Carpa
4370688
220788220
2008-06-21T16:09:21Z
Lightbot
7178666
Units/dates/other
In [[Mexico]] and the [[Southwestern United States]], the '''''carpa''''' ([[Spanish language|Spanish]]: "tent", from the [[Quechua language|Quechua]] ''karpa'') theater flourished during the 1920s and 30s. Like its [[United States|American]] counterpart [[vaudeville]], performances were varied, including comedic sketches, puppet shows, political satire, acrobatics, and dance.
Some well-known carpas include [[Carpa Valentina]] and [[Carpa Azcapotzalco]]. In the United States, Carpa Cubana, Carpa Monsavias, and [[La Carpa Garcia|La Carpa García]] were the best-known.
The carpa has origins in the seasonal theaters of the 1870s that began performing ''[[Don Juan Tenorio]]'' for the [[Day of the Dead]] ([[November 1]]) and finished with religious plays for [[Christmas]]. This practice continued during the regime of [[Porfirio Díaz]] and the [[Mexican Revolution]].
Following the Revolution, companies set up large tents in [[Tacuba]], [[Tacubaya]], and [[Azcapotzalco]], and some, like Nacho Pérez carpa, toured the country. These temporary theatres allowed Mexico's urban underclass to forget their daily troubles and were encouraged by the government as an alternative to the [[pulque]] hall and the [[brothel]].
Shows usually consisted of three ''tandas'', or acts. In order to be successful on the carpa stage, an actor had to establish an immediate rapport with the audience and get laughs quickly or risk being booed off stage. This limited the portrayals to [[stock characters]]. However, many who allowed their personalities to shine through the characters and who developed a knack for improvisation later found success in the [[cinema of Mexico]], helping to create its [[Golden age of the cinema of Mexico|Golden Age]].
==Stock characters==
{{incomplete list}}
*The [[Indigenous peoples of Mexico|Indian]]
*The ''[[pelado]]''
*The shrew
*The [[Police corruption|corrupt policeman]]
*The [[bourgeois]]
*The [[dandy]]
[[Category:Spanish language]]
[[Category:Theatre in Mexico]]
[[Category:Theatrical genres]]