The presentation will take place on April 23 at 7:00 PM in the Josefina de la Torre Hall of the Cuyás Theater, coinciding with Book Day. This volume marks a milestone as the first contemporary text by a non-Canarian author included in the collection. It served as the basis for the historical drama 'Under the Sign of Cancer', which premiered in 1983 at the Gáldar Municipal Theater, directed by Tony Suárez and the Canarian Theater Company.
Sinisterra has revised and authorized the definitive version of the play, more than forty years after its premiere. The publication includes a prologue by Professor José-Luis García Barrientos, a text by the author himself, and an epilogue by Canarian actress Blanca Rodríguez, who played two roles in the original production. The book also features photographic material from the staging, press clippings from the time, and the program text written by the late professor Francisco Morales Padrón. The event will be attended by the Minister of Culture, Guacimara Medina, actress Blanca Rodríguez, and researcher José-Luis García Barrientos.
“"The literary and theatrical quality of the text makes it incomprehensible that it has remained unpublished for more than forty years."
The premiere of 'Under the Sign of Cancer. Memory of a Conquest' was a significant cultural event, with nearly two hundred performances at national and international festivals, including Italy and Portugal, and across almost all the islands of the archipelago. One of the most memorable performances was the tour's finale at El Confital beach, near Las Canteras Beach in the Gran Canarian capital, attended by over two thousand spectators.
Sinisterra's work is crucial in his dramatic canon, opening his American trilogy about the Castilian conquests of the 15th century. Written at the height of his artistic prowess, three years after 'Ñaque' and three years before '¡Ay, Carmela!', the piece explores metatheater and demystification. Its metatheatrical structure depicts the Castilian conquest of Gran Canaria from the perspective of the vanquished, through a theatrical representation by a group of actors.
“"As in the New World, the chronicle is the story of a drama. Because it is the story of the disappearance of a people. This people has not left us their version of the conquest. We lack this reverse. The one who tells is the victor."
The 'Island Dramaturgies' collection, directed by Pérez Alemán, González Morales, and Quino Falero, aims to highlight Canarian dramatic literature and works related to Canarias, prioritizing the recovery of unpublished or little-known texts. It was inaugurated with 'Kaleidoscope' by Pino Ojeda, and continued with the launch of 'Doña Juana y sus hijos' by Alonso Quesada and 'The Inheritance of Araus' by the Millares brothers.
