“Mexico City is rich in performing arts, theater, dance and music, all of those things go through these spaces,” said Alejandro Aldama.

Aldama is an actor, director, cultural manager and administrator of the independent theatre company Contigo América or With You America, located in the center of Mexico City.

The theatre stopped giving shows in March of 2020 when they were just receiving the news of what was happening on the side of the world. At first, they thought they were going to close just for two weeks and would reopen in April of that year. “We’re still waiting,” said Aldama between laughs.

Fortunately, this theatre is one of the few that doesn’t have to pay rent. Actually, one of the main motivations to create the company was to have a space of their own.

The founders of Contigo América are a couple of Uruguayan actors, Blais Braidot and Raquel Seoane, who had to exile their country for political reasons in the seventies. When they arrived in Mexico, they separated from the group they came with. In 1981, they created the theatre company Contigo América. 

Contigo América is one of the first independent theatres, not just in Mexico City, but in the entire country.

Today independent theatres in Mexico City are in danger because most of the companies rent their spaces.

The theatre of Contigo América was used to shoot films and to carry out workshops, rehearsals and plays. With the money they have saved over the years is how they have survived for these past months.

Before the pandemic, everything that was held in the theatre was 100% in person. Because of the quarantine, the only way the theatre could stay connected to its audience was by learning how to use social media platforms. “It was a process of opening yourself to things you are not used to, said Aldama, “I was going to say we had the possibility, but no, it was a necessity.”

The process began with baby steps. First, they started with 40-minute rehearsals on Zoom and doing livestream shows. 

They have come a long way since. Recently the company was part of the first virtual independent theatre festival; they had the opportunity to be seen by people, not just in Mexico, but in countries in South America, the United States and Spain.

They didn’t have to change the content of their plays but did have to change the way they were represented. Aldama said that, instead of being a downside, it has been a creative challenge that has opened the opportunity to new ways for expression and to connect to the audience. “This is a job that is directly involved with your body, your mind, your emotions. Everything is about connection,” said Aldama.

Before the pandemic, everyone in the company would spend from 8 to 10 hours a day working and rehearsing. “Here we’re working with emotions, everyone is experiencing some kind of emotion, us and the public. This place is full of energy, so in a way this place is alive,” said Aldama.

“I’ll do face-to-face theater when it’s possible, but for now I’ll just do virtual adaptations,” said Aldama. Right now, the theatre is preparing to have a concert and they are having rehearsals for an upcoming play by a Cuban writer. 

“I feel a great joy that I get to keep doing this,” said Aldama.