Writer, filmmaker, actor, and singer, Begonya Plaza, shares below a scene from the 20th Anniversary reading of, In Arabia We'd all be Kings, by Stephen Adly Guirgis, a 1987 documentary that Begonya made on the 50th Anniversary of the bombing of Gernika, to honor her father who was a child victim, a poem inspired by Covid19, 3 songs for peace performed at First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles, and Begonya's acting reel. Enjoy!
I ask myself, would I've been born if my father had not lived through the bombing of Gernika and Spanish Civil War? That calamity forced many people from Euskadi and Spain to disperse throughout the world. They needed to escape the horrors and the misery. My dad arrived to Bogotá Colombia at age 22 with dreams, hopes and enthusiasm to create a world of opportunity for himself and for others around him. Today there is no escaping the horrors of divisiveness. Fleeing doesn't resolve the collective burdens. Mother nature is hitting us strong through this pandemic. May we fight this invisible agent with calm and clear minds. May we not fall prey to the hate and fear mongers who sell ideas based on false premises backed by minimal information, irrational thinking and personal agendas. May we not pick sides just to gratify a sense of resolve, revenge or belonging. We are all in this together with compassion for our future generations. Let's transform this disadvantage to a creative good, a lesson, a triumph. As a child hearing my father's stories of his childhood anguish I was affected and inspired because of his tenacity and heart. Today my father isolates with my mother by his side in Gernika, and I can only imagine the sadness he must feel looking out his window, unable to engage with those few friends left from his childhood. His entire life was a constant process of detachment, adaptation and re-introduction, to now again readjust and trust in the human condition as the motor of social enterprise halts and fear ensues.
Throughout September 1990, Begonya performed Bertolt Brecht's erotic songs and poems, at NYU's Deutsches Haus and THE GAS STATION, an iconic avant-garde art space (also called 2B) in New York City's East Village.
Conceived and directed by Kurt Palm as part of Vienna's theater company, Sparverein Die Unzertrennlichen. Musical director: Josef Reiter, Production design: Ursula Huebner, Production manager: Martin Fritz
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Begoña is the patron saint of Bizkaia in Northern Spain. My father is Basque, and my mother is half Colombian and half Basque. I was raised and influenced by three cultures and two languages.
My first professional acting job was at the age of nine and since then I've practiced acting, writting or filming visual stories. I attended Los Angeles Theatre Academy, I studied in New York with illustrious private acting and voice teachers, dance at Alvin Ailey and intermittently between acting jobs, I took writing courses at NYU, UCLA, AFI, or made documentary films that nurtured my sense of identity and inquisitive free spirit.
After starring in a CBS television series shot in Barcelona, I stayed behind to explore life and form a family.
By then I had already made “Gernika Lives”, a documentary about the bombing of Gernika, and my father’s experiences of the Spanish Civil War.
After the tragic events of 9/11, I paid homage with “Souvenir Views”, a 45” documentary about a young Catalan man living a rite-of-passage experience in New York City. The film premiered at Tribeca Film Festival, La Habana International Festival, and aired on The Independent Film Channel, 2003, 2004, 2005.
In 2012 my play, “Teresa’s Ecstasy”, a three-character full-length play had an Off-Broadway run at the Cherry Lane Theatre. The ensemble consisted of: Shawn Elliott, Linda Larkin and myself. Produced by Jack Sharkey and Jim Weiner. Currently published by Broadway Play Publishing, Inc. and Larry Harbison.
“Persistence of Memory” is a screenplay about one year in the life of Salvador and Gala Dalí, seen from the eyes of a young lover. Proud to mention that the phenomenal actress, Glenn Close, signed a letter of interest to help me move the project forward. Also, director of photography, Juan Ruiz Anchia, signed on to direct the film if I succeeded with raising the funds. The aspect I a least interested in pursuing.
In 1982, I was directed by Walter Hill in "48 HRS". A role that originally required nudity. I was able to convince my brilliant director to dress me as an Indian girl. Shortly afterwards, I moved to New York to continue studying and pursue New York theatre work. Some of my many influential acting teachers were: Bill Hickey, Geraldine Page, Michael Howard, Michael Chekhov, Herbert Berghoff, Sandford Meisner, Wynn Handman, Eric Moris, Jeff Corey, Rachel Rosenthal.
I have been directed in featured and starring roles by directors like, Oliver Stone, Michael Mann, Amy Jones, Tim Hunter, Clint Eastwood, Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Ellen Kuras, amongst others. At Labyrinth Theatre Company, I originated the role of Ms. Reyes in Stephen Adly Guirgis’ “In Arabia We'd All be Kings” and have collaborated with artists: John Randolph, Dan Lauria, Barry Gifford, Ensemble Studio Theatre-West, Austria’s Kurt Palm in a one-woman show of Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht songs & poems, and played, Yerma in "Yerma" by Garcia Lorca, directed by Russia’s, Yevgeny Lanskoy.
TERESA'S ECSTASY - Synopsis:
En route to Avila, Spain for a writing assignment, Carlotta and her enamored New York magazine publisher, Becky, make a stop-over in Barcelona, where Carlotta attempts to reconcile with her estranged artist/husband, Andrés. They unexpectedly have to delay their stay due to lost luggage. After clever bantering, sprinkled with subtle chauvinist innuendoes, the deep-seated differences are revealed, proving laughter, food and lust insufficient. Carlotta and Becky continue on their journey of inquiry to Avila. It is inside the 16th Century walled city, surrounded by mysticism and Saint Teresa's feminist message that Becky and Carlotta accept their feelings for each other. Forced to return for their luggage, Carlotta’s confession of love to Andrés, the staunch self-proclaimed atheist, is met with sanctimonious judgment, and unrelenting regret, but by now it is too late.
Through this triangular dynamic truth is uncovered, which language, culture, gender, religious or political beliefs can't resist as the heart has no boundaries.
Begonya Plaza Pledges Devotion to Teresa’s Ecstasy Written by Doug Strassler on March 9, 2012. Posted in Arts, Exclusive from New York Press, NYPress-Exclusive, Theater By Doug Strassler “Tell me more about you,” is the first thing Begonya Plaza says to me as I meet her in front of the Cherry Lane Theatre, where her new show, Teresa’s Ecstasy,is set to open on Wednesday, March 14. Photo caption: Begoyne Plaza, left, and Shawn Elliott. Photo by Carol Rosegg. I must be careful here, I think. Should I let her know that I have been a fan of hers since catching her in Maid to Order, a fun 1980s comedy starring Ally Sheedy? No way. I must be composed, professional. I mention several of the outlets for which I write, and we settle down in a cozy West Village bistro for an early pre-show dinner. Conversation returns to the show. “Phew,” I say to myself, “well-played, Doug.” Ecstasy is about Carlotta (played by Plaza), a writer en route to Avila to research the famous Saint Teresa. Before arriving there, she makes a pit stop in Barcelona to hand her estranged husband, Andres (Shawn Elliott), divorce papers. Over a wine-abetted lunch, he fights to find a spark that might rekindle their flailing relationship, while Carlotta has bigger concerns on her mind. Will Pomerantz is the director. Plaza, who has a college-age daughter, began work on Ecstasy six years ago. “I was looking to return to acting after taking time to be a mother,” she explains. “I wanted to get back to action.” Initially,however, it was written as a one-woman show about the 16th century saint. Plaza had written a screenplay about the artist Salvador Dalí, and in doing her research found that one of the books at his bedside table was the saint's autobiography. “I thought, ‘Why would someone like him, someone so perverse, be interested in this extraodinary mystic?’” Plaza says. She read the book herself, “and I got sucked in. She is fascinating, that whole period of time, the Spanish Inquisition, it’s all fascinating, and I wondered what it would be like to play Teresa. We think we live in a macho world now? She lived in an atmosphere of prejudice. I’d probably become a nun too then – it would be the only way to educate myself!” According to Plaza, who says she always travels to monasteries when beginning to write something March 9th, 2012 (literally, “it’s a blessing”), it wasn’t the religious aspects of Teresa’s life as much as the spiritual elements that touched Plaza and led her to explore the woman further. She sent an early version to Elliott, a friend of hers, who told her that her subject was too perfect. “There was no conflict! He told me people would get bored,” Plaza explained. At one point in the process, Plaza had a phone conversation with her ex-husband, with whom she has an amicable relationship. “He is a noble but opinionated man, and he likes to contradict. He was dismissing what I was talking about,” Plaza continues, “and I thought, ‘That’s my conflict!’” She rewrote the play to focus on Andres and the Teresa-influenced Carlotta; eventually Elliott himself won the part. (Linda Larkin also stars as Becky, Carlotta’s publisher). I tell Plaza that history and cross-cultural differences seem to dominate her work. In addition to Dalí and St. Teresa, Plaza has also written about such people as Evita Perón, Simón Bolivar, Dolores Ibarruri, Antonio Machín and such subjects as Iraqi veterans and the Spanish Civil War. She agrees. “I don’t know why I wasn’t interested when I was in high school,” she jokes. “But history is the gossip of the past, right?” While definitely excited about Ecstasy, Plaza is still in that apprehensive pre-opening phase. “It’s a roller coaster ride,” she says. “But I am filled with gratitude. I keep saying, ‘Let’s have fun.’” This leads me to refer to an interview I once saw with Kathy Bates, in which the acclaimed actress also discussed the importance of having fun when acting. “It is called a play,” I repeat to Plaza. “You just mentioned my favorite actress!” she exclaims. “I looooove her.” And now I’m not just an interviewer talking to a talented artist; we’re two fans on common ground. So I let my guard down and admit my fondness for Plaza and Maid to Order. Plaza laughs as I tell her how much joy that brought my family as a child growing up, and while I get the impression she hasn’t thought of the film in quite some time, she smiles at the memory and said it was fun to make. After the interview is over and we’ve parted ways, I think about what Plaza said about feeling gratitude for what she gets to do. And a similar feeling washes over me, too. For more information about Teresa’s Ecstasy, go to http://teresasecstasy.com/. Tags: Ally Sheedy, Begoyne Plaza, Carol Rosegg, Cherry Lane Theatre, Maid to Order, Shawn Elliott, Teresa's Ecstasy, West Village.
2003, Mixed Reviewsby film critics Jill Cozzi and Gabriel Shanks. The Web Alliance for Film Commentary and their reviews are quoted at the popular Rotten Tomatoes portal site.
Souvenir Views is produced by Abe Shainberg and Written and Directed by Begonya Plaza
Without money or plans, and armed with only the goal of finding a "rite of passage" experience in order to evolve as an individual, Marc Larre Miranda ventured from his middle-class family in Barcelona, Spain and traveled to New York in September of 2001.
Sleeping on the street and living off his wits and his art, Miranda views his new surroundings through the prism of the Situationist movement of the 1950's. What better location could possibly exist for a young man seeking to find his own way, away from the expectations of his affluent businessman father than the New York City of late summer 2001? What better time to embark on a Situationist-inspired quest to begin to transform society by first reinventing yourself; to construct the situations of your life and release your own potential? "What matters when you visit a city are the experiences you've lived, not what cathedrals or cool buildings you've seen," he says. Little does he know that his observations about how the modern society has turned us into mere spectators of spectacle; how the media, rather than experience, provides our sense of adventure, are about to be tested by his presence in lower Manhattan on the morning of September 11, 2001. For in just a few terrible hours, the largest media spectacle of the new century unfolds in real time. For those who witness it, the spectacle IS the experience.
There are some very big themes touched on in Plaza's economical 22-minute film: the cultural contributions of New York's many itinerant musicians who form a sprawling Putumayo compilation on the streets and subway tunnels of New York; the concept of initiation into manhood via exposure to some dangerous ritual; the inevitable selling out most of us eventually have to do when living the bohemian life becomes too logistically difficult; the complicated relations between the idealistic young and their world-weary parents, the line between art that honors a tragedy and commerce that exploits it. Each of these provide enough material by itself for a documentary film. Like its subject's tiny cityscapes, this small piece of work is a hidden treasure that completes a story, while still leaving us wishing for more.
La cineasta colombiana de origen vasco begonya Plaza presenta hoy por la tarde en la Eusko Etxea de Nueva York una nueva version de su pelicula Gernika Lives/Vive Gernika. Se trata de un documental sobre el bombardeo de Gernika por las tropas alemanas el 26 de abril de 1937 a traves de los recuerdos de su padre, Jesus Plaza, durante un intimo recorrido por la villa. El documental esta presentado por el actor John Randolph (El Honor de los Prizzi), y en el participan el ex alcalde de la villa, Juan Luis Zuzaeta , el antiguo jugador de futbol Mauri Ugartemendia o el bailarin Victor Olaeta, entre otros. En la version actualizada, el escritor vasco residente en Nueva York Mario de Salegi, comenta las imagenes mientras el mismo recuerda este dia que le toco vivir en Amorebieta.
"Como con el Holocausto judio, es bueno recordar que paso en Gernika el 26 de abril de 1937 para que algo asi no vuelva a ocurrir nuca mas" comenta begonya Plaza, quien se siente muy orgullosa de su origen vasco. Quiso realizar esta pelicula para que los estadounidenses pudieran conocer este tragico suceso y esta villa. Cada vez que begonya conoce a alguien surge una pregunta inevitable: Cual es el origen de tu nombre? Este documental, que esta dedicado a su padre, quiere dar respuesta a esa pregunta.
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