Fijar lo efímero: La fotografía escénica como constructora de la memoria cultural en el teatro mexicano de los siglos XX y XXI
Capturing the Ephemeral: Stage Photography as a Constructor of Cultural Memory in Twentieth- and Twenty-First-Century Mexican Theatre

Summary/Abstract: Stage photography in México profoundly transcends its documentary function to become an active and fundamental agent in constructing the nation’s theatrical memory. This work delves into an analysis of how iconic photographs of canonical 20th and 21st-century productions have not merely illustrated but decisively shaped the historiography and cultural narrative of Mexican theatre. Employing a method that combines semiotic analysis of images with rigorous archival research, we argue that these photographs operate as powerful canonizing mechanisms, cementing specific stagings in the collective imagination and creating potent visual legends. This process often reinforces hegemonic ideas of national identity. However, this constructed memory is inherently partial, generating silences and omitting alternative narratives. We conclude that stage photography is an indispensable, yet problematic, pillar for preserving and understanding the ephemeral event, operating at the critical intersection of artistic reinterpretation, historical record, and the dynamics of collective memory.

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