Theatre
El gigante Amapolas
Not translated into English
Juan Bautista Alberdi · 1841
Synopsis
On an almost empty stage stands the giant Amapolas, a straw dummy armed with a tin dagger, who never moves; a sentry insists that he will win without leaving his place, according to Labinger. Facing him, Captain Mosquito, Lieutenant Guitarra and Commander Mentirola exaggerate the enemy's forces and decide to retreat, although they are told of only a drum and a soldier. Abandoned by his men, Mentirola holds a council alone in three voices. The Colombian library that preserves the text sees in it a giant forged by the fear of Rosas's opponents.
Context
The play was written in 1841 in Montevideo, during the author's exile, according to Labinger; a thesis from the University of Chile dates it to 1841-1842. Its title plays on the name of Rosas, which can be read as the plural of “rose”. The author dedicated it to Presidents Rivera, Bulnes and Ballivián, so that they might see the reef and take care not to run aground on it. The critic Cocea, cited by Labinger, thinks it was aimed at Lavalle's campaign and showed a dictator who triumphs through the disorder of his enemies. Again according to Labinger, the author never saw it performed; it is still staged today, in Catamarca in 2025.
Who it is for
A small comic play in one act, in Spanish, quick to read; no known French translation.
Prizes and reception
Labinger compares it to the theatre of the absurd and considers it, without its last scene, a small masterpiece.
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