A theatrical presentation by famed Argentinean actress and producer
María José Gabín
November 2005
Syracuse, New York

A remarkable piece, directly from the stage of Teatro del Pueblo in Buenos Aires, Congelada was performed by María José Gabín at The Underground, in Syracuse University's Schine Student Center.

A superb wit and award-winning actress, María José Gabín, author, interpreter and co-producer of the monologue Congelada, is scheduled to arrive in Syracuse on November 10, 2005 and reside on the Syracuse University campus for a week, when she will perform a show on the 14 th at 7:30 pm and also carry out a series of workshops for SU faculty and students, and for the local community at large. Her theatrical director and also a Professor of Drama in Buenos Aires, Eduardo Bertoglio, will accompany her and take part in the production of the show and the theater workshops.

Congelada is a theater adaptation of How I Became A Nun , ( Cómo me hice monja ) a novel by César Aira, one of the most prolific contemporary writers in Argentinean literature, author of more than 30 books. The original Spanish version of How I became a nun , published in Spain in 1998, was selected as one of the ten best novels published in Spain that year. The theatrical adaptation of this novel narrates an episode of food poisoning, which triggers the misfortune of a woman who lives "congealed" in a pink colored world, as if everything that has happened to her was nothing more than someone else's story. Thus between the ice cream parlor, dentures, hospitals and school teachers we find ourselves in an hysterical world of passions confronted, full of deranged characters and absurd situations, all conformed in an intimate reflection of a woman fully clad in pink glucose.

The Underground at the Schine Student Center proved the ideal venue for this off-the-wall act. A splendid treat for the Spanish-speaking community of Central New York, the showwas performed in its original Spanish version with simultaneous electronic English translation. Admission tickets sold out at the Schine Student Center Box Office:
General Admission $5.00 / All Students: $3.00

CONGELADA was a co-production of the Department of Languages, Literatures & Linguistics at Syracuse University, Point of Contact Productions and the Latino-Latin American Studies Program. This event is possible in part thanks to the co-sponsorship of The Gifford Foundation, The Goldring Arts Journalism Program at the Newhouse School, SU's University College for Continuing Education, SU Student Affairs and the Drama Department of the College of Visual & Performing Arts, with support from the Maxwell School's Program on Latin America and the Caribbean (PLACA) and the Program on Women's Studies.