. They slowly got back on their feet. In 1931, his mother remarried and had a daughter, María Esther. María Esther later became a successful actress known as Analía Gadé.
Career in Theatre and Writing
Carlos's stepfather, who was from Spain, was a playwright. He introduced Carlos to the world of theatre. In 1943, Carlos showed his first work. It was a puppet show called La clave encantada (The Enchanted Key). This show was a success. It allowed him to open his own puppet theatre, La Estrella Grande.
He then started spending time at the Máscara Theatre. There, he became well-known for playing Creon in the classic Greek play Antigone. Friends encouraged him to present his first play at the Máscara Theatre in 1949. This play was called El puente (The Bridge).
El puente showed the struggles between different social classes in Buenos Aires. It was a realist play. It was partly based on Carlos's own childhood experiences. This play made him famous in Buenos Aires. A professional version was directed by Armando Discépolo. El puente was even made into a film in 1950, which Gorostiza himself directed.
After El puente became popular, Gorostiza went back to directing plays. But his shows did not attract as many people as before. He then worked as a publicist for an advertising agency. His fame returned when he wrote the script for the film Marta Ferrari (1954). His play El pan de la locura (The Bread of Madness) was also a big success. It was shown at the famous Cervantes Theatre in Buenos Aires in 1958.
This tragedy won him the important Municipal Prize. This award led to an invitation to teach at the Central University of Venezuela Drama School in 1960. He also co-wrote a play there. In 1964, he returned to Argentina. He continued teaching drama at the University of Buenos Aires. In 1966, he wrote and staged The Neighbors. This play was about people not helping someone in trouble.
Carlos Gorostiza focused mostly on teaching. He wrote only two new plays in the next ten years. In 1976, he published his first novel, Los cuartos oscuros (The Voting Booths). This book won him a National Grand Prize for Literature. Around this time, a military government took power in Argentina. Gorostiza lost his job at the University of Buenos Aires.
Even though it was a difficult time, Gorostiza published a second novel in 1978. It was called Los hermanos queridos (Dear Brothers). This book subtly criticized the fear people felt during that time. It won him another Municipal Grand Prize and National Grand Prize.
In 1980, rules about what could be published became a bit less strict. Other playwrights and actors, including Osvaldo Dragún, Roberto Cossa, and Pepe Soriano, teamed up with Gorostiza. They created the Argentine Open Theatre. They wanted to bring back freedom of expression. Many artists had left Argentina since 1975 because of the lack of freedom.
They turned an old factory in Buenos Aires into the Picadero Theatre. On July 28, 1981, they showed a festival of their new plays. This included Gorostiza's El acompañamiento (The Entourage). The festival was a big success. However, a week later, the theatre was set on fire. The cause is still unknown. The Picadero Theatre reopened in 2001.
Argentina returned to democracy after the Falklands War and economic problems. In 1982, Gorostiza wrote Killing Time and A Fire to Put Out. These plays won him an Argentores Prize.
Foray into Politics
In 1983, Argentina held elections. Gorostiza supported Raúl Alfonsín, a candidate from the UCR party. The election was close. Gorostiza, who had worked in advertising, came up with a simple slogan for Alfonsín: Ahora, Alfonsín! (Now, Alfonsín!).
The president at the time, Reynaldo Bignone, called the elections just a "democratic way out." Gorostiza created ads that said people were voting for "more than a democratic way out...a way into life." Alfonsín won the election by a surprising margin in October 1983.
President Alfonsín appointed Gorostiza as Secretary of Culture on December 10. Gorostiza removed the national film rating system. He worked hard to help theatre and cinema of Argentina recover. This happened even though there were still economic problems and not much money for culture. He felt limited in his role and resigned in 1986. He was replaced by Marcos Aguinis.
Later Work
Gorostiza went back to writing. He published a short novel. He also helped with a documentary about the Open Theatre in 1989. He wrote a play called Aeroplanos, which was a nostalgic look at his short time with his father. This play won him another Argentores Prize.
He started looking more to the past in his works. His play Rear Patio (1994) and his historical novel Vuelan las Palomas (Pigeons Fly, 1999) were not as popular. But Gorostiza still had many loyal fans. His novel Good People (2001) explored deep questions about life. In 2004, he wrote The Masked Marauder, another story about his childhood.
Gorostiza's long-awaited play, El alma de papá (Dad's Soul), opened in 2008. It starred his Open Theatre friend Jorge Rivera López. This play showed Gorostiza's continued importance as a leading realist playwright in Argentina.
His plays continued to be shown even when he was in his 90s. In 2015, four of his plays were being performed in Buenos Aires. Carlos Gorostiza died in Buenos Aires on July 19, 2016, at the age of 96. A special gathering was held in his honor at the Teatro Nacional Cervantes.
See also
In Spanish: Carlos Gorostiza para niños
