Visitor bit into banana stuck to a wall at the Pompidou, by Maurizio Cattelan

▲ Comedian was purchased last year for $6.2 million at a New York auction. n Photo AFP Photo AFP

AFP

La Jornada Newspaper, Saturday, July 19, 2025, p. 4

Strasbourg. A visitor bit into a banana taped to a wall, a multimillion-dollar work by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan and displayed at the Pompidou Centre in the French city of Metz, the museum reported yesterday.

The surveillance team intervened quickly and calmly, in accordance with internal procedures , said the institution, located in eastern France.

The incident, which took place on Saturday, did not alter the integrity of the work at all , which was reinstalled minutes later.

Because the fruit is perishable, it is replaced regularly according to the artist's instructions , the museum said.

Cattelan, whose creation titled Comedian was purchased last year for $6.2 million at a New York auction, lamented that the visitor mistook the fruit for the work of art .

Instead of eating the banana with its peel and tape, the visitor simply ate the fruit , he said, quoted by the Pompidou Centre in Metz. According to the Lorraine daily Le Républicain, no complaint has been filed.

This work by Cattelan, of which three copies exist, questions the notion of art and its value.

It has been a hot topic since its first exhibition in 2019 in Miami, where another artist took it upon himself to denounce its price tag, which at the time was $120,000.

The piece was also devoured by Chinese-American businessman Justin Sun, days after having paid a fortune to acquire it.

"It's much better than other bananas ," he declared after tasting the first bite in front of dozens of journalists at a luxury hotel in Hong Kong.

Daniel López Aguilar

La Jornada Newspaper, Saturday, July 19, 2025, p. 5

Next month marks the 80th anniversary of the bombing of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which occurred on August 6 and 9, 1945, respectively.

The catastrophe, which forever marked human history, is evoked in Paper Girls and Boys, a production that uses puppet and object theater to sensitively explore the aftermath of these attacks.

With performances starting today at the Xavier Villaurrutia hall of the Centro Cultural del Bosque (CCB), the plot centers on Masaki, an elderly hibakusha – the Japanese term for survivors of a nuclear attack – who decides to break the silence and reminisce about his childhood with his friend Kazumi.

In an interview with La Jornada, playwright Luisa Aguilar, who also co-directs with Adolfo García, said: “I learned about the story of Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes, which deeply moved me because of its sensitivity and its message of hope in the midst of tragedy.

From then on, I knew I had to tell it, even though I couldn't find the right way to do it.

Aware that war is a complex subject for children and young people, Aguilar and García opted for metaphor as a narrative resource.

The montage is based on the game Rock, Paper, Scissors, where in this case, the rocks represent power; the scissors, the armed forces; and the paper, the vulnerable. This coding narrates the conflict from a sensorial and abstract perspective, appealing more to thought than to literality.

We wanted to communicate through play, metaphor and humor, keeping a glimmer of hope at the end , added Aguilar (Asturias, Spain, 1974).

To achieve this, the proposal incorporates traditional Japanese techniques such as bunraku, used to manipulate Masaki, a puppet constructed on stage with pieces of paper assembled in real time.

The performance is enriched by visual elements such as live ink drawing, kirigami —the Japanese art of live paper cutting—and illuminated paper figures; all of these resources engage with Japanese aesthetics to create a moving experience of loss and hope.

The research process was rigorous. Luisa Aguilar studied genbaku bungaku, literature focused on the aftermath of the atomic bomb, and explored survivor testimonies, poems, documentaries, interviews, and drawings.

▲ The production "The Paper Girls and Boys" uses puppet and object theater. Performances begin tomorrow at the CCB. Photo by Mariano Zapata

My intention was to go in-depth, avoid superficialities, and pay respect to those who lived through the horror , she explained. The intensity of the material led her to pause at times, but also to focus on personal accounts that humanize the tragedy.

Masaki doesn't represent a single individual, but rather those who have chosen to narrate the unspeakable. Her voice unites many others, silenced by fear or stigma.

To talk about war, you must first talk about peace; to talk about horror, you must show beauty; and to talk about suffering, you must find humor , the playwright reflected.

A key driver was the lecture given by Yasuaki Yamashita in Mexico City, which they attended during the creative process. A survivor of the nuclear attack, Yamashita called for a voice against atomic weapons and reminded everyone that a small action can make a great impact .

That idea drove the project and led to the conception of theater as a space to raise awareness and keep memory alive.

The dramatic proposal is part of Mondomeraki, a group founded in 2017 by Luisa Aguilar and Adolfo García, whose name means "making art with the soul and free from the superfluous ." Since then, the duo has developed an aesthetic committed to ethics, symbolism, and sensitivity.

Presenting such a delicate subject to children presented significant challenges, such as finding the right balance between honesty and caring. We wanted the story to touch the heartstrings without opening wounds. It wanted it to penetrate, but also comfort. That's why the ending is a light , the actress emphasized.

Both artists, Aguilar and García, participate as manipulators and narrators, strengthening the bond with the audience and bringing to life a universe in which puppets, paper, and silence speak as much as words.

The purpose of the production lies in raising questions, not offering definitive answers. Each person is invited to construct their own reflection on conflict, violence, and the hope for a different world. "I trust in children and their capacity to imagine different futures ," the Spanish playwright concluded.

The Paper Girls and Boys will perform on Saturdays and Sundays at 1:00 p.m. in the Xavier Villaurrutia theater at the CCB (Reforma and Campo Marte). Tickets cost 80 pesos for children and 150 pesos for adults. The season ends on September 14.

Omar González Morales

La Jornada Newspaper, Saturday, July 19, 2025, p. 5

The play "Ojitos," by the Queretaro-based company Ojitos Teatro, proposes a reflection on violence and forced disappearance, with the aim of touching wounds with tenderness , said playwright Kali Cano, creator of the piece and firsthand witness to the pain caused by forced disappearance.

In an interview with La Jornada, the actress and co-star of the play spoke about the importance of empathy in the face of the growing violence affecting Mexico and the world.

The idea was born in 2021; by then, I had already participated in several plays dealing with the theme of the disappeared, but I felt something was missing. I ventured into writing and remembered a terrible situation with a friend who was fortunately found alive. I wanted to create a story to inspire hope and willpower for those fighting in memory of those who are no longer with us , the artist commented.

The play tells the story of Perla and China, two dreamy sisters who dream of living adventures around the world; however, they are hit with a reality check by the gradual increase in violence in the city where they live.

After Perla's disappearance, her sister begins a search across the city accompanied by a group of searchers, where they will face bureaucracy and the lack of empathy of the authorities, in addition to reconstructing their memories and their great closeness.

The work not only speaks of disappearance, but also of the absence of loved ones. It speaks of the violence that comes with no longer having the people we love and love around us, as happens with death. We want to reflect on loneliness and pain, but also on the hope that comes from being united as a society to support one another , Cano commented.

We wanted the work to be a way to reflect on absence and a tribute to the love we feel for our loved ones , he said.

The cast includes Kali Cano (Perla), Yadira Bárcenas (China), Cointa Galindo (Lucero), a member of a search group, and Mauricio Figueroa (the lawyer). The director and set designer are Jean Paul Carstensen.

Ojitos will have two performances today and tomorrow at 7:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m., at the El 77 Centro Cultural Autogestivo (Abraham González 77, Juárez neighborhood). Tickets cost 250 pesos in advance and 300 pesos on the day of the performance. They can be purchased at the box office or on the Boletópolis platform.