Teatro mágico, teatro fantástico: tres piezas de Hugo Argüelles

Abstract

Among the many peculiarities that made Hugo Argüelles (Veracruz, 1932-CDMX 2003) a unique dramatist, perhaps the repeated appearance of magical objects in his plays is the most recognizable. These motifs certainly lead many of the playwright’s work into the realm of the marvellous, although with some fantastic traits, as in Los amores criminales de las vampiras Morales and La esfinge de las maravillas. Nonetheless, a clear sample of pure fantastic mode appears in El gran inquisidor. Auto profano. Here, Argüelles uses the technique of metatheatre to achieve a transgression that cannot be explained in the work itself. We will see, then, how this dramatist approaches the frontiers between the marvellous and the fantastic mode while he works on his obsessions upon incest and how he achieves a fantastic piece with the figure of Tomás de Torquemada. 

Keywords: metatheatre, fantastic literature, fantastic theatre, Mexican theater, magical objects.