The theatrical world is experiencing a real shock at the news of the complaint of 14 women for sexual crimes committed by the playwright Ramón Paso. The presentation this Thursday morning of the 47th edition of the Almagro International Classical Theater Festival brought together a multitude of performers, directors, authors and people from the industrial sector, who showed their rejection of this case that they learned about after breaking the news of the Paso investigation by the Madrid Prosecutor's Office. The presence of the actor Pepe Viyuela, who starred in the play
Jardiel amor
, written and directed by Ramón Paso, at the Infanta Isabel theater in Madrid, and whose resignation from continuing to work in this performance has caused its cancellation, has been applauded by the attendees to this presentation.
Paso is accused of sexual crimes against several young women between 18 and 25 years old that, according to the victims' testimonies, happened between 2018 and 2023. It was this past Tuesday when the lawyer Luisa Estévez Martínez, who represents these women, who He informed several agencies of the procedure and explained that the complaint from the public ministry is in the deanery of the investigative courts of Madrid awaiting distribution.
Faced with the news and Viyuela's resignation this Wednesday, everyone stopped him and offered him words of gratitude and affection. The director of the Almagro Festival, Irene Pardo, showed, in statements to this newspaper, her absolute support for the women who have reported these cases of sexual crimes. “There are many situations of abuse, not necessarily sexual abuse, that too, but abuse of power that has never been reported due to the presumption of innocence. These cases put us women in a place of no truth. "We have to feel free to file a complaint against any act that represents an abuse of power against women."
Luis Luque, artistic director of the Naves del Matadero, was forceful: “I feel ashamed. I could give 14 reflections and each of them would belong to the 14 victims who have reported. As a professional, as a director and as a man, I feel ashamed, respecting of course the presumption of innocence. “It is a shame for this profession, for the world of theater and for society.”
The playwright Laila Ripoll, former director of the Fernán Gómez theater in Madrid, was shocked when she heard the news. “There are 14 complainants,” she stated. “It seems like it was an ongoing thing,” she lamented. “It's time to say it's over. This has been happening all our lives and those of us who are old have been eating it with potatoes, we normalized it, it is time to stop normalizing it and report it.”
The director of the National Institute of Performing Arts and Music (INAEM), belonging to the Ministry of Culture, Paz Santa Cecilia, expressed her solidarity with all the women complainants, whether or not they belong to the world of the performing arts and showed her surprise at These events occurred between 2019 and 2023, “when this was already part of the public domain.”
For the stage director and playwright María Folgueras, former director of the Price circus theater, all professional areas are still a place of tension, because there are still many axes of power that cross it. “It is important that voices emerge and that responding becomes normalized. We tolerate on a daily basis, in order not to get into conflicts, uncomfortable gestures or even perverse dynamics that are already established, but that for the good of the project team or the team, we choose to silence. I thank the people who dare to report and take the first steps,” added the director.
Actress Celia Freijeiro considers that “it is a good sign that these cases are coming to light and that the victims are beginning to feel less alone and safer when it comes to raising their voices.” Because in her opinion “it is important to analyze the situation of women in the industry, the abuses of power that have occurred and continue to occur, and reflect on what we are going to do to change it, because this is a problem.” structural".
Telephone 016 assists victims of sexist violence, their families and those around them 24 hours a day, every day of the year, in 53 different languages. The number is not registered on the telephone bill, but the call must be deleted from the device. You can also contact them by email
at 016-online@igualdad.gob.es
and by WhatsApp at the number 600 000 016. Minors can contact the ANAR Foundation by calling 900 20 20 10. If it is an emergency situation, You can call 112 or the National Police (091) and Civil Guard (062) telephone numbers. And if you cannot call, you can use the ALERTCOPS application, from which an alert signal is sent to the Police with geolocation.
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