pets, and a beautiful carved foam set. As all the animals get ready to bring gifts to a newly born bear, a hunter named Agua Sucia (Dirty Water) is out to get them. Many of the natural elements in the set come alive. The trees talk to each other, and in the end, the mountain that formed the main backdrop opens its eyes and helps defeat the villain. This element seemed particularly perfect for a city known for being right next to an active volcano. Moun- tains don’t come alive only in puppet shows!
After many bumpy bus rides, we made it out to the rural pueblo of San Carlos to catch the tail end of their Fes Tironeta - Primer Festival Internacional de Artes Escenicas. This festival, organized by Tironeta Teatro, featured many works of puppet theater, circus performance, and community workshops. Gustavo Sanchez and Juanita Alvarez
Gustavo Sanchez and Juanita Alvarez Castaño started the the- ater in Medellin. Juanita grew up in San Carlos, but like many of the other residents, had been forced to flee to the city because of the wave of political violence that swept the region during the 1990s and early 2000s.
Lambe-lambe: Young puppeteer Harley David Lopez Galeano shows off his miniature theater made from recycled materials at Fes Tironeta in San Carlos.
Castaño started the theater in Medellin. Juanita grew up in San Carlos, but like many of the other residents, had been forced to flee to the city because of the wave of political violence that swept the region during the 1990s and early 2000s. As this area of Colum- bia became safer, people were able to return. Juanita and Gustavo settled in San Carlos a few years ago, and they have been cultivat- ing the puppet arts in this small town with a rough history. This history influenced their miniature theater piece La Gata
en la Ventana (The Cat in the Window). The first act, accompanied by classic Colombian music, showed a household scene of a young girl, traditionally dressed, being put to bed by her mother. She gets scared in the night, but a cat comes to her window and comforts her. Then, after a short montage showing pictures from the girl’s life, you see a bustling city scene. The music is now contemporary Latin pop, and the soundscape is the hustle and bustle of urban life. You see the girl, now an old woman, living in an apartment and once again meeting a cat in her window, who comforts her in this very different time. Although the show had no scenes or hints of violence, the subtext was clear to any Colombian. This woman, like so many others, was forced to flee her home in the country- side and pass her old age in a city. The whole show, the design, the movement, and the music, evoked a world of sadness and nostal- gia, but not without also showing humor, magic, and hope. And it did it all in a way that spoke to people of any age. In short, it exemplified the best of puppet theater. They also have a show about a dog called De Perro y Huesos (Of Dog and Bones) with two amazing dog puppets made entirely of cans and metal recycling, and a human-sized puppet made from
a tiny box. This style of puppetry is very popular in Central and South America. Our theater, Lilypad Puppet Theatre, recently received a Puppeteers of America grant to develop a lambe-lambe to perform in the United States, so we were very excited to see more of this unique art form. We saw works that spoke to envi- ronmental issues, some that dealt with the trauma of Colombia’s violent past, and some that were simply silly. In a work performed by Gustavo Sanchez of Tironeta, you look inside a giant water bottle, an object seen all over South America in regions without potable water. You see a beautiful miniature river and a waterfall with real water circulating via a small pump! The short story, performed without words, shows the dangers of river pollution in a humorous way.
Throughout Colombia, we were impressed to see the power of art and theater to entertain, educate, and uplift people. Puppetry is an art that can transcend language, age, and social status, and unite people all over the world. It gave us hope to see this first hand, and our dream is that the wonderful world of puppetry in the United States and Latin America will become evermore intertwined. For more information please reach out to us through our website
https://www.lilypadpuppettheatre.org. You can see a video of our interview with Juanita, Gus- tavo, and their puppets on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=xZsB0Yv-ez0
Lilypad Puppet Theatre is a nonprofit theater group based in Ithaca,
NY. They are known for presenting a variety of children’s shows, parades, and their yearly Crankie Cabaret.
17
old CD-ROMs. This is another wonderful feature of their theater; Juanita and Gustavo create puppets using entirely repurposed materials. When Tironeta relocated to San Carlos four years ago, they began to work with local children to help them tell their own stories through puppetry. Focusing on miniature theater with repurposed materials, they found that the younger genera- tion, which has grown up in a time of relative peace, was more concerned with environmental themes. We saw several of the children perform their intricate miniature theater works as part of the festival. We also saw several performances of Cajas Misteriosas (Magic
Boxes). Also known as lambe-lambe, these are intimate works for one or two viewers, lasting only a few minutes, that take place in
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