Trabajos cachiporrísticos: In the first Century of ‘Títeres de cachiporra’ and ‘El retablo de maese Pedro’
This exhibition unpacks the details and behind-the-scenes stories of the cachiporra works by Federico García Lorca, Manuel de Falla, and Hermenegildo Lanz, and pays tribute to its three protagonists in the centennial year of those performances that changed the history of puppet theater.
On January 6, 1923, Epiphany Day, at 3:00 p.m., the Títeres de cachiporra (cane puppets) performance took place at the García Lorca family home on Acera del Casino 31 in Granada, featuring Federico García Lorca, Manuel de Falla, and Hermenegildo Lanz.
Although the performance was held on the day of the Epiphany and was advertised as a “children’s party” according to the program, it was not merely an amusement for children but a total and conscious work of art by these three artists. Beyond the intellectual reclamation of Don Cristóbal, the new expressions and proportions that Hermenegildo Lanz brought to the figures, in harmony with the musical selection by Manuel de Falla, the thematic variety, the scenographic concept, the explosion of color in the set designs, the use of lighting, the blend of languages, the combination of flat and volumetric techniques, and the poetic sense of the texts and the overall performance were elements that created a new puppet theater in Spain. Something noteworthy from that performance was also its desire for continuity, to create an Andalusian Cachiporra Theater.
One of its great values is that it constituted the theatrical laboratory for El retablo de maese Pedro. On June 25, 1923, this puppet opera by Manuel de Falla premiered in Paris, inspired by chapters XXV and XXVI of the second part of The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes. Since then, this work has continued to be performed worldwide and is considered a masterpiece of Spanish music in the 20th century. In the context of artistic avant-gardes, it was our country’s great contribution to the global puppet theater scene. To date, around 180 stage versions are known to have been produced in 23 countries across 4 continents.
These cachiporra works were supposed to continue in September 1923 with Cuento de brujas and Feria de pueblo. We do not know why the projects these three artists were preparing never came to fruition, but it is certain that on September 13 of that year, Miguel Primo de Rivera, Captain General of Catalonia, carried out the coup d’état that kept him in power until 1930.
The projects of 1923 had significant repercussions; for instance, they were pioneers in the practice of paper theater in Europe as an artistic form, influenced Federico García Lorca’s drawings, contributed to the formation of La Barraca, and impacted other puppet projects by Hermenegildo Lanz, the puppet theater in Argentina and Latin America, etc.
Curators: Enrique Lanz and Yanisbel V. Martínez
Design and lighting: Enrique Lanz
Exhibition coordination: Inma Hernández Baena
Exhibition assembly: Alejandro Gorafe, Domingo Zorrilla Lumbreras, Inma García Baena, Alicia Cegrí, Cristina Colmenero, Enrique Lanz, Yanisbel V. Martínez
Frames: Manuel García España
Carpentry: Gustavo Adolfo Navarro
Painting: Javier Rodríguez Castro
With the collaboration of:
Museo Casa de los Tiros, Granada
Archivo Manuel de Falla, Granada
Archivo Lanz, Granada
Títeres Etcétera, Granada
Fundación Juan March, Biblioteca de Teatro, Madrid
Fundación Federico García Lorca
Istituto per i Beni Marionettistici e il Teatro Popolare, Turin