Vargas Llosa's Theater in Buenos Aires

The World Premiere Of La Señorita De Tacna

Abstract

The article analyzes the close relationship between the theatrical field of Buenos Aires and Mario Vargas Llosa’s dramaturgical career, focusing on the world premiere of La señorita de Tacna in 1981. It reconstructs the historical, artistic, and political conditions surrounding the staging at the Blanca Podestá Theatre, directed by Emilio Alfaro and starring Norma Aleandro. The article highlights the international impact of the play and the decisive role of Buenos Aires in consolidating Vargas Llosa’s reputation as a playwright. It also examines the continuity of Aleandro’s relationship with the play through later theatrical productions and revisits testimonies and journalistic reviews from the period. The article situates the premiere within the context of Argentina’s last dictatorship, marked by the return from exile of Aleandro and Alfaro, political threats, and a climate of censorship. Within this framework, the play is linked both to the process of cultural reopening and to the phenomenon of theatrical “destape” at the beginning of the 1980s.