The story of the "banana dress" featured in "La Revista del Cervantes"

The Roaring Twenties are back, at least for the two hours that La Revista del Cervantes takes place. Pablo Maritano 's production in the María Guerrero Hall of the Teatro Nacional Cervantes pays homage to this oft-vilified genre , with the aim of highlighting characters who—on this side of the ocean and across—became essential to 20th-century culture.

With more than 50 artists on stage, including Alejandra Radano and Carlos Casella , in an allegory of tragedy and comedy, original scores and dances from yesteryear are included, performed by the Cervantes Orchestra and the National Contemporary Dance Company, with choreographic direction by Andrea Servera.

This, coupled with the meticulous work of María Emilia Tambutti, costume designer who created more than 700 garments and accessories for all the actors and dancers appearing in the play, developed by the public theater's tailoring and prop workshops.

Tambutti—with an extensive career that includes a stint at the Teatro Colón and an ACE Award for Trans Golden Age —traced the fashion and art hits of the Belle Époque , which are inevitably linked to the emergence of the Buenos Aires magazine. There are more or less explicit allusions to European icons such as the couturier Paul Poiret and Romain de Tirtoff, better known as Erté, the "father of art déco ." The same goes for the Frenchwoman Madame Rasimi, the main driving force behind the magazine genre, and the enduring Josephine Baker.

Baker is well worth a look, as she is referenced, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of her death on April 12, 1975, in the musical number "The Bananas," whose central role is played by actress and dancer Jessica Abouchain.

It was precisely with a banana belt that the Afro-descendant artist born in Missouri, United States, stood out on the stages of Paris, conquering that city forever.

And if, in the original version, the caderín was made up of 16 prop bananas that, according to Baker herself, pointed their crescent moon towards the sky and allowed her to underline her movements, now, in a new version by Tambutti , it is made up of 22 pieces that, together with the spare ones, plus those worn by the dancers and those of the Carioca-style headdress, add up to a total of 240, all covered with gold rhinestones .

This sartorial déjà vu reaffirms the relevance of the dancer who brought the Charleston to the stage at the Folies Bergère and the Casino de Paris, who not only gained notoriety in the French capital but also became an icon for the entire world.

She visited Argentina several times ; the first time in 1928, marked by political disputes for and against President Hipólito Yrigoyen. She returned in the 1950s, when she appeared on Radio Belgrano and met with Juan Domingo Perón. Some of these visits are recounted in the posthumous biography that her late husband, Jo Bouillon, compiled from the notes and letters Baker left behind. A significant fact: Bouillon lived in Buenos Aires and managed the Bistro restaurant.

The truth is that, more than a century after her Parisian debut, and beyond the banana-themed attire, Baker's style is studied and reinterpreted as a milestone in the history of contemporary dress. This is due to her Eton-style haircut, her frequent use of feathers, and her skimpy outfits, which were unusually bold for the time.

Not only did she show interest in creating an indelible image, but she also rubbed shoulders with designers of the era, such as the aforementioned Poiret and Madeleine Vionnet, both of whom championed the liberation of women from the corset. At the same time, already an established artist, she wore designs by Christian Dior and shoes by André Perugia.

Just revisit the most recent Met Gala red carpet, where American supermodel Gigi Hadid wore a golden Miu Miu dress inspired by the ballerina. Rihanna and Beyoncé did the same in previous years, complete with a banana skirt.

But above all, Baker transcended the stage, whether for his role as a civil rights activist, such as accompanying Martin Luther King at the March on Washington in 1963, among other demonstrations, or for his previous participation in World War II, in his dual role as a spy for the Resistance against Nazism and as a second lieutenant in the French Air Force.

These recent interventions not only earned her public recognition, but in 2021, President Emmanuel Macron promoted the transfer of her body to the Pantheon in France, making her the first Black woman to enter the famous mausoleum in the country's history.

*The Cervantes Magazine can be seen from Thursday to Sunday, at 8 p.m., at the Cervantes Theater, Libertad 815.