Ignacio Juan Claro Sarachaga Molina

Playwright and journalist. One of the most prominent authors of the "Antecedents of Cuban Bufo Theater". He was one of the most important playwrights of the Cuban bufo genre and author of a series of pieces that, in the opinion of many, not only reflects the popular grace of Cubans but also achieved the social interpretation of an era; however, today he is perhaps one of the least remembered theater authors in our country, at a time when Cuban theatrical comedy is too laden with circumstantial issues.

Ignacio Sarachaga began in journalism in 1881, at El Almendares. Later, in 1883, he founded, in partnership, the weekly La Habana Elegante, of which he became Director.

His theatrical work corresponded to the second stage of the "Antecedents of Cuban Bufo Theater" (1878-1900) and was largely connected to Miguel Salas and his bufo company, the most prominent of the period. With them Sarachaga made his debut as a playwright on August 25, 1880 with Un baile por fuera, which immediately gained public favor.

Barely a month later he premiered En un cachimbo and, by October, Un baile por dentro, while the first of his works went to print.

In 1881 he premiered five pieces: Lo que pasa en la cocina, Esta noche sí, Percances de vegetina, La Pericona (a parody of La Perichole by Offenbach) and Tres patas para un banco. That year he managed to have a complete program with three of his works at the Teatro Albisu, which is a clear sign of his popularity.

From here until 1894 the pace of his production became irregular. From these years came El teatro moral (zarzuela, 1886), Habana y Almendares o Los efectos del base-ball (1887), El doctor Machete (a parody of El médico a palos by Molière; 1888) and Nobleza de fin de siglo (1892).

In 1895 he premiered one after another Una escuela en Ceiba Mocha and Una plancha… fotográfica. In January 1896 he staged Mefistófeles, an irreverent parody of the homonymous zarzuela by Arrigo-Boito, which remained on stage until mid-1897.

From 1896 until the end of 1898 the author remained in the United States. Upon his return his theater became part of that "culture of resistance" against Yankee interference on the Island that manifested itself in the press and on stage.

In April 1900 he premiered La Padovani en Guanabacoa, a work against the uncritical assimilation of imported rhythms, and finished ¡Arriba con el himno!, written in collaboration with Manuel Saladrigas.

A total of 23 titles are attributed to him, between originals and versions, eleven of which are considered lost.

His dramaturgy shows a talented author who, after confidently assuming the original guidelines of bufo at his beginning, evolves in dialogue with context and manages to respond effectively to the technical demands and degree of complexity posed to popular theater toward the end of the century in order to rival the foreign stage.

His work is a legitimate expression of the popular-national in its parodic rejection of the imposed and colonial; he criticized false values and social hypocrisy and managed to assimilate the best of the universal comic tradition in the creation of his own expression.

Beyond journalism, performing arts and business, Sarachaga developed another lesser-known aspect. It is said that at the end of the century he traveled to the U.S. and in Tampa he became connected with Cuban patriots who from there supported the Revolution begun by Martí.

They say that one day he returned suddenly and it is claimed that he did so as a messenger or secret agent of the patriots.

When he died, ill in health and finances, one of the greats of Cuban theater disappeared.