Memoria transcultural, exilio republicano y teatro: Visto al pasar (2002), de Carmen Antón, actriz de La Barraca, y Desde la mecedora (2017), de Elena Boledi

Abstract

The recovery of the legacy of the Spanish Republican exile of 1939 is having a noteworthy impact on current society. This impact affects both Spain and the countries that hosted the exiles during the Franco dictatorship. Taking into account the emergence of exile memory in the Argentinian stage, this article argues that we are facing a case of transcultural memory, a memory that moves beyond national, social, ethnic, and religious borders (Astrid Erll). After giving some examples of transcultural memory plays, the article focuses on Desde la mecedora. República, guerra y exilio (2017), by the Argentinian writer Elena Boledi. This play is based on Visto al pasar. República, guerra y exilio (2002), the memoirs of María del Carmen García Antón (Madrid, 1916 — Buenos Aires, 2007). Carmen Antón was an actress in La Barraca, the university theatre company led by Federico García Lorca and Eduardo Ugarte, and played the role of Mariana Pineda during the Civil War. Boledi’s play recreates characters and symbols that represent the fight for freedom, such as Federico García Lorca, Mariana Pineda, and Guernica, by Picasso, analysed here as examples of forms of transcultural memory.