The Ingenious Simpleton

Upending Imposed Ideologies through Brief Comic Theatre

By (author) Delia Méndez Montesinos

Publication date:

05 December 2013

Length of book:

162 pages

Publisher

University Press of America

Dimensions:

232x156mm
6x9"

ISBN-13: 9780761862789

This book analyzes the role of the theatrical simpleton in the pasos of the sixteenth-century playwright Lupe de Rueda, in Mario Moreno’s character “Cantinflas,” and in the esquirol of the 1960s Actos of the Teatro Campesino. Spanning multiple regions and time periods, this book fills an important void in Spanish and theatrical studies.

Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter One: On Laughter, Fools, and Comedy
Chapter Two: Simple, Peladito, and Rasquachi: Topsy-Turvying Identities
Chapter Three: The Verbal and Kinesthetic Language of the Simpleton
Chapter Four: Costumes and Other External Signs
Conclusion
Bibliography

Méndez Montesinos' valuable study concerns itself particularly with popular performances that feature a buffoon or comic simpleton, and develops case studies from three geographical regions. . . .Enlightening comparisons are the highlight of this interesting and well-written book, and they lead the reader to speculate about other contexts, periods, and places in which similar structures and traditions emerge.