OPUS – Opera Ballet Vlaanderen
Precisie als affect
Rudi Laermans
Could you introduce yourself?
My name is Romina Paula, I am a writer and theater director from Argentina. I was born in the city of Buenos Aires and have always lived here. And though I travelled a lot, I never managed to live somewhere else. This is a great city to live in if you love theatre and books.
Is Buenos Aires a theatre city?
The city of Buenos Aires is one of the cities with the most theatre venues of the world. You can go and see a play every day of the week at almost any time. It is really crazy. There are very small and independent places, venues for the big public and commercial theaters, you have everything.
Where was your most memorable theatre experience?
I remember seeing one of Ricardo Bartis’ (an important Argentinian director) plays when I was 19 years old. I grew up in the suburbs, so I never lost the feeling of having to ‘conquer’ the huge city of Buenos Aires. Which of course I never did, but I still hold this feeling of estrangement regarding the city and its life. I went to see El corte, one of Bartis’ plays, and I am not sure I really understood it but something shifted inside me.
What view do you have from your office?
Have you been to Belgium before for work?
My first time in Belgium was for Kunstenfestivaldesarts in 2011. I was invited for the artists program and spent the whole festival there with artists from around the world. And last year we returned with my company to the festival with our last play Sombras, por supuesto. But I wouldn’t say I really have a connection with the Belgian scene.
Suppose we had 24 hours in your city, what should we definitely see or do?
I would recommend to walk along the Corrientes Avenue, where the highest concentration of theatre venues and bookstores is. You can walk by the Obelisc and walk down towards the Río de la Plata, passing by Diagonal Norte and the Pink house, which is our president’s house. This is one of the oldest parts of the city. The other 22 hours I would try to walk around as much as possible or take the bus to other barrios (neighborhoods), to have a sensation of the different energies and settings of the city. I would definitely recommend to hang around on the street, where most of the Argentinian life happens.
