Carpa

Did You Know?

• The show began with a truck unloading a tent with a dirt floor that could hold 100 spectators, with dressing rooms only under a 6 by 8-meter parquet.
• Larger tents held 200 people and had patched costumes or better feathers and sequins.
• Planks provided improvised benches; folding chairs of wood or sheet metal came later.

Origin and development

Scholars trace the carpa's roots to medieval Mester de Juglaría or Mystery plays brought by Spanish missions. It emerged from seasonal theaters of the 1870s that staged Don Juan Tenorio for the Day of the Dead and religious plays for Christmas, shows reserved for the privileged classes. This continued under Porfirio Díaz and the Mexican Revolution. After the Revolution, companies set up large carpas in Tacuba, Tacubaya, and Azcapotzalco, and some toured the country. Authorities permitted these theaters as a distraction from political and economic events, offering an alternative to pulque halls and brothels. Early carpas featured comedians, dancers, singers, magicians, jugglers, and ventriloquists. Performances were divided into three tandas: the first for all ages with lesser-known artists, the second of higher quality, and the third after 8 p.m. with featured acts, from which emerged characters like Cantinflas and Manuel Medel.

Boom period

Carpa troupes were itinerant, performing the same day they arrived in a town, which helped the public identify with actors as they watched the tents being set up. Shows were economical, using a wooden stage and arranged chairs, with tarpaulins or boards for dressing rooms, yet audiences were demanding. As carpas boomed, they began renting premises, mostly in Mexico City. The popularity of carpas and tandas was so great that one was presented at the Palace of Fine Arts, featuring 'Rayando el sol' by Roberto Soto, known as 'El Panzón Soto'.

Social impact

Curiosity drew townspeople to watch the modest venue being assembled, and a herald would announce the artists for each tanda. The 'gritones' called the public to the event, which lasted from afternoon into night. Attendees could meet radio artists, singers, and comedians, as well as dancers in sequins and feathers. The audience, mainly workers and employees but also journalists and critics, came expecting musical numbers and political criticism expressed through neighborhood characters. Politicians and 'catrines' were primary targets of jokes, with characters like the drunkard or rogue ridiculing the upper class through high-sounding words or incoherent speeches. The carpa gave shape to desires for a dignified life and social justice before, during, and after the Revolution; this criticism faded only with television's rise and government censorship.

Plays

Some carpas specialized in plays, such as el Tayita by the Padilla Brothers, where actress Blanquita Morones debuted and which toured nationally. It was especially successful in Acapulco, where comedian and magician El 'Pipochas' worked during intermissions. Others who worked in these plays included Jorge Lavat and a child from Acapulco, David Pérez Vargas, who performed imitations of artists like Sandro and Raphael. In the 1970s, this carpa was installed in what is now known as 'The Crafts Market' of the parasal. One remembered staging was 'Crown of Tears,' a radio soap opera with Prudencia Griffel later adapted for film and television.