With the participation of international prima ballerina Elisa Carrilo in dance, maestro Lila Downs in singing, and the Ensamble de Valles Centrales, directed by maestro César Delgado in music, the unveiling of the main curtain, titled Núú Núndúva (“Oaxaca” in the Mixtec language), took place on August 21st at the Macedonio Alcalá Theater.
Construction of the Alcalá Theater in Oaxaca City began in August 1904 and opened in September 1909, becoming an architectural gem and a cultural space for the fine arts, considered one of the most important venues of its kind in the country.
At that time, the venue was decorated with the unveiling of the first main curtain, designed by Valencian artists Albino Mendoza, José Cabrera, Trinidad Galván, and the famous Tarazona brothers, depicting the fine arts of ancient Greece.
115 years after that event of great significance for the cultural life of Oaxaca, the stage of the Teatro Alcalá is once again adorned with a second main curtain, this time by the Mixtec painter José Luis García, creator of numerous works, mainly murals, sculptures, and large-format canvases that are exhibited in cultural spaces throughout Mexico and around the world.
This curtain, titled Núú Núndúva, is a recreation of a great book or codex, where the main protagonists of Oaxacan art and culture of yesterday and today can be appreciated and read. The composer for whom the theater is named and whose waltz is the Oaxacan anthem (God Never Dies), Don Macedonio Alcalá, takes center stage. Surrounding him are other leading figures such as Eduardo Mata, Francisco Toledo, José Vasconcelos, Rufino Tamayo, and Rodolfo Morales.
This curtain measures 13 meters wide by 11 meters high, painted in oil on linen, and took approximately one year to complete. It was made possible thanks to the magnanimous generosity of a group of patrons determined to watch over and contribute to preserving Oaxaca’s cultural history and continuing to elevate the state and its artists. Among them are Dr. María Isabel Grañén Porrúa, Mr. Alfredo Harp Helú, Mr. Salvador Flores and Mrs. Sonia González.
Source: sucedioenoaxaca
