CAMAGÜEY.- Towns and cities are known for their legends. Camagüey is a city rich in them and we have all heard them in one way or another. There is a park where they are exposed, and books where they are told; but for the first time they will be taken to an audiovisual series.
One of the most famous is the Ermita de la Soledad. It is said that when the Villa de Santa María del Puerto del Príncipe was nothing more than a group of bohíos and even the Cabildo house and even the churches were more modest constructions, a sleepy herdsman was left stranded on his cart in a quagmire in the neighborhood of Cascajal. Some curious people helped the ox driver to lighten the weight of the cart and when opening a box they found a beautiful image of the Virgen de la Soledad. Some fell on their knees before her and took this as a sign to build her hermitage on that site.
The Camagüey’s legends series project has been in process for almost a year. It has been a challenge for the producers to get rid of as many professional actors as possible and recruit people without stage training of any kind.
Constructing a story that refers to the beginning of the 17th century was a complex task for the screenwriter Belkis Gil Sánchez. The important thing for her about bringing the legends to the audiovisual language is to ensure that history and knowledge reach viewers.
For the recording of the first legend, dedicated to the Ermita de la Soledad, it was necessary to travel to rural areas of Camagüey, to recreate the atmosphere of the time in question. The local people and their homes, the ox carts, the mud and the tall grasses are part of the whole that contributes to the setting. They shot in areas of the CPA Jesús Suárez Gayol.
The project arose as an original idea by Lizneydi Martí Cordero, who shares the general direction with Oscar Alejandro Viñas, who is also in charge of shooting, photography and editing. Although they have received the support of several institutions, the promotion of the Provincial Book and Literature Center of Camagüey has been decisive.
“The rise in prices is no secret to anyone. It has been difficult to obtain the necessary materials and the cost of production has risen notably, however, we are working to gradually release the seven legends. It is a debt with our Camagüey”, explained the general producer Henry de Armas Leyva.
At first they thought of it as a television program, but in the course of it they decided to approach it from the point of view of an audiovisual series, with the aim of giving greater prominence to the scenery and the characters in each story.
Art director José Denis Reyes Suárez commented that the church as we know it was built in 1697; before that it was a hermitage and before that history happened. Similar legends proliferate in Latin America, specifically in Peru, Mexico and Bolivia. Therefore, its objective is to place the viewer in a space, a context and a time: "This has been a scenography work to recreate a historical moment, in which we are guided by documents and engravings of the time."
Another specialist also contributes to this purpose. Pedro Ferrá Barranco has 28 years of experience in the world of artistic makeup. Among the great productions made in Camagüey in which he has participated are the film Pablo, by Yosmani Acosta; and dramatized ones dedicated to Ignacio Agramonte and Nicolás Guillén, directed by Jorge Campanería.
Now, "having to characterize a mistreated slave or the peasants and women of the time has been a very beautiful job, as it is accompanied by the costumes, the scenery and the acting, since this cannot be separated from the makeup, nor the makeup of the performance,” he told our newsroom.
The production team is also made up of producer Isaul Ortega, from Makbras Producciones Films; assistant director Liany Hernández, and art assistant Keiter Castillo. Karel Amores participates as a photography assistant. Dashiell de la Guardia leads the Script, and Ricardo Miguel Arruti, the sound. Verónica Elvira Fernández Díaz designs the soundtrack. The announcer Virginia de Varona plays the character of the narrator who connects that time with the present.
According to Martí Cordero, at first they will adapt seven legends from Camagüey, with an average duration of five minutes. The selection includes those referring to El Aura Blanca and Dolores Rondón, among others. The filming of El Aura Blanca will begin soon. This one and the one from the Ermita de la Soledad will be edited to be exhibited in the month of April.
Translated by Linet Acuña Quilez