Mágico Herrera performs at Apu Teatro

I have said before that there is always something to do in Cuenca. We heard about a new theater opening around the corner that was going to open with a puppet show tonight.  We figured it would be a piece of interesting local color.  We were rather surprised from start to finish…

The posting we read said that there would be shows at 3:00, 5:00 and 7:00.  We decided to go to the middle show with a couple of friends, so met there a few minutes before 5:00.  hmmm…? The was a sign on a door that said “Teatro 7:PM”  (yes, that is the way it gave the time ☺).  We waited around, wondering if that was the right place, when someone walked up and went in.  Before he entered though, we had a simple conversation in Spanish with him, asking about the show.  “Si, esta noche a las sieta”  (“Yes, tonight at 7:00”) he told us, before saying “Hope you enjoy the show. See you in a bit. I brought hummus”  (in perfect English…).

We decided to have dinner before the now-delayed show, and came back a few minutes before 7:00.  As happens frequently (but not predictably) in Ecuador, the show time given was actually when the doors opened.  We were the only people waiting, so we figured they would have a pretty empty house.  The owner led us upstairs to the third floor, where we were asked to remove our shoes, and told (in fairly good English) that the show would wait a bit until others arrived.

About 10 minutes later eight other people showed up, including one toddler on a father’s knee and another infant at his mother’s breast.  We were then led into the theater — which had exactly six seats! The theater was a very small converted bedroom.  The owner scrambled to take some seat cushions from the waiting room, and we ended up with an extra row seated on the floor.

The owner went around under the small table, and next thing we know he is playing with a tiny (about 5″, or 12cm tall) rag doll, and we realize that the puppet show has just begun. He was the only puppeteer in the show, playing with rough homemade puppets, in a show titled “for a plate of lentils” about farming, death and (I think?) reincarnation.  His assistant came in a couple times to help move the table (during the puppet’s earthquake and later healing of the earth). The show was language-agnostic, since the only audio was a music background and a trilling sound the puppeteer made with the smaller puppets.

At the end of the show, the owner spoke very rapidly in Spanish, where I was not able to understand very much beyond his saying the show would be repeated multiple nights and that we should let our friends know about the “fantastico” show.  He then personally named and thanked everyone in the audience except the four of us — apparently everyone else there were friends of theirs.

I am glad we went and saw this bit of local color at least once.  Not entirely sure I will be going to future puppet shows here though…

Cuenca Puppet Show from Burt Johnson on Vimeo.