Angela Peralta was used as a civilizing instrument, says expert

▲ Ángela Peralta as Lucía de Lammermoor, portrayed by Giovanni Battista Ganzini, circa 1865. Albumen prints. Private collection. The image is part of the article "Green, White, and Red: Portraits of Ángela Peralta during the Second Mexican Empire," by Gustavo Amézaga; later, the cover of the score "Adiós a México, " part of the 1938 Musical Album , courtesy of Cenidim.

Alondra Flores Soto

La Jornada Newspaper, Saturday, July 5, 2025, p. 2

Ángela Peralta (1845-1883) was used in a political framework in the 19th century to show Europe and the world that the young nation that was Mexico had a civilized character, says historian Áurea Maya, who from the National Center for Musical Research, Documentation and Information (Cenidim), an agency of the federal Ministry of Culture, participates in expanding the documented knowledge about this outstanding singer, pianist and composer.

Russian-born musicologist Elena Kopylova is working together to rescue the Musical Album, published in 1875, which will help incorporate the rarely performed pieces written by Peralta in the 19th century into the concert repertoire in our country.

180 years after the birth of the woman with the prodigious voice, myths, false information, and a lack of appreciation persist, in addition to the fact that the music she wrote for piano is unknown. To commemorate this figure, a tribute will be held , titled "The Nightingale of Mexico: Ángela Peralta and Her Music, " featuring a concert once again featuring the music she wrote, and a lecture by specialists who will discuss revealing information. Both activities, with free admission, will take place today at 6:00 p.m. in the José Vasconcelos Auditorium of the National Center for the Arts (Cenart).

"As I began to study Ángela Peralta, I came across many surprises," says Áurea Maya, who is currently working on a book that will be published in the coming months. "She is perhaps one of the most affected figures by history and musicology. Not only in the 19th and 20th centuries, but also in the 21st, because she is still accused of many things ."

By investigating archives and documents, for example, he found that she was not a servant, as many claim. There are historians who never bothered to corroborate this. Of course, she has been the subject of legends, myths, historical novels, and plays that extol her, but also of negative traits in her personality .

In Polanco, an open-air theater bears her name. The same is true in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato. Also in Mazatlán, Sinaloa, the singer's name identifies the city's main theater. Known as the Mexican Nightingale , she was an internationally renowned figure, the first Mexican singer to perform at Europe's premier theater, La Scala, in Milan. Although there is little documentation on this, the historian questions how many bel canto professionals can claim that.

Ángela Peralta was born in Mexico City on July 6, 1845. She found success at a very young age and went to Europe. She returned during the period when Maximilian was in Mexico, who appointed her chamber singer of the empire . It was precisely in Mazatlán where she died, at the age of 38, of yellow fever, on August 30, 1883. That epidemic wiped out 17 percent of the population, Maya says, so Peralta was a symbol of mourning after such a tragedy. One of the myths that accompanies her is that in the moments of her last breath, she married Julián Montiel Duarte, whom many say was her lover.

Elena Kopylova, a researcher at Cenidim, is currently working on a thorough reading of the Musical Album, which contains the scores of his pieces, primarily for voice and piano. It includes waltzes, polkas, romances, fantasies, and even an etude, something very contemporary at the time, with Frederic Chopin as one of its most important representatives.

In the interview with the two music scholars and with Cenidim director Víctor Barrera, they show printouts of some of the pages from this collection of pieces, with illegible handwriting that's difficult for musicians to read. The cover features a portrait of the composer, whose piano works are rarely performed in concert halls.

This project aims to incorporate Peralta's themes into the training of young musicians, for example, at the Higher School of Music, located a few steps from the research center's offices, atop the cultural complex's purple tower.

In this regard, Barrera emphasized that Cenidim's work in studying and disseminating Mexican music seeks interdisciplinary approaches. The relationship with schools and the training of new musicians are very important at this institution.

Some of these students enthusiastically agreed to participate in this afternoon's concert. Despite having little time to prepare for the concert and facing final exams, they took on a challenge requiring great discipline and effort, even choosing some of the most difficult pieces, Kopylova explains.

Aurea Maya, art historian and musicologist, recounted that opera in the 19th century had a complicated but very interesting cycle in Mexico, because in the nascent country, the politicians of the time, especially Lucas Alamán, took this art of singing as a civilizing instrument to demonstrate to the eyes of Europe that we were an advanced nation.

When I began to explore the figure of Ángela Peralta, I realized that she was embedded in this whole framework, and of course, she functioned as a civilizing instrument. The author of the book "Opera y gastos secretos" (Opera and Secret Expenses) emphasized that she not only had a privileged voice, but was also very intelligent, with business savvy. She followed the canons of the 19th century, with the standards of being a perfect young lady, but at the same time, she was a woman with a great vision of the world, perhaps instilled in her by her father and later by her teachers .

The conference on the important Mexican singer will feature researchers Elena Kopylova, Áurea Maya, and Zuly Amir López Ríos, moderated by Cenidim director Víctor Barrera. Pianists Isis González, Maximiliano Rosas, and Elías Morales, as well as sopranos Patricia Mastachi and Isamar Reyes, will bring these scores to life after a process of careful transcription and analysis.

▲ Giants, Peeking At The City, Havana, Cuba, 2019. Photo Néstor Kim / courtesy of the artist and the gallery

Alejandra Ortiz Castañares

Special for La Jornada

La Jornada Newspaper, Saturday, July 5, 2025, p. 3

San Gimignano. Founded in 1990 in a garage with just 500 euros in San Gimignano, in rural Tuscany, the Continua gallery is one of the most innovative spaces for international contemporary art. Founded by three childhood friends—Lorenzo Fiaschi, Mario Cristiani, and Maurizio Rigillo—with no funds or connections in the art world, the gallery challenged industry conventions from the outset. It currently has eight locations on three continents.

To celebrate their 10 years of presence in Cuba, they organized the exhibition The Ability to Dream (May 17–July 9), which features 40 Cuban artists.

"We always started with a passion for art ," Fiaschi says from Havana, where he lives. They worked without pay for 10 years, and the turning point came in 2000 with an exhibition of the artist Chen Zhen, when even the collector François Pinault acquired his work. He instilled in us the value of diversity as a principle and of art as a bridge between cultures .

This anti-colonialist approach has guided the gallery's international expansion, which has deliberately chosen peripheral contexts: an old cinema in San Gimignano (its historic home), a medieval windmill in the countryside an hour from Paris, and, since 2015, a former cinema in Havana's Chinatown.

The island adventure

During the Marrakech Biennial, Lorenzo Fiaschi and Cuban curator Laura Salas attended Michelangelo Pistoletto's performance Tercer paraíso : a symbol similar to infinity, but with three circles, the central one representing the possibility of harmony between opposites. Struck by the poetic power of the work, Salas proposed recreating it at sea, between Havana and Miami, as a gesture of reconciliation in a context marked by the embargo. In a spontaneous and unofficial action, hundreds of Cuban fishermen formed this symbol with their boats. The following day, December 17, 2014, Barack Obama and Raúl Castro, presidents of the United States and Cuba, in that order, announced the historic reestablishment of relations between their nations. This powerful and prophetic sign inspired the founders of the Continua gallery to establish a location in Havana, choosing, with the help of Biennial director Jorge Fernández, an old, dilapidated movie theater in Chinatown, which they restored, even bringing the roof from Italy.

Pioneers in a complex context

Continua was the first private and foreign gallery to establish itself in Cuba, operating as a cultural center. Now there's a bill to legalize the opening of private galleries , Fiaschi explains. Its uniqueness on the island has attracted international artists and collectors: "The Financial Times dedicated a whole page to us. Our colleagues couldn't believe it!" he says.

Artists such as Michelangelo Pistoletto, Anish Kapoor, and Daniel Buren, regulars in Paris and New York, among other cities, chose to exhibit in Havana, offering local audiences unprecedented encounters with global art. Their exhibitions, in November 2016, coincided with the death of Fidel Castro: Pistoletto's exhibition went ahead as planned, before the news broke, while Kapoor's, scheduled for the following day, was officially canceled due to national mourning, but went ahead with the lights off, with visitors illuminating the works with their cell phone flashlights.

Promotion

Continua has played a decisive role in the international exposure of numerous Cuban artists, promoting them at fairs and exhibitions in Europe and Asia. An emblematic example is Yoan Capote, whose monumental work was selected for Art Unlimited at Art Basel from among more than a thousand proposals, and later acquired by a major museum.

This commitment has not only improved the visibility of the island's artists, but also their living conditions: We have seen them go from living and working in four-by-four-meter rooms to having decent spaces where they can live and create freely .

International collectors are drawn to the originality and expressive power of Cuban art, even before knowing its provenance. According to Fiaschi, Cuban art is striking because it is not easily classifiable: it does not respond to a uniform or folkloric aesthetic, but is profoundly heterogeneous and individual, with strong identities and highly personal styles.

The context of geopolitical isolation has led many Cuban artists to develop creative solutions with limited resources, generating works rich in ingenuity and symbolic depth. This combination of material scarcity and conceptual richness fascinates an audience that recognizes in these works a truly universal vocation.

Censorship and freedom of expression

Regarding dissident artist Tania Bruguera, Fiaschi recognizes the importance of freedom of expression but criticizes her approach. He refers to her request to perform "Tatlin's Whisper" in the Plaza de la Revolución, inviting Cubans to speak freely through an open microphone—an action she performed years earlier at the Havana Biennial. On that occasion, she was offered a different venue, but she insisted, which led to her being placed under house arrest.

The same action in St. Peter's Square in Italy, speaking out against the Pope, would also have legal consequences , notes Fiaschi, who calls the action provocative and untimely , especially at a time when Cuba and the United States were beginning a process of dialogue.

Global vision and openness

Continua Gallery's approach is based on a long-term vision and an openness to cultural diversity. "We started working in India, the Middle East, and China 20 years ago—we were the first foreign gallery in China—when everyone was wondering what we were doing there." Everything seemed distant and difficult to understand, but stimulating: They were cultural spices to season our overly Eurocentric dish .

Their goal: to merge different worlds. Over time, these journeys have enriched their evolution. The same vision led them to invest in the Dubai fair, anticipating dynamics that are reflected today in the recently announced organization of Art Basel in Doha.

Cuba is a great cultural country , Fiaschi concludes, with world-renowned artists, writers, and musicians. The embargo, in place for 63 years, is one of the longest-standing economic sanctions in modern history. Most Cubans today were not even born during the revolution. This blockade not only represents a practical problem, but also prevents a clear assessment of the government's true capabilities. Fear of the U.S. superpower generates irrational decisions. Fear does not foster clarity. Restoring peace to Cuba would also mean restoring freedom and a breath of fresh air .

▲ Image from the third edition of Manifiesta, in 2023. Photo courtesy of Eloy Tarcisio

Merry Macmasters

La Jornada Newspaper, Saturday, July 5, 2025, p. 4

Constitution Plaza will be the setting for the fourth edition of Manifiesta, a performance- based art event taking place today in the context of the 700th anniversary of the founding of Mexico-Tenochtitlan. A total of 50 projects, including video mapping, received through a call for proposals , will be presented from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The initiative was born in 1993 as a conceptual manifesto for the inaugural exhibition of the then-called Ex Teresa Arte Alternativo, which featured work by Helen Escobedo, Felipe Ehrenberg, and Marcos Kurtycz. It was repeated in 1997 with the participation of 37 artists, now using a working methodology in which we left the space to occupy the exterior , says Eloy Tarcisio (Mexico City, 1954), who was director of the venue attached to the National Institute of Fine Arts and Literature from 1993 to 1995 and from 1996 to 1998. For him, art should not be just for the specialized public that goes and seeks it out, but rather we should confront the artist with the general public .

In 2023, Manifiesta III brought together 70 artists from various disciplines for an event on Primo Verdad Street, where the museum is located. “The experience of the 30 years since the founding of Ex Teresa—now Ex Teresa Arte Actual—and of having held a festival on the street, in front of the space, gave me a different vision of the artistic exercise in which the artists were working at the same time, at a specific time, in such a way that they became audiences for their own works. It was no longer just about impacting the public outside of art, but also about engaging in an exercise in self-experience,” Eloy Tarcisio told La Jornada.

He realized that there was a need for a space that would express the artist's opinion outside the white cube, the traditional artistic context framed in museums and fairs, and that focused more on an audience from a commercial perspective . The concern of some artists regarding what would happen with Manifiesta motivated Tarcisio to launch a fourth edition. Furthermore, the 700th anniversary of the founding of Tenochtitlan gave us the opportunity to have the framework of another type of aesthetic experience .

–Why in the Zócalo?

–Because the four branches of the Federation and the Church are present, and an impressive number of people pass through. The fact that artists are working simultaneously in the same place means that viewers can circulate freely and encounter an aesthetic experience in a fortuitous way.

The participating artists' concerns range from violence, ethics, war, and environmental issues, making Manifiesta a space for multiple voices and aesthetic experiences within a laboratory context . Manifiesta, therefore, was born as a cry and a celebration of what is happening in our environment .

No submitted project had to go through a jury or a curatorial committee, because all were accepted based on the criteria of anyone who calls themselves an artist, and what they create as a work of art becomes just that. In other words, there's no intention of legitimization. The space isn't one that legitimizes, but rather an open one in which the artist legitimizes their work. If it's good, it will be noticed; if it's bad, it will be noticed too. If it's coherent and impacts the public, it will be noticed. Otherwise, it will settle on its own and be separated from the context of its own work .

–What is the future of Manifiesta?

–It has become a manifesto of horizontal work that artists will have to work to maintain. It's not a space I'm going to maintain, but rather one that opens up to the voices of creators with the aim of breaking out of the white cube, of creating work for unconventional viewers, including in the use of spaces not designed for art.

For Eloy Tarcisio, performance is a philosophy of action, an exercise in direct contact, intended to evolve the reflection of everyday life around human problems . Furthermore, the artist has the obligation to engage with his or her subject matter and to speak beyond conventional practices such as galleries, fairs, and the art market .

Remember that performance is about ethics and responsibility. The artist must be aware that he or she is an opinion leader, and whatever he or she says or does will impact the audience. If he or she isn't aware of what his or her actions might provoke, the result may be inappropriate .

▲ Choreographer César Brodermann's work premieres this weekend at the Teatro de la Ciudad. Photo courtesy of the production.

Fabiola Palapa Quijas

La Jornada Newspaper, Saturday, July 5, 2025, p. 4

Return, a work by choreographer and director of the Aterno company, César Brodermann, "is a journey of self-discovery and reflection on what truly matters in life. A safe space where play becomes a tool in the search for freedom and creativity."

Through movement, a connection with the essence of childhood is achieved , explained the creator in an interview, who premieres his piece today and tomorrow at the Esperanza Iris City Theater.

In Regreso, Brodermann begins with a simple yet profound question: when was the last time you played without reason, without fear, without a goal? This question becomes a stage device capable of engaging audiences of all ages.

The production was built over five months of open laboratories, collaborative rehearsals, and processes where every team member had a voice. In the end, Brodermann presents the audience with a live piece that will be different at each performance.

“Regreso arose from the need to remember what makes me feel alive and what I feel when I dance. The game gives me the opportunity to freely explore who I am, who I want to be, and how I want to become,” commented the choreographer, who involved nine dancers and three apprentices in the creative process.

“As part of the project, we analyze play and childhood, where everything we do is intuitive and not analytical, because when you start growing up you say: 'I can't do this or I have to behave this way,' but when you're little, if you want to wear a giant t-shirt, you put it on, and if you want to run down the street, you do it.

So I decided to start questioning why play is necessary in our daily lives, whether as children or adults, and how we can return to these ideas because in childhood we are very imaginative, we have a lot of imagination , he added.

The artist seeks to connect with the work and free the audience. I'm interested in people evoking freedom, feeling alive, and discovering ways to achieve it , the creator said.

Play makes sense in the choreographic proposal and offers the body the possibility of being a path to memory, thereby achieving a connection with the freedom that has been forgotten over time.

After a decade of artistic transformation and having lived in different places, such as New York and Tel Aviv, Regreso also represents a return to his birthplace, his home country, for the choreographer; it's a tribute to his early years, to the land that witnessed his first steps and that brought him back to found his company out of his eternal love for dance.

Brodermann is a multidisciplinary artist, contemporary dancer, photographer, artistic director, and founder of Aterno. His work is characterized by a deeply emotional and physical approach, where the body ceases to be an archive of memories and emotions and becomes the perfect vehicle for communication through movement.

The play Regreso, which received the Tax Incentive under Article 190 of the LISR (Efiartes), will premiere today and tomorrow at 7:00 PM and 6:00 PM, respectively, at the Esperanza Iris City Theater (Donceles 36, Historic Center); on July 11 and 12, it will be presented free of charge at 5:00 PM in the Elisa Carrillo Hall of the Bicentennial Mexiquense Cultural Center; and on November 20 and 21 at 8:00 PM, and on the 22 and 23 at 7:00 PM and 6:00 PM, in that order, at the Raúl Flores Canelo Theater of the National Center for the Arts.

▲ The plot presents a new way of connecting with technology , explained Óscar Tapia, scriptwriter and stage director. Photo courtesy of the production.

Daniel López Aguilar

La Jornada Newspaper, Saturday, July 5, 2025, p. 5

In Figaro and the Android, the opera is reimagined as a science fiction adventure; it will be presented today and tomorrow at the Teatro de las Artes of the National Center for the Arts (Cenart).

The proposal seeks to bring the lyrical genre closer to new audiences through humor, fantasy, and reflections on the relationship between human beings and their creations.

The famous barber Figaro returns to the scene, but now his path leads him to a possible future . Along with Doctor Alchemist, he answers a call for help from the Moon: Kira, the last free woman, requests help to confront Olympia, the android who rules the Earth. When they manage to deactivate the machine, they discover that without it the world would collapse.

The plot presents a new way of connecting with technology and highlights our dependence on what we create , explained Óscar Tapia, the scriptwriter and stage director, in an interview with La Jornada.

In the story, science fiction dialogues with classical opera through fragments of Mozart, Rossini, Dvorak and other composers.

The Atizapán Philharmonic, made up of young musicians under the direction of Édgar Rainier Palacios, performs pieces such as the overture to Così fan tutte, the Cat Duet , and the Moon Aria, sung by Kira from her perspective of Earth.

Olympia offers a renewed version of Offenbach's Doll's Aria , a reflection of her condition between the human and the mechanical.

Tapia highlighted the collective nature of the production, which is nourished by the contributions of the cast: Amed Liévanos and Alberto Albarrán play Figaro; Luis Rodarte and Alexander Soto play Doctor Alchemist; Rosalía Ramos and María Anaya play Olympia; Tania Solís and Angélica Alejandre play Kira; Linda Saldaña, Penélope Lázaro, and Rosa Muñoz play Hypatia of Alexandria; and Enrique Guzmán and Ricardo Estrada play Lindoro.

First, we reviewed and improved the script; then, Gabriel Ancira designed the costumes and sets; finally, we rehearsed to integrate the music, scenery, and narrative , the director explained.

The story leaves court intrigues behind to build a narrative that questions the future. Hypatia of Alexandria, scientist and director of the legendary library, plays a key role: in the play, she gives Olympia a body in the hope of helping humanity, but ends up facing the frustration of seeing her betray her own ideals.

As in classic science fiction, the staging questions what we build, with what intention and at what cost , Tapia pointed out.

The project also seeks to bridge the gap between the audience and the opera. Presented in Spanish and in a format reminiscent of film or television, it combines live acting and singing to foster a direct connection.

We want to share with children and adults the most beautiful aspects of opera , added the director, who noted that the musical pieces are an essential part of the story.

It also raises questions that force us to look inward: What happens when what we invent becomes indispensable? Do we control technology, or does it end up dominating us?

We seek to fascinate with classical opera and, at the same time, confront the audience with the implications of what we have built , concluded Óscar Tapia.

The opera Figaro and the Android, a production by Arándano AC, will offer four performances today and tomorrow at 12:00 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. at the Cenart Theater of the Arts (Río Churubusco 79, Country Club Churubusco neighborhood). Tickets cost 150 pesos.

From the Editorial Staff

La Jornada Newspaper, Saturday, July 5, 2025, p. 5

Exploring time, creating with shadows, and modeling wonder. This summer, the Museum of Modern Art (MAM) and the University Museum of Contemporary Art (MUAC) will offer two workshops for children ages 6 to 12 to explore art through curiosity, imagination, and memory. The activities will take place from July 21 to August 8.

Moderns in Action: A Journey Through Time invites you to explore modernity through iconic works, sculptures, and conceptual art, and PLAY: The Playful Box of Expanded Theater and Cinema proposes a sensorial journey with images, shadows, and performances inspired by the myth of Plato's Cave.

Both initiatives seek to make the museum a living space where children can invent, question, and discover. Amidst games, outings, and picnics, imaginations take shape.

The MAM offers a program divided into three thematic weeks. The first explores modernity with an exhibition, including works such as Kahlo's The Two Fridas and pieces by Dr. Atl and Remedios Varo. Children will create works inspired by these techniques.

The second week is dedicated to sculpture: participants will visit the Sculpture Garden and the Drifts of Sculptural Form exhibition, and then model their pieces.

The third focuses on abstract and conceptual art. Children will create visual arts, photographs, and mail art to exchange with the National Museum of San Carlos.

Each day includes guided tours, interdisciplinary activities, and free play. There's a lunch break and a shared meal at noon; on Wednesdays, there are surprises such as circus performances or dramatized tours.

We start with vibrant displays, and that transforms the experience , said Adela González, head of Education and Mediation at MAM (Paseo de la Reforma, Chapultepec Forest). Activities will be held Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., with capacity for 60 children. For more information, please contact [email protected] .

From August 4 to 22, the MUAC will present PLAY…, designed by Estudio Nómade. Creation intersects with experimentation: lucida cameras, flipbooks, crankie books, masks, and acetate sets shape a workshop-laboratory.

The program begins with activities and a visit to Cuicuilco. Children will then experiment with shadow theater and masks while exploring the Sculpture Space and the Sculpture Garden. The workshop will conclude with rehearsals and the presentation of the final production to family members.

Sessions will be held Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the MUAC Agora (CCU, Insurgentes Sur 3000). For more information, please email [email protected] .