Few celebrations bring together in the same setting the best of the Spanish scene, theatre lovers and the spectators, who, with their applause and presence, once again filled the hall to enjoy the presentation of the Rojas Theatre Awards, which, in its XXXII edition, brought together actors, directors, representatives of the regional political sphere and the City Council of Toledo, directed by Mayor Carlos Velázquez and the corporation’s advisors.
After an hour and a half of ceremony, the participants in the Rojas Theater were able to benefit and applaud the ingenuity, music and improvisations, including social criticism, of the Ron Lalá companyresponsible this year for presenting the gala, dedicated to exalting the work of the “best of 2023”, chosen with the votes of Toledo viewers.
One of the most moving moments of the gala was the award ceremony for the best show for children and families. The leaders, Claudia Soria Escobar and Adrián Gil (two young people with Down syndrome), were in charge of presenting the award to Piero Partigianoni, director, co-author and performer of “Aires (Leaves in the Wind)”. Claudia managed to attract the attention of the audience and receive the best applause by not wanting to let go of the award. Complicit laughter from the participants.
The winners of the Dance category: “Archipelago of Disasters” and “El Paraíso de los Negros”, represented by Isabel Vázquez, Elena Carrascal and Trinidad Giles, took advantage of their intervention to highlight Rojas’ commitment to dance, although they also called attention to the fact that an art such as flamenco – declared an intangible heritage of humanity – is included in the programming of a theater like the one in Toledo.
Theatre and commitment
Thus, one by one, the winners of the XXXII edition of the Rojas took to the stage of the Municipal Coliseum, in an evening marked by emotion, joy, the vindication of a trade and a profession that manages to move the spectators. And this is how they demonstrated it with their own words.
When María Ruiz received the award for the best show in Castilla-La Mancha for “Traviata” and representing La Folía, she told the story of a mother (an opera lover) and her daughter, a rebellious rasta whom she encourages to accompany her to the opera. In this story, María describes how the mother and daughter have a coffee, a beer and generate wealth.
With this story, the actress also addressed the authorities present to continue supporting culture, a topic that was also addressed by the Rojas Theater Special Award at the local level, Antonio Illán Illan, writer, theater critic and ABC collaborator.
Antonio Illan, one of the last to receive the award, did not miss the opportunity to address the representatives of the Commission and the City Council of Toledo, whom he asked to invest and allocate more budget to culture. In his speech, he also addressed his wife, Teresa Ortiz, who accompanies him and helps him organize and correct the reviews he writes every week.
Another winner was the actor, playwright and director Sergio Peris-Mencheta, for “Ladies Football Club”. He thanked the audience for the second prize as director. In a video recorded from Los Angeles (United States) and accompanied by his dog, Sergio – who is currently battling cancer – was “very grateful for this recognition” and confessed his desire to return to Rojas soon. A close applause for this performer who began his career in 1998 in the series “On the way out of class”.
Music and thanks
All the winners, Irene Escolar (best Finnish actress) and Israel Elejalde (best Finnish performer), stressed what it means to have the audience decide the award. Both actors spoke about the emotions they felt in making a production that deals with feelings and breakups and in which each of them faced their own ghosts.
Another great of the scene, Arturo Querejeta, recognized for his performance in “Monsters”, also used social networks. The prodigy of the gods. Arturo thanked him for this second award and had a few words for the public. “Without their presence and without them, we do not exist,” said the actor to encourage viewers to come this week to Rojas to see him in “El mayor de Zalamea”.
If this ceremony is worth highlighting, it is the presence of the Ron Lalá company, in charge of presenting the gala and animating the theater festival with a new proposal that mixes music and original texts using their own scenic language, put in the foreground. service of critical and lemony humor.
