With the presence of the outstanding actress and singer Marta Contreras along with her children Claudia and Marcos, the UV Theater School received the Barattini Contreras Family Bibliographic Fund, consisting of books, files, documents and photographs of the playwright and academic Juan Barattini Carvelli (1933 -2015), which will be run by the Theater Documentation Center, CEDOC, headed by academic Marcia Martínez.
The activity took place in the room of the Theater School that bears the playwright’s name with the presence of the dean of the Faculty of Architecture, Alejandro Witt, along with academics and students.
Claudio Marín, director of the UV Theater School, pointed out that “the Barattini Contreras family is part of the house, so we are especially grateful for Marta’s consideration, her commitment to the preservation and enhancement of the care of personal elements of Juan Barattini, for its immense symbolic value and the great importance it has for the theater community of Valparaíso, for the UV and for our School, building history and memory.”
“This donation strengthens the ties that unite us as a creative community, since it is a bridge between the past and the present, rescuing his inspiration, craft and imagination, his exile in Poland and Italy, his love for theater and his commitment to our School. This legacy transcends the boundaries of time, leaving a mark on the history of our country,” he adds.
Marín highlighted that “Barattini was a founding member of the Theater School of the University of Chile, Valparaíso, and its refoundation in democracy as the current UV is a direct result of his management. This donation is a testament to his dedication to sharing knowledge and imparting performing arts to new generations.”
“The challenge as a school and university is to be responsible for maintaining the documentary integrity and maximizing the formative and documentary value of this archive, which implies a set of technical and administrative procedures, as well as the evaluation of the material and the formalization of an agreement of donation that guarantees its conservation and accessibility,” he emphasized.
Theater training
Marta Contreras, actress and singer belonging to the Nueva Canción Chilena, was excited, pointing out that “one of the closest things we have in these years without Juan Barattini, is the large number of books, which often do not allow us to access them. home”.
“From a very young age he was a great reader. He joined Ateva two or three years after its founding, where he was able to contribute his theatrical theoretical scholarship, which was very important. The selection of this archive integrates materials in Spanish and Italian, with the aim of contributing to the School’s library, with the interest of highlighting the importance of reading,” he noted.
“This is relevant material for a person training in theater and for teachers, they are very valuable things, it is an enormous contribution to culture for the development of students, since reading opens perspectives, not only of study, but with the possibility of training as a theater person, more than as actresses or actors,” he added.
The prominent actress said she felt grateful “for the UV, to which I feel very connected. Our story began with Ateva long before Theater schools. We were the ones who taught the discipline in Valparaíso before the university was created, with evening workshops where we trained people who later followed us.”
Note: Rodrigo Catalán / Photos: Denis Isla
