Mar Gomez Glez's Interview by Spain Culture NY

A good Spanish coffee to chat with Mar Gómez Glez, Spanish writer novelist and playwright. Her work has received GLOBAL RECOGNITION including the 2011 Calderón de la Barca Theater Award for her play "Numbers", the 2008 Arte Joven Latina Award for her story "Que viene el lobo", and the 2007 Beckett Theater Award for her play "Fuga mundi".

She lives in New York since 2006. In her bright apartment next to Union Square, Mar explains us more about her work:

WHAT DO PEOPLE REMEMBER ABOUT YOUR WRITING ?
Very recently a journalist pointed out that in my main works there are CONTEMPORARY events as the meaningful background of what my characters are living.
And that's right! I hadn't really thought about it before, but I usually use something that is ACTUAL and GLOBAL. Present history relates with very personal and vital questions, with our lives, and the lives of the characters.
I think everybody has to be alert of what's going on to be able to take responsibilities. In a sense, WE ARE ALL VICTIMS AND CULPABLES. We are victims of history, but it is also in our hands to change, or fight for changing, what we don't like.

She believes it and acts accordingly. Her work manages so deep issues as immigration and diplomacy in Numbers, ecological disaster and personal accountability in "U-Turn" or revolutionary movements and trust in "39 Defaults".

HOW DO YOU MANAGE LIVING BETWEEN SPAIN AND NEW YORK?
I published most of my work in SPAIN, but when I was already here. My first book was published in ECUADOR, a country I have never visited, so I HAVEN'T SEEN IT in a bookstore. There is distance between the finished product and how it is produce. I am happy and comfy with this fact. I believe in the autonomy of the work. It has its own life.
Obviously THEATER is different and YOU HAVE TO BE WHERE YOUR PLAY IS, at least in the earliest stages. Working with a team of actors and director is a beautiful process and it enriches the play.

Mar published Acebedario in ECUADOR, Numbers, U-Turn (previously translated us Turnaround) and some short stories in SPAIN. U-Turn is currently being translated into English with the support of PEN American Center and she expects to get more of her works in UNITED STATES, where she has published in Word Without Borders and the Translation Review.
In NYC she has participated in FESTIVALS and exhibits as Teatro Vivo, Electrica '11 or Teatro Stage Fest. And her plays have been performed Off-Broadway, as Wearing Lorca's Bowtie at The Duke Theater.
In both sites of the ocean she received excellent reviews:

• "In this unforgettable book by Mar Gómez Glez, there is, above all, writing." Says the Argentine writer Sylvia Molloy about U-Turn
• "Here, the author demonstrates an elegant capacity for description, the characters are depicted soberly, almost modestly... The most significant example is, of course, the figure of Null. We can make out a parallel with that Kurtz of whom Conrad wrote." Says Fernando G. Ariza critic of Culturamas Magazine also about U-Turn.
• "It asks the right questions in a style that encompasses both Chekhov and Monty Python." Says Mike Bradwell, artist director of The Bush Theatre, about "Numbers".
• "A Spanish playwright conquests Broadway with Theater at English" titles EL PAIS at Mar's Interview.
• "Wearing Lorca's Bowtie is a sincere, impressionistic, sometimes static, yet often powerful portrait of the lonesomeness of life in New York City." Says Backstage Review.

AND NOW LET US KNOW MORE ABOUT YOU AND THE CITY. WHY NY?
I came here because I felt in love with the city. When I was teaching at Vassar College, I came to the city as often as I could. I remember I WAS SIMPLY HAPPY walking around. NY has something extremely appealing. THIS CITY HAS BEEN BUILT BY PEOPLE, you can see it. Many people from many different countries come here and exchange things and knowledge. Here you have contact with the entire world.

YOUR MAGIG PLACE?
More than one place, what I absolutely enjoy is TO WALK IN THIS CITY. When I need some space I walk down. I usually go to alphabet city, it is a little bit more relaxing than my own street. I love the neighborhood's gardens.

AND TO FINISH THIS CONVERSATION, YOUR ADVICE FOR THE SPANISH PEOPLE THINKING ABOUT COMING TO THIS UNIQUE CITY: Be humble. Don't presume anything. Be willing to learn from all the diversity that you are affronting. There are so many different people, so many cultures, that is very beautiful to learn from all this. Here you realize how rich we are as human beings, in our diversity. Come here to breathe all that. 

Posted at Spain Culture New York, Consulate General of Spain in NY's website, on May 30th 2012: http://www.spainculturenewyork.org/beta/cms/mapping-the-arts/spanish-creators-in-ny/spanish-creators-detail/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=23&cHash=ea4485ce5d66b52c7fa1df050c577e68