THE WESTCHESTER GUARDIAN THURSDAY, APRIL 4, 2013
By SHERIF AWAD
El Teatro Nacional Sucre (The Sucre National Theatre) in the Ecuadorian capital Quito is a historical building now dedicated to host theatrical arts from all over the world including ballet, musicals, dancing, symphonic orchestras and classic plays. Sometimes, it also hosts important political meetings and the Miss Ecuador beauty contest. Posters of past events on the walls of the theatre give an impression of the many artists and troupes that have visited and performed on its stage. One of the performing artists that appeared on Teatro Sucre last month was Sergio Mercurio. He was born 1968 in Banfield, Argentina, hence the professional name he gave himself El Tititiritero de Banfield (The Puppeteer of Banfield). Since 1992, Mercurio has been on the road
traversing across much of Latin America. He has performed in Argentina, Bolivia , Chile , Uruguay , Peru , Brazil , Ecuador , Colombia , Venezuela ,Costa Rica , Nicaragua , El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala. When he arrived in Mexico, he would come to perform 1,000 shows. During that time period, he created a trilogy of shows
for which he became famous; he also published a book about his artistic journey and realized a documentary about Efigenia Ramos Rolim, the aging Brazilian artist who used to walk from street to street to recite poems and sell small puppets she created from chocolate and candied wafer. Since the year 2009, Mercurio began to present his work in France, Spain, Belgium and Germany. By the middle of 2012 he launched his second book “The
Novel of My Grandfather”. The self-taught Mercurio shares the scene with puppets of his own design and creation that vary in size, shape, and look. Spontaneous, delicate, full of tenderness and humanity, his travels inspired most of his characters: Bobbi the Gringo, the Latin grandmother, the crazy witch, and the Brazilian art professor, but to name a few. He skillfully breathes life into each of his puppet creations, using one or two of his hands, each hand has a different energy, hence suitable to animate different character, and sometimes alongside him, is his collaborator, his wife Rosemary Jacomelly. She will supplement the action he imparts to the puppet as she gives them voice. He gives them voice as well, though neither of them are ventriloquists. His show seems improvised, but it is mostly scripted, featuring funny dialogue for the stage, banter among various audience members. Mercurio receives heartfelt applause from audiences who appreciate the social commentaries and sarcastic jokes that are dear to the Latino sensibilities. Because of his beginnings as a stage actor, he easily transforms himself from one character to the next with ease every time he sets foot
on stage with the accompaniment of a different puppet. The viewers sitting atop the theatre balcony gain a unique perspective from where they sit. They are witness to Mercurio’s exhausting effort in animating the puppet characters behind a black curtain. He is not visible to audiences sitting eye level with the orchestra. Each puppet needs to be infused with special physical and psychological energy, as well as vocal talent. Mercurio and his puppets are both different and special because the audiences to whom they cater are predominantly children, only sometimes adults. Although Mercurio’s puppets are quite different from those we see in American and European media, he is not considering using them in a film production because he considers this art form essentially belongs to the theatrical stage.
Born in Cairo, Egypt, Sherif Awad is a film / video critic and curator. He is the film editor of Egypt Today
Magazine (www.EgyptToday.com), and the artistic director for both the Alexandria Film Festival,
in Egypt, and the Arab Rotterdam Festival, in The Netherlands. He also contributes to Variety, in the
United States, and is the film critic of Variety Arabia
(http://varietyarabia.com/), in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Al-Masry Al-Youm Website
(http://www.almasryalyoum.com/en/node/198132)
and The Westchester Guardian
