Son of actors José Cibrián and Ana María Campoyborn in Havana during a theater tour and raised among Buenos Aires dressing rooms, Pepe Cibrián Campoy He made the stage not only a job but an identity. Actor, playwright and director, he is the man who turned the musical into a popular phenomenon in Argentina when it was still a genre viewed with suspicion. From “We can’t do it here” Until the massive success of “Dracula”, his name was associated with large-scale shows, large casts and an almost militant conviction that musical theater could be epic, Argentine and inspiring.
His career was neither linear nor comfortable because he alternated empty basements with packed stadiums, economic losses with box office records, artistic ruptures with bold reinventions. More than a show businessman, he always considered himself a creator willing to risk everything for an idea. And on that journey he left a generational mark, trained performers and paved the way for new generations of artists.
But Cibrián Campoy is not limited to applause. His public figure was also built from frontality and activism. Defender of equal marriage when the debate divided waters, reader of uncomfortable monologues before legislators, critic of the cultural policies of the day regardless of political color, he has made the word a risky territory. He apologizes when he thinks he is wrong, but he does not back down when it comes to rights or convictions.
In dialogue with NOTICIAS, during a break in the rehearsals of “We Can’t Do It Here” which has just premiered in the Regina theaterspeaks from an active present, thinks about the next play, about the young people who are starting out and about the future of theater in the face of economic precariousness. With the same mix of passion, irony and self-confidence that made him an unavoidable figure on the national scene.
News: He is about to turn 78 years old. What drives you to keep going?
Pepe Cibrián Campoy: The same conviction as always: believe in myself. I believed when I was young, I believed when I was more mature and I believe now. And I believe in young people, who are wonderful.
News: What do you think of the influencer fashion on stage?
Cibrián Campoy: I’m worried about the shortcut. If you make a musical about runners and you don’t know how to walk, it doesn’t matter how many followers you have. Before it was called stand up there were Enrique Pinti, Antonio Gasalla, Carlos Perciavalle. They filled up for years. I hope these kids can last six months because the profession is very hard. Young people are not prepared for failure. And failure is part of the race.
News: Your story seems to disprove that.
Cibrián Campoy: The opening night of “We Can’t Do It Here” at the Embassy, located in Suipacha and Córdoba, was full. The next day no one came, just twelve or fourteen people. The cast included Sandra Mihanovich, Ricky Pashkus, Edgardo Moreira and Ana María Cores. There was a live orchestra and my parents produced it, but no one went and they were going to raise it a month later. One day the newspaper La Opinión published two center pages highlighting the show and it was filled for two seasons. But be careful because success in our capitalist culture is “fulfilling.” Not necessarily be better. I was also happy in a basement, with six friends and a pizza.
News: Then came “Caligula”, “The Borgias”, “English Invasions” and later “Dracula”.
Cibrián Campoy: I called Tito Lectoure who gave me an interview. When I hung up the phone I started thinking about what to bring him. Well, I came up with “Dracula” and I went the next day and told him very passionately what I wanted to do. That same day he offered me 40 performances and many thought he was my lover or that he was crazy. He was a visionary. One day, after having dinner with such success, I asked him, “Why did you give me so much, Tito?” And he answered: “Because I am used to making champions.” Thanks to “Dracula” schools opened and a movement began that continues to expand.
News: Does the label of “master” of Argentine musicals weigh on you?
Cibrián Campoy: I’m sorry if it’s a statue. If it is responsibility, no. I look at the 34 boys in “Dracula” (rehearsing a new version) and I wonder what will become of their lives when it ends. That matters to me. That’s why I’m already thinking about what’s next, about workshops, about continuing to create. Not for money. By desire.
News: Do you think that the public changed after the pandemic?
Cibrián Campoy: The possibilities changed. People want to go to the theater, but they also want to eat and be able to go to the doctor. I never had big subsidies. Today it is harder, but artists have always been survivors. There are 400 alternative rooms in Buenos Aires. One show a week, shared dressing rooms, no time. How do you build a profession like this? It’s something. But it is fragile.
News: Are you critical of cultural policies?
Cibrián Campoy: He doesn’t support himself and never supported himself too much. If there was corruption in the INCAA, get it out. But don’t amputate the leg because of a knee injury. Let us correct, let us correct, but let us not stop doing. The INCAA has also allowed great films to be made that have represented our country and won awards at all the festivals in the world. So be careful because correcting is not destroying.
News: What do you remember from your reading before the legislators who discussed the Equal Marriage Law?
Cibrián Campoy: I am not a militant, I am not a hero, I happened to be there at that moment and read the monologue of “Speak up, sissy,” without notifying the legislator who had invited me. Well, and it served. For me, the fundamental thing was that same-sex couples could adopt street children. It is not ideology, it is humanity because there are hundreds of kids waiting for a better life.
News: He was married several times. What does marriage mean to you?
Cibrián Campoy: A practical right. Love exists with or without paper. But without law there are no rights. If your partner gets sick and you are not married, a nephew or brother ultimately decides. That’s why I fought so much. Not for romanticism but for dignity.
News: What place do your parents occupy in your memory?
Cibrián Campoy: For years I kept his ashes at home until I understood that they had to be released. I asked my partner to mix them and throw them somewhere without telling me where. It was putting them back together and letting them go. You think you hold the dead, but sometimes the dead hold us.
News: Did you think about leaving the country?
Cibrián Campoy: Never! (categorical). This is a magical country, built by immigrants and the word foreigner does not exist. We live in a poorly managed paradise, with all the climates and riches. And yet, I love him.
News: How do you remember Ángel Mahler?
Cibrián Campoy: I remember it in the beautiful. I gave birth to art in it. I was 22 years old, I sold pianos at Promúsica, and I needed an arranger for “Caligula” in ’83. A mutual friend, Laura Manzini, recommended him to me. I gave him a cassette with the guitar music and that same night he brought it to me with the arrangement done and I loved it. For many years we shared births, goodbyes, affections. He did wonderful things and I remember him very generously.
News: Do you feel that you paid personal costs for your frontal nature?
Cibrián Campoy: Surely. But it would be worse to remain silent. I have nothing to hide. When I said something clumsy I apologized. Now, when I talk about rights, culture, cultural policy, I do it because I live what I say. I am not a commentator, I am part of this story.
News: And what moves you?
Cibrián Campoy: The humble people who wait for me at the exit of the theater for a selfie and tell me: “I hear you.” Sometimes they can’t pay the entrance fee, but they listen to what I say. A 15-year-old girl who looks at me as if I were part of her future story. To think that I will live in his memory when he is gone. That is transcendence.
News: After everything you’ve been through, do you have hope?
Cibrián Campoy: Yes, absolutely. Because the theater is still alive. Because young people keep trying. Because this country, even mistreated, is generous. I continue to believe in myself. And as long as one believes, there is a future.
News: How do you want to be remembered?
Cibrián Campoy: You killed me! I hope well. Maybe as someone who did what he wanted and stood up for what he believed in. That he was happy in the basement and in the stadium. Who loved this country even in its pendulum crises. And when he could, he spoke. Even if I trembled.
