Actors bring 17th-century Spanish poem to life in Mexico
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Spanish actors Emilio Gavira and David Luque will read “La gatomaquia,” a poem by Lope de Vega, at the Seminario de Cultura Mexicana in Mexico City.
Brenda Escobedo, a Mexican playwright living in Spain and expert in the Spanish Golden Age, organised the reading. Escobedo first encountered the poem through the work of Mexican poet Fernando Fernández, who published it without critical notes so readers could experience the story directly.
Escobedo is presenting the poem after touring Spain with it for a year. She explains that “La gatomaquia” is a long and demanding poem, composed of seven stanzas requiring musicality and breath control from the readers. She shortened the poem to fit a one-hour reading, hoping it will encourage people to seek out the full text.
The poem tells the story of Zapaquilda, a cat from Madrid, and two suitors, Marramaquiz and Micifuf, whose rivalry escalates into a war mirroring the themes of love and jealousy common in Lope de Vega’s work. Escobedo believes the poem’s dramatic qualities will translate well to a spoken performance, even though it lacks dialogue and is not a play.
