Here are some highlights this month of cultural events taking place in Bogotá which still basks in holiday mode.
Don’t miss the eloquent Shakespeare Enamorado this month at the Teatro Colón (Calle 10 No.5-32). Adapted for Spanish speaking audiences by the author Juan Gabriel Vásquez and based on the award-winning screenplay Shakespeare in Love, the two-hour performance with leading Colombian actors is a real treat, so too, the ambient lighting and captivating musical score. In their leading roles, Nicolás Montero delivers as Will Shakespeare and Carolina Ramírez very endearing as the bard’s muse Viola de Lesseps. The entire cast with direction by Diego León Hoyos pulls off a great production, and some nice Colombianisms, adding to the wit of an entertaining night out on the town. Tickets available at the theatre box office or through online agents tuboleta.com
El Museo Gallery (Calle 81 No. 11-41) has inaugurated an exhibition of four artists whose works cover various mediums, from illustration to painting. On the main floor of the gallery, Peruvian born Jorge Cabieses presents “Liberaciones simbólicas” with Cynthia López showcasing in the projects room her latest series “Eva.” On the second floor, Manuel Calderón gives us an inside look into “La caja vacía” and Barranquilla’s Marco Mojica’s illustrates with “Cocktail Clothes”. Free admission.
Joyce Lamassonne of the LamaZone gallery in Chapinero Alto (Cra 3A No.63-59) presents “Escapes”, a photography show of 7 promising photographers from different corners of the world. The photographers invited to participate are Jamie Hawkesworth (England); Thomas Lohr (Germany); Theo de Guelztl (France) and Colombians Paula Ospina, Gabriela Molano, Carlos Saavedra, Sofía Reyes. Definetely worth a look and chance to see how photography in an accelerated world creates unique universal languages. Viewers will appreciate various genres, including documentary and landscape. Free admission.
One of the capital’s more cutting-edge cultural spaces, Espacio Odeón (Cra 5 No12C – 73) opens its oors to two artists – María Roldán and Verónica Lehner with shows titled “Ante-ojo” and “Defectos lineales o dislocaciones” respectively. Both artists explore the use of space and both projects are rounded in years of research. Given Espacio Odeón’s curatorial feistiness and located in a building with a charm of its own, this exhibition promises to reinforce our understanding of the art of seeing.
On a slightly more humorous note, El Mundo según Mafalda (The World According to Mafalda) is a wonderful way to keep children entertained with a show dedicated to the beloved character of Argentine comic illustrator Quino. Activities are designed to engage all and there will be plenty of Mafaldas on the page and running in the park of the Museo de los Niños (Cra 60 No.63-27). Admission: $21,000 children. Adults: $25,000.
