(PERIODISTAS/IFEX) – On 20 July 2002, the daily “Página/12” reported that Graciela Sureda, the director of culture in Escobar, Buenos Aires province, informed the producers of “The Vagina Monologues” that they could not stage the theatre production in the city as they had planned. A few days later, the official was dismissed and the individual […]
(PERIODISTAS/IFEX) – On 20 July 2002, the daily “Página/12” reported that Graciela Sureda, the director of culture in Escobar, Buenos Aires province, informed the producers of “The Vagina Monologues” that they could not stage the theatre production in the city as they had planned. A few days later, the official was dismissed and the individual replacing her arranged for the production to go ahead.
When Daniel Guzzetti, one of the show’s producers, asked Sureda if she was familiar with the play that she was condemning, she responded that she was not saying, “Do you not think that the title is quite suggestive?” Guzzetti invited her to come see a production of the play in the city of Buenos Aires. Sureda accepted the invitation, but lack of time prevented her from attending the show.
Sureda told “Página/12” that this was not a case of censorship but sound judgement. “I simply wanted to see the show before forming an opinion,” she stated. “The title is very suggestive, but I cannot make a judgement based on a title.” The official added that she had not acted in fear of her boss, Mayor Luis Abelardo Patti. “I act independently. The mayor sometimes suggests that I contract a certain artist but he has not said anything else,” she explained.
The general producer of “The Vagina Monologues”, Pablo Kompel, believes that Patti was behind Sureda’s decision. Patti, a former police officer in Buenos Aires province who is accused of having committed human rights violations under the last military dictatorship, later became a politician based on his “heavy handed” rhetoric.
After “Página/12” reported the incident, the Escobar municipal government reversed the decision. Patti asked for Sureda’s resignation and appointed Gustavo Issetta to the position of director of culture. Issetta immediately made arrangements for the show to be staged in September at the Tomás Simari Municipal Theatre.
Municipality spokesperson Gaston Páez told Guzzetti that Patti found out about Sureda’s order from the “Página/12” article and that the mayor was not in a position to determine what shows could be presented in the city. “The former director made the decision on her own, perhaps based on an assumption that the mayor might react negatively to the work’s title. She involved him in a decision that was her own to make. The mayor was not aware that Daniel (Guzzetti) had visited or that he had approached her about the play,” Páez stated.
A similar incident occurred in Santiago del Estero province in June 2000, when a provincial official opposed the presentation of the play “Neruda’s Postman” because of a nude scene (see IFEX alerts of 10 August and 10 July 2000). Then governor Carlos Juárez argued that “this type of pornography is morally and ethically damaging,” and especially affects women. His statements caused a national scandal that led to the federal government stepping in before arrangements were made for the play to be staged at the Santiago del Estero National University Theatre.
