Teatro III

by Jorge Ibargüengoitia

Es común en las obras de Ibarguengoitia el surgimiento de un personaje que proviene de otras latitudes y termina con la monotonía de un ambiente provinciano o el tedio de las relaciones familiares, tal es el caso en las tres comedias que se incluyen en ese volumen: Pájaro en mano (1959), El viaje superficial (1959), y Los buenos manejos (1960). El dramaturgo permite ver en su trabajo el interés por los episodios de la historia de México; la intención desmitificadora, reconocida como una de las características literarias de su originalidad que extrae aventuras de temas privados lo mismo que públicos.

357 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1990

About the author

Jorge Ibargüengoitia Antillón was a Mexican novelist and playwright who achieved great popular success with his satires, three of which have appeared in English: Las Muertas (The Dead Girls), Dos Crimenes (Two Crimes), and Los Relámpagos de Agosto (The Lightning of August). His plays include Susana y los Jóvenes and Ante varias esfinges, both dating from the 1950s. In 1955, Ibarguengoitia received a Rockefeller grant to study in New York City; five years later he received the Mexico City literary award.

Reviews

[John Dishwasher John Dishwasher]

Never before have I seen or read a farce that was a tragedy. Every farce that I can remember is a comedy. This was surprising, singularly effective, and way opened my mind to the potential of such a dissonant presentation. Sometimes you don’t realize you are locked into a way of thinking until someone like Ibarguengoitia comes along and knocks a wall down in your mind. Full of irony and satirical commentary on politics in general, and, in this case, Mexican politics in particular, “El atentado” treats a political assassination and how it might evolve and be handled afterward. This play is totally fathomable. With a handful of cultural adjustments it could easily comment on the current US political climate.

If someone can think of another farce that is also a tragedy, please put it in the comments for me. Maybe I’m not trying hard enough to remember. I didn’t sleep much last night.

Four other plays in this collection.

[Oscar]

Es buena,tiene temas de la actualidad que tienen ciencia cierta