La Cucarachita Martina triumphs in San Francisco – El Sol de Hidalgo

The Cuban-born theater company La Colmenita, designated by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) as a Goodwill Ambassador, performed at the San Francisco City Theater, in the state capital, with the production La Cucarachita Martina, as part of the activities of the 2024 Children’s and Youth Book Fair.

Carlos Alberto Cremata Malberti, director and founder of La Colmenita, considered the only group of its kind to have international recognition, said that, although they have performed in different parts of the country, this is the first time they have come to Hidalgo thanks to the invitation of the Secretary of Culture in Hidalgo, Neyda Naranjo Baltazar.

The creator of this unique concept of children’s theatre, pointed out that the group was born in Cuba on February 14, 1991, with the aim of providing children with a space for their artistic development in areas such as singing, dance and dramatic art in which their human rights are privileged.

He said that the group has become an international movement and that thanks to the ties that unite it with Mexico, there are three Colmenitas in the country in Querétaro, Chiapas and San Luis Potosí.

He explained that the aesthetic and dramatic work they have developed thanks to La Colmenita has led them to have international recognition and to have headquarters for this project in Spain, Argentina, Brazil, Panama, El Salvador and he explained that in Latin American countries such as Venezuela, they have 94 of these companies and 6 in Argentina.

“In every Cuban province and municipality of the capital there is at least one Colmenita, a movement in which thousands of children from my country and from Mendoza use theatre as a pretext to promote human and pedagogical values, becoming a school of values.”

He pointed out that in each country its origin is different and mentioned that, for example, in El Salvador, it was created at the request of President Salvador Sánchez, with the aim of undermining the country’s culture.

He explained that in Querétaro, the state choir joined this company and in Managua, Nicaragua, La Colmenita was founded, after the Cuban group performed in that country.

“We have been to Mexico on countless occasions, but we had never been to Hidalgo and it is something that fills us with excitement. Tomorrow, Tuesday, we will be at the Regional Cultural Center in Zimapán and on Wednesday at the Benito Juárez Theater in the Centro neighborhood in Metztitlán.”

He added that this work, La Cucarachita Martina, is an adaptation written by Cuban playwright Julia González.

He explained that this is the only theatre group in the world that has obtained the designation of Goodwill Ambassadors.

In response to a direct question, she said that she found her love for children’s theatre in her mother, the founder of children’s television in Cuba, Iradia Malberti Cabrera, who began in the field as a choreographer and later became a reference for this genre on the small screen.

He also pointed out that, thanks to his artistic work, La Colmenita has managed to gather up to 30 thousand people, as in the case of the Poliedro in Caracas, Venezuela; up to ten thousand people in spaces such as the National Theater of Cuba and more than 3 thousand in the Alameda Hércules in Seville, Spain.

Lastly, she mentioned that yesterday afternoon, the cast was made up of Erika Moynelo and Sabrina Torres as queen bees; Isabella Santana as Martina the Cockroach and Samant Martinez as the Tooth Fairy, in addition to the participation of Estefanía Villamarzo, Sebastián Fernández, Marco Aurelio Prieto, Henry López and Rolando Hidalgo.