Saura y Picasso

My father used to say that all his films were musicals. This sounded odd to those who had never worked with him, because they were usually more awed by his photographic prowess and his mastery of storytelling through the camera than with music. But it was absolutely true. For him, music was the character that gave a work its final shape, the one that would support, with its nature, the emotions that moved the story forward. Well, music and dance, because it was this pairing that excited him.

Thus, he proposed to Salomón Castiel, his friend and accomplice, that they should do “something” related to Picasso and his period of collaboration with Diaghilev’s Russian Ballet company. Because Picasso joined several high-calibre intellectuals that had decided to break with the conventions of traditional theatre. This project finally took shape in 2022, with the support of the Andalusia Council and the sponsorship of Fundación Unicaja, the heads of which were immediately taken by the project.

My father and I promptly started to work on it. At that time, his health was suffering, but his mind was phenomenal, and the project became his greatest joy. We worked on the musical script in his house in Collado, as this was the crux of the show, and when he had more severe physical ailments, we continued in the hospital. The idea began taking shape, and he insisted that it was essential to introduce flamenco into the show: firstly, because it was an art form he loved deeply, and as a true Aragonese, that was enough. And secondly because he considered it the most modern music and dance we have, and the only ones capable of breaking with what was established/known; a very “Picasso” idea, and one that connected with the underlying theme of the show: the creative force that is born from breaking with tradition.

During those sessions, my father would tell me that he would not die as long as he had imagination, because that was the most important thing of all: imagination. But “the mind proposes, and the body disposes,” and finally his body said “no” and he quietly left one night in February. But his work set into motion the talent and the soul of a team of exceptional people who have brought forth his ideas and created a magnificent work. A completely dedicated team, fully conscious that it was not just about paying tribute to a wonderful painter, but also to a great film director. I am sure that he would be delighted with the results obtained, and he would feel tremendously proud of the work that we now present to the audience.

Carlos Saura Medrano