The celebrated theatre of the United Kingdom, with its Shakespearian tradition, will take over the streets of Guanajuato this year. The country of Hamlet, King Lear, the Beatles, Queen and Amy Winehouse is the guest of the Cervantino Festival, the great Latin American gathering of the performing arts. The announcement, which had generated much expectation, was made on Wednesday morning by the Secretary of Culture, Claudia Curiel, and the British ambassador to Mexico, Susannah Goshko. Curiel has promised support for the event, which suffered the ravages of budget cuts, and has assured that “it will be a celebration of diversity, with a very interesting quality.” Goshko, for her part, has said that the authorities of her country are very excited to support what she has called “a natural space to show that culture is an economic engine.” Along with Great Britain, the State of Veracruz is the federal entity invited in this edition.
The United Kingdom takes the baton from Brazil, the guest country in the last edition of the Cervantino. Both Curiel and Goshko promised a vibrant lineup, focused on ethnic diversity, the drive of youth, but also centered on the artistic wealth of two nations that are cultural powerhouses. In this way, the diplomat said, Mexico and London celebrate 200 years of relations, not only marked by the commercial theme, but a history that is played out on the soccer fields, danced to the music of the Beatles and Queen —amazed by Mexico, according to the ambassador—, but also in a cinema that attracts Mexican audiences. “In a world in constant change, our creative industries must adapt, innovate and grow together. Likewise, at a time when we face unprecedented environmental challenges, we are pleased that, hand in hand with the secular culture program, the Cervantino has adopted an inspiring vision to incorporate environmental sustainability in its design and implementation and thereby reduce the carbon footprint and environmental impact,” said Goshko.
Curiel has reported that both governments will work on the Cervantino programme to bring together the best of Mexican and British artistic groups. “We want to work as a programming collective that can provide visions with different trajectories and that we take care of the different axes, the traditional, the contemporary, the classic, what has to do with the urban,” explained the official. “200 years after the beginning of our diplomatic relationship, the opportunity to be the guest country gives us the possibility of further deepening the cultural and artistic ties that unite us and building new routes of cooperation in innovative areas such as the creative industries. With the help of our allies, including the British Council, we will bring to the Mexican audience an active programme that allows us to imagine a future where culture, education and the construction of opportunities are a reality for the next generations,” Goshko promised. At least for the moment, the wounds caused by the budget cuts seem to be healing, which seemed to put in jeopardy the vibrancy of a festival that is already the main meeting of the performing arts in Latin America. For now, the meeting of Shakespeare and Cervantes in the streets of Guanajuato promises a luxury edition of the Cervantino Festival.
Source: elpais
