At the Juan Manuel Díaz dock, located in the vicinity of the San José Warehouses on Avenida del Puerto de La Habana, it was the beginning of everything; a novel beginning, away from the traditional theater halls of the city. On that pier there was singing, dancing, performance, stories…and there was sea.
Thus, on October 10, 2019, Oficio de Isla was staged for the first time, based on the text “I have a daughter at Harvard”, by Arturo Sotto, and directed by Osvaldo Doimeadiós. A short time later, a new space acquired the name of the play that honored the visit of Cuban teachers to the aforementioned Northern University in 1900.
Doimeadiós himself is the one who is currently in charge of the Oficio de Isla Ship and explained, exclusively for ACN, that its emergence is the result of the impact that Oficio had… both for the public and for the team that was involved in it. that first show.
For this reason, the nascent room was moved to the interior of the Almacenes de San José, a site that functions as a craft fair. The Office of the City Historian was in charge of this management and, in particular, Eusebio Leal, who provided them with the premises they have had since December 2020.
Coexistence in a venue that par excellence has been dedicated to the marketing of souvenirs and, therefore, has been characterized by direct contact with tourists, has not been an impediment for the Nave to enjoy its autonomy today and at the same time, have close links with the rest of the stores.
«We are a multidisciplinary team, what we have called a creative community because there are artists from theater, dance, cinema and plastic arts, and the result of our work lies in the intersection between these disciplines. As our slogan says: this is a place where memory, history and the arts coexist in the present», says Osvaldo Doimeadiós.
The convergence of artistic expressions there is such that the venue is not conceived only as a theatrical altarpiece. Events of notable importance in the cultural life of the country have already taken place in the place, such as the 19th Havana Theater Festival, the tenth edition of the International Scenic Transfers Laboratory, and it has been one of the sub-venues of the Havana International Book Fair. Havana.
In addition, during the Villanueva Conference, the center has developed colloquiums and workshops, such as the one given by the writer and essayist Francisco López Sacha on narrative thought, because it not only functions as a leisure space, but also an academic one, where those who are inclined towards arts can receive additional training.
Doimeadiós emphasizes that the Nave Oficio de Isla is involved in the development of the actor and all the disciplines that contribute to his work, from the script, the dramaturgy, the staging, the design in its wide variety – say costume and set design. – even the stage direction.
“The workshops will continue throughout the year, not only for the actors who are part of our team, but also open to those from other groups and backgrounds, students from the National School of Art (ENA), the Faculty of Art of the Audiovisual Communication Media (Famca) and, in general, of the University of the Arts (ISA). It is not about having a ghetto as it sometimes happens », he detailed.
The Nave Oficio de Isla has had to be born and take its first steps as a creative community in a convulsive moment; perhaps that has made a dent in the knowledge that the Cuban public has about the site. Its strong presence on social networks and the sporadic presentations that the country’s epidemiological situation has allowed, speak of a space that is constantly renewing itself, growing and aspiring to more.
Its director assures that the place has been known little by little, not only through workshops and colloquiums, since the most recent issue of the magazine Tablas has been presented there and short films have been screened.
The immediate future of the Ship captained by Doimeadiós will bring with it activities during the next edition of the International Book Fair of Havana – postponed for April – which will include the presentation of titles related to all manifestations of art, in general, in the rock “Letters by the sea”, conducted by the writer Laidi Fernández de Juan. A special moment will be the presentation of a text about the life of the outstanding actor Sergio Corrieri.
These days, this creative community hosts the Luz show, based on the texts of the recently deceased writer Sigfredo Ariel. The premiere has been interrupted by the rising behavior that Covid-19 has had in Cuba in recent weeks.
Luz, which was awarded the Villanueva Critics Award for being one of the best stagings of the 2020-2021 period, according to Osvaldo Doimeadiós, began to take shape from the homes of each member of the team through networks such as WhatsApp. «It is a show in progress; It was released on December 16, 2021, but it is still growing and arming itself because it still does not have the final costume design and texts are being incorporated», specifies.
Nevertheless, Luz went on stage again, as part of the celebrations for the Day of the Cuban Theater, to remain on the billboard until approximately March.
In the midst of these seas of creativity, the young Nave Oficio de Isla travels today, without stopping its course towards the formation and integration of knowledge to cross the borders between one manifestation and another. Our interviewee hopes that this space will not die and it will: the Ship has set sail and is sailing at full speed.
