Rubén and Zenén: masters of beauty and virtue

Actor and theater director Rubén Darío Salazar Taquechel and designer Zenén de Jesús Calero Medina dream and live theater like no one else and turn it into wonderful staging within that great family of nearly thirty years old, which is Teatro de las Estaciones.

Both are National Theater Award-winners since 2020 and three years later, each has been regarded as Youth Teacher by the Hermanos Saíz Association.

For both, being worthy of this condition —the highest granted by the organization that brings together the young Cuban artistic avant-garde— goes beyond the recognition of a common and uninterrupted work on the country and world’s stages, and has become the daily impulse of creation and beauty.

After 29 years of intense work for children, Calero Medina told the Cuban News Agency (ACN) that making theater for this age group is not that easy, as it is a work that entails total seriousness.

It is, the designer explained, an enjoyable job and at the same time careful, because that children's audience easily accepts stage proposals as they do not have garnered experience to decide what they like or not.

“For example, this is where some no educational messages pop up that do not pursue the enjoyment of music or art pop up.”

Children are like clay that you can mold, but it is important that such a mold leads them towards a good path, said Calero Medina.

This artist labels his connection with younger generations as strong because he has worked tirelessly in his beloved Matanzas since he was at that age.

Youth are that relay that you know is going to leave your mark on the world, that is why it must be taken into account, he stated.

For Calero Medina, it is paramount to maintain the link between generations and he confessed that in his workshop there are always young people who share their experience with him, no matter how little it may be.

If Zenén had to be defined in one word, it would certainly be vocation.

It is important to do what we like. In my case, I have never felt that I work, but rather that I entertain myself and that the workshop is an extension of my home, he confessed.

“I am happy, at my age, with what I do,” he added.

“Spending more than two decades doing theater and bringing joy to people is said to be easy, but that is only possible through dedication and love for creation.”

The Teatro de las Estaciones Company becomes my family because theater is a family and collective art, said Calero Medina.

This maestro is involved not only in everything related to the group's image, he is also responsible for the design of the lighting of the theatrical shows.

When actors are vibrating on stage, I do it with my lights. I do believe it is also a plastic work since everything becomes colorful thanks to the lights, which are focused on where you want the audience to pay more attention to, he explained to ACN.

For me, Teatro de las Estaciones is a space where I fully realize myself and where I feel like I have everything, he stated.

Zenén's work is different from others at first glance because of the subtlety and natural grace of his puppetry are unique.

From that little space called Teatro de las Estaciones and with his designs, Zenén always aspires to offer lines of conduct for the public that watches the staging, with messages that allow some change in their way of thinking and to further awaken their sensitivity to better appreciate what lies around us.

I want, with my art, that people become more affable, supportive and human, he expressed.

Rubén Darío Salazar Taquechel, on the other hand, considers that being a Youth Teacher is being aware of the continuity that is built and the inheritance left to others.

"This vital and perennial cycle leads you to never stop creating, caring for and stimulating those generations that grows behind you."

The actor and director explained that Teatro de las Estaciones transcends its category of company to also become the teaching unit of the Mid and High Level called "Carucha Camejo", where young people eager for knowledge learn innovative formulas to work on stage.

Even in the midst of very difficult material conditions, this artistic group from Matanzas does not stop in its quest for education and spiritual beauty and for Salazar Taquechel, the response to adversity is "to be faithful to the roots."

It does not bother me to know that as puppeteers we belong to the guild of circus artists, sometimes without a great background tradition, but it must also be shown that the rest of the manifestations can be included in the art of puppetry to offer the contemporary public something new and dazzling, he asserted.

The style that we defend in this group does not reject anything because you can find us in a show with the Faílde Orchestra, or with musicians like William Vivanco, Rochy Ameneiro and Bárbara Llanes, with plastic artist Alfredo Sosabravo and with designer María Elena Molinet, just to cite a few examples.

Doing theater for Zenén and me is, according to this creator's metaphorical comparisons, like planting a huge garden where butterflies, lilies, and roses of all colors, aromas and sizes are born.

"It is a task where we cannot rest. Even when we are sleeping we are dreaming of what we want to do and when awake we do what we dream of, but it gives us enormous pleasure and shows us that life is there in full effervescence.

"When theater is done from the heart and with the commitment that all arts treasure, it constitutes an endless task."

Thus, between puppets, drawings and colorful characters, this creative duo exudes love, teachings and a lot of passion about the scene, which they have turned into their fertile land so that only happy hearts grow from it.

Translated by Sergio A. Paneque Díaz / CubaSí Translation Staff