# Today is the birthday of Mario Limonta and Mario Balmaseda, two greats of acting in Cuba

**Date:** 01/19/2021

These two artists are united not only by name and birthday, but also by their dedication to art, to the most intrinsic values of our culture.

Two greats that January and art unite
These two artists are united not only by name and birthday, but by their dedication to art, to the most intrinsic values of our culture.

January would be the month in charge of uniting two greats of the Cuban scene. In 1936, Mario Eddy Limonta Louit is born, National Prize for Television and Humor, and in 1941, Mario Federico Balmaseda Maurisco, National Prize for Theater and Television.

The culture of this island land had the privilege of seeing them coincide in iconic productions of national filmography, works whose transcendence surpasses the limits of our geography, and which today constitute guidelines to be followed by directors and artists.

In 1974 they work on the film De cierta manera. Directed by Sara Gómez, they starred, along with Yolanda Cuéllar, in a film that was quite an adventure for the actors, where they displayed truly admirable art. Three years later both participate in El brigadista, another film of great value for the history and culture of Cuba.

Mario Limonta, who has had a popular career in theater, television, film and radio, made his artistic debut in the amateur program La Corte Suprema del Arte, where he not only achieved the category of Rising Star, which would catapult him into the world of art, but also met the woman who would accompany him forever in life and on stage, Aurora Basnuevo.

The couple, with their charisma and undeniable chemistry, draw laughter from the public from San Nicolás del Peladero and Alegrías de sobremesa, programs that—one on television and the other on radio—are reliable samples of Limonta's worth and versatility.

Within the seventh art, we can also enjoy this creator in Retrato de Teresa (1979), Miel para Oshún (2001), Barrio Cuba (2005), El cuerno de la abundancia and Los dioses rotos, both from 2008, among many other productions.

Numerous teletheaters, comedies, adventures and serials have also featured the presence—always refreshing—of that artist from Guantanamo by birth, who has been awarded the Distinction for National Culture, granted by the State Council of the Republic of Cuba, and with other recognitions for his uninterrupted and valuable work in pursuit of Cuban art and culture.

But, unquestionably, his career in radio is the most outstanding facet and most beloved by the audience, always grateful for the interpretive ability of that giant of radio dramatizations, "el Bolao" of Alegrías de sobremesa.

On the other hand, Mario Balmaseda, the Antonio Maceo of Cuban seventh art, has not only ventured into film, theater and television, but has also published poetry, short stories and articles in various magazines, both within and outside Cuba. In addition to teaching dramatic art classes.

El hombre de Maisinicú (ICAIC 1973) describes the personality of a State Security agent infiltrated among counterrevolutionary bands concentrated in the Escambray region (Photo: Radio Rebelde)

Los días del agua (1971), El hombre de Maisinicú (1973), La última cena (1976), Se permuta (1983), Baraguá (1985), are just some of the more than twenty cinematographic works in which this artist has participated, one of the emblematic figures of our cinema.

As for television, it has also been a space for Mario Balmaseda's development, where these stand out: En silencio ha tenido que ser, La gran rebelión, Un bolero para Eduardo…

Before reaching the small and big screen, Balmaseda began his artistic life in theater, as an amateur, at the end of the 60s, a period that he himself qualifies as "intense learning." After several years of prolific work on stage, under the direction of greats like Eugenio Hernández Espinosa, he strengthens his qualities by directing the Bertolt Brecht Theater, where he also served as a playwright. It is in this realm where he has forged most of his career.

Honored with the Juan Marinello Order, the Distinction for National Culture and the Alejo Carpentier Medal, granted by the State Council of the Republic of Cuba, Mario Balmaseda occupies, without question, an immovable place in Cuban culture.

These two artists are united, not only by name and birthday, by the works in which they have coincided, but also and, above all, by their dedication to art, to the most intrinsic values of our culture, and by a talent that has allowed them to win over the Cuban and international public.