Working Conditions in José Podestá's Theatre Companies (1872-1937)

Abstract

José Podestá is an inescapable milestone in the history of Argentine theatre. The poetics of the popular actor began with him and he also consolidated the success of the dramas gauchescos and the sainetes criollos. After initiating his career in the arena of the circus as an acrobat and then as a clown, he formed and directed several theatrical companies in Uruguay and Argentina. The analyses of the theatrical works that he represented and the studies on his style of performance have been abundant throughout the history of theatrical studies. However, the study of the working conditions of the artists in the period of emergence and boom of José Podestá are almost non-existent. It is for this reason that, in this article, we aim to consider the relations between the political context of Argentina during the period 1872-1937, the working conditions in this country and the way in which performing artists experienced them, taking as a paradigmatic case the theatrical companies that José Podestá formed between the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.