Self-Portrait

My name is Edy Barahona.

I was born in Olanchito in 1961.

In 1979 I was in the first year of junior high. And then Jack Warner arrived talking about theatre. That word "theatre" sparked my interest. I knew nothing of theatre: I had never once had the opportunity to see a play. But Jack invited me to join the group he was forming and I'm still here.

Honduras, my country, is very poor. To understand the reality of my country, you have to live it, be in the midst of it, see it from the inside. Before, I had never done that: I was 16 years old when I started in the teatro. I went to school, sang in the choir at church, I went to dances -- a routine life.

But through the teatro the rhythm of my life changed; traveling throughout the country I began to understand in the flesh what our reality is. Through the teatro I've come to know my people; above all, the simplest. I see a lot I like.

What I like most about my country is my people. What we have: the vistas, the mountains, the beaches, the rivers the sea. The Mayan ruins of Copán. I like -- there is so much. I don't know what to say.

But I also see that there are many things in my country that I don't like.

I do not like the injustice, the hunger. I do not like the fact that the Contras are in my country and that the government goes along with this. I do not like to see my country occupied with gringo troops. I do not like to see people sleeping in the streets covered with newspapers. I don't know. I think that when I talk about injustice I am talking about too many things. But those are the things that exist in my country that hurt me most.

I am an actor partly because I like it a lot: I like to act.

I am an actor so that I can bring some fun into people's lives, and so that behind the smiles the people think a bit: that is what we try to so in teatro la fragua.

But I am an actor also because here in Honduras -- the is that Honduras, my country, is a very illiterate country:60% of us Hondurans are illiterate. And through the teatro, through our acting, we are trying to help that: through our plays we are teaching something to my people. Through the teatro they become aware of real situations. They see scenes that spring from their experience, scenes from their lives. And when they see them acted out on stage they recognize them and say: "This happened to me just like that; and it was because of this and because of that."

The people whom the teatro is reaching out to most are the people in the villages, the peasants. For them to have the chance to see theatre, you have to go where they are. Doing shows in the villages is a beautiful experience. The people understand what we are trying to do, and we realize that the people understand and that gives us a good feeling. And I realize that being an actor is a great responsibility.

In 1985 we began a project that is reaping extraordinary success in the villages: THE GOSPEL -- LIVE!. We go to the rural parishes and give workshops in methods of dramatizing the Gospel. The dramatizations are simply the scenes from the New Testament put on their feet; we use the integral text of the official reading of the day and they are performed within the Mass.

I think there are a lot of people who go to Church, and when the Gospel of the day is read they just hear it. But nothing penetrates. They don't analyze it. They don't apply Jesus' message to their own lives. But through the dramatization the people see the scene. They listen, and the Biblical scene becomes real.

Once in the town of Yoro an old lady about eighty years old came up to me. She told me that she did not know how to read or write, but when she saw the dramatization she had understood it all for the first time. It was a beautiful experience: she was enchanted and was on a high because she had understood it.

When we are doing the work of mounting a dramatization, we have to study the Bible more deeply. Through the dramatizations we have come to know it better and to understand the reality that Jesus lived. I think THE GOSPEL -- LIVE! has helped us all a lot.

There are many serious problems here in Honduras: the problem of malnutrition, which is an intense problem; the problem of illiteracy, the corruption. And now this new problem: the presence of the Contras in our country. We are on the verge of a war which is not our war; it is not our war but we are caught in the middle of it. I can only pray that it is God's will that this never happen.

How are we going to solve my country's problems? The truth is that with theatre we're not going to solve them. But our hope is that when the people see a teatro play they come to understand the problems, to notice what is going on around them. That way we can begin to look for solutions. It is a very difficult task. It has to be the work of the entire people, of all the community -- not just of one or another sector. The important thing is that each one of us contribute his grain of sand; that is the only way we'll be able to move forward.

Through the teatro the people become aware of these problems. And if they become aware of the problems, they will notice that they are forming part of the problem. And understanding that is the first step toward solving them.

And it is we ourselves, we Hondurans, who are doing it. And I believe that's very important. We are crating an authentic Honduran culture, and the most important mission of the teatro is to soak our people in that culture.

Many thanks for helping us with our mission.

Paz,

Edy Barahona