Güines: Dramatization of the Passion of Christ

By Efrén Besanilla Vargas

Dramatization of the Passion of Jesus Christ

The Dramatization of the Passion of Christ was one of the spectacles that gave fame to Güines in Cuba and abroad. Because it was an exceptional act of faith and art, I have deemed necessary to remember it in the following pages. I want its memory to last.

Around 1947 or 1948 I was admitted as an Applicant to Catholic Action. At that time, during the Holy Friday procession, appropriate images were carried to commemorate such day. Some young people participated in the parade dressed as Roman soldiers.

The Tribunals of Caiaphas and Anas were erected in the balconies of Balerdi Building and Pilate’s on the second floor of Plaza Hotel. One year I played the role as one of the helpers of the Roman Proconsul.

Christ’s image had a mechanism that, when activated, made the knee bend, simulating a fall. The procession ended at the Parish Church where the act of taking down Christ from the cross took place. To that end another image of Christ nailed to the cross, was utilized.

Since an early age, my true vocation was dramatic performance. I remember that, still being a child, I participated in simple plays directed to the inmates of the jail, as well as sick people at the hospital. Maybe those inclinations were the ones that made me arrive at the idea of substituting the images of Christ, the Virgin, Saint John, Veronica and Magdalene with living actors.

We informed Father José Ramón Rodríguez Núñez, Parish Priest of Güines, about this idea and he immediately answered that he considered it a crazy one, because "there is only one step from the sublime to the ridiculous". For that reason, he did not approve it.

Father Rodríguez’s stance made us realize it would be better to let time go for a while. After many deliberations, in which Rafael Becil, Renaldo Curbelo, Alejandro Asís, Julio Troya and myself participated, we finally were able to convince Father Rodríguez to allow us to replace the images by actors for the following Holy Week.

It was a complete success. But we wanted to go even further. That is why after a year, we told Father Rodríguez our desire to have the crucifixion also staged by actors. Again, he thought it was a crazy idea. Nevertheless, our proposition was taken to the Parish Board that considered it doable and gave it its approval.

Julio Troya and I spent many hours working in the preparation of the cross where the actor playing Jesus had to be nailed. At Pellejero’s Garage we made, with automobile spring blades, shaped as hinges, the mechanism that would facilitate the raising of the cross while I was on it. This was another reason for a lot of rehearsals, because we wanted to be sure that nothing would fail on performance’s day.

The tension increased the closer we got to Holy Friday. I do not exaggerate when I said we were scared to death. The process, by which I had to be nailed to the cross and the apparent effect of the lance piercing my side, were possible due to two carefully created artifacts, made by Pedro Alvarado, Julio Troya and I. Notwithstanding our precautions and rehearsals, we were afraid of failing.

At least the day arrived and everything came out without a hitch. The crucifixion was really impressive. After the spectacle ended, Father Rodríguez embraced us and told us: “You will have my support to any other crazy idea you may come up with.”

Thus, Güines Passion started to have increasing fame. Next year we added the crucifixion of the two thieves.

In 1956 we met Nena Acevedo, who was a drama professor at University of Havana. She started to give us classes of that art, which helped in the improvement of the spectacle. In those courses participated Alejandro Asís, Marie Curí, Henio del Castillo, Ángeles Marina Fernández, Sandra Gómez, Ramón González Cuevas, Henio Hernández, Enrique Ramos, Zinnia Santana, Julio Troya, Pedro Zervigón, myself and others whose names escape my memory.

We should mention here that Efrén del Castillo due to his knowledge of decoration and set design gave great professionalism to the play. Besides this valuable contribution, he played for several years the role of Herod.

With its unsurpassable optimism Julián Ortiz gave great impulse to the production, obtaining from the National Tourism Institute the publication of an illustrated pamphlet, giving it an international character. Güines Photographic Club among its members “Manolo” Marín, Leonardo Rodríguez, Samuel Rodríguez, Oscar Saavedra and “Pepe” Trujillo, also efficiently helped with the play’s publicity.

Havana radio and TV stations, at the beginning were not interested in the Dramatization in Güines, but gradually started to pay attention to the same. Different newspapers, magazines and, in general, the written press, Diario de la Marina (Daily of the Marine), El Mundo (The World), Información (Information), Prensa Libre (Free Press), Excelsior, Bohemia, Carteles (Posters), La Quincena (The Bi-Weekly), Orientación (Orientation), as well as the local publications Juventud (Youth) and El Liberal (The Liberal) gave prominent importance to this relevant artistic and religious event that started and developed in Güines.

The pictures of Dr. Aurelio Álvarez were awarded a prize by the famous American magazine Catholic Digest and it caused the Dramatization to reach international fame. Later on, the well-known magazine Estampas (Images) published an extensive report. Finally, within the publicity field, a means of great reach and efficiency was the great film about the Dramatization, made by Dr. Frank Taracido.

The make-up of the artists was of excellent quality and provided by Henio Hernández, Aida García and Osvaldo Álvarez later on enriched with Pepe Lora and his family, professional make-up artists of CMQ the main radio and television station in Cuba. During many years they were our official make-up artists.

After the death of Father Rodríguez on August 3, 1957, the new parish priest of Güines Father Mérito González backed the Dramatization with the same decision and enthusiasm as that of his predecessor.

I refer now to the cast of characters in the play. Because it is possible I may omit some name or that I may incur in mistakes, I offer the pertinent excuses in advance.

The Dramatization of the Passion started in 1951 with about twenty or thirty players. In the last years it reached the figure of 300. As far as I am concerned, I had the honor of playing the role of Christ since its beginnings. Other young people who participated in the Dramatization were Acelia and Iraida Calderín, Juan Delgado, the Enríquez, Francisco Fraga, Mara García, Geolavides, Magda Hernández, José Milián, Juana Milián, Ada Montes, the Morenos, Yberto Oliva, Ana and Delfina Orta, Raúl Reyes, Alejandro Rivero, Ada Sierra, Roberto Torres and hundreds more that it is not possible to remember while I write.

The General Director and narrator was always the function of Rafael Becil. Nobody like him to carry out an enterprise of such magnitude.

In order to perform the spectacle, it was necessary to mobilize a tremendous amount of participants who offered their cooperation completely free. Even more, without being afraid of exaggeration, it could be asserted that many of them paid from their own pockets, the expenses incurred in the interpretation of their roles. A large number of people would participate in the tribunals and mob scenes offering their cooperation in anonymity.

The people of Güines vibrated with religious fervor, emotion and legitimate pride days before the spectacle. It had acquired clear conscience of the artistic importance of such event and above all, in their intimate self, it became present in a realistic manner, the pains, agony and death of Our Redeemer.

The Dramatization continued as such until that Holy Friday, doubly fateful, in 1961. Due to facts well known to all, it was the last Dramatization. But this gigantic artistic effort has not been forgotten, nor its resplendent flame of faith has been extinguished by the adverse counter-currents on human happenings or by the years that have gone by since then.

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