Uncle Vania-Tio Vania, International Cervantes Festival

Gloria and I made our way back to Guanajuato for some unfinished business. We finally were able to make it to the State Archive of Guanajuato to do some research, which proved to be very helpful in terms of biographical information. This was also the opening week for the International Cervantes Festival, where for a couple of weeks they hold performances of many kinds (opera, theatre, musicals, dance, street spectacles, etc.) in the various venues around Guanajuato. To be honest, Guanajuato is our favorite place in Mexico, and we really wish we could have come here to study. It's like night and day compared to Guadalajara in terms of like-ability. So after we did some more research we were able to get two tickets to a very special performance of Uncle Vanya, an Anton Chekhov play. Anton Chekhov is from Russia and considered to be one of the revolutionary playwrights who brought theatre into the modern age. I remember in my theatre classes we discussed his revolutionary play The Sea Gull that was a disaster at first but became later one of the most celebrated plays because of the change in acting techniques (Stanislavsky-esque Acting).
It was honestly a miracle we were able to make it because Ticketmaster was very difficult with us. We went to the Teatro Principal, one of the main venues in Guanajuato.

It's really more of a white-ish/green look. This picture is obviously edited. Unfortunately the only pictures we took were on the inside. Like these:

 This is the stage at the beginning. They put bales of hay on a hanging platform of tubes. These were hanging throughout the entire performance to give the appearance of a farm-atmosphere, if not to show that they lived in a barn.

 Here's a closer look at their scenic design. Very creative.

 Since they spoke in their native tongue (Russian) there were super titles in Spanish. It was a privilege to hear Chekhov in his own language.

 Here's an interior shot where the audience comes in at the bottom.

It looks like a normal, small theater. Just like any other typical theater in the United States.
Now, may I talk about their acting. Powerful!!! You felt like you just left Guanajuato and spent a few hours with Russians back in Russia. The acting was sincere and creative. It appears as if this play follows the neo-classical rules to a certain extent: the play takes place in one room and the time appears to move almost as fast as it takes to perform the play, without anything but serious and real matters brought forth. There was a fantastic scenic technique they employed for the rain. At the back of the stage there were two patio doors. Behind the stage, above these doors they employed a system that actually rained, so when the daughter goes outside, she actually comes back in wet. Obviously there must have been something underneath collecting the water. That was one scenic design that stood out, besides the bales of hay that gradually descended after the final word.

This is how the stage looks at the end. After the daughter, Sonia, played by Elena Kalinina, finished her heartfelt speech about how they would find solace in God even through their despair. The final speech is more of a desperate plea convincing herself that God will help them rather than truly finding solace in the God they believe. At least that's how I interpreted the tragic ending.
The story of Uncle Vanya revolves around a Russian family wrought with financial problems. The main woman, the wife of the ex-professor, falls in love, or is more enticed, by two others, Uncle Vanya and the doctor. Also, Sonya, a daughter, is looking for love as well, but believes no man will ever love her, and by the end, it looks as if she's right. The whole play is tragic, with the ending a very gut-wrenching plea that God will save them from their misery.
I don't quite understand why the bales of hay were lowered around the actors at the end.
It was a unique experience and a surprise for me that the play was in Spanish. The International Cervantes Festival holds special performances like these each year as they invite countries to visit Guanajuato and present theatrical productions. What I find terribly sad is that I had never heard of this festival before. It's an international affair and it's been held for years. I believe this year is the 39th year. They invited countries like Finland, Norway, and Denmark as their guests of honor, amid other countries represented, such as this Russian company. We witnessed a jazz ensemble one evening for free from Stockholm, Sweden.
It was a wonderful experience. Guanajuato is a very cultured city full of theater and history. It stands out, at least for me, from Guadalajara in the sense that it is a cleaner, safer, more beautiful city. Mexico has some diamonds in the rough, and Guanajuato is one of them. We will miss this city when we leave more than any other that we were able to visit so far.