Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Mangalore
Puducherry
Tiruchirapalli
Thiruvananthapuram
Vijayawada
Visakhapatnam
The Spanish connection
|
Theatre person Yasmin Jasdanwala de Vergara hit the limelight as the interpreter for Miguel Littin
|
Photo: S. Gopakumar
The Interpreter Yasmin Jasdanwala de Vergara
Chilean filmmaker Miguel Littin’s profound thoughts on Latin American cinema and its politics and his love for Kerala would have been lost on the audience had it not been for his official interpreter Yasmin Jasdanwala de Vergara. This first st
int as an interpreter has earned the Gujarat-born Yasmin accolades and recognition.
While saying that she enjoyed the assignment and would be open to similar assignments, Yasmin points out: “I am essentially a theatre person; this has been a part-time work.”
Yasmin, who calls herself a practitioner of contemporary physical theatre, has also been trained in Kathakali and Kalariyapattu. Talking about her Spanish connection Yasmin explains: “My husband, Jairo Fruto Vergara, is a theatre person from Columbia. I learnt the language from him. In fact, I have read the Mahabharata and the Ramayana in Spanish.” She adds that the epics have been her learning material to master Spanish.
Brought up in Bangalore, Yasmin came to the city in 2000 to participate in the International Film Festival of Keraka. The IFFK played Cupid and has been responsible for changing the course of life for Yasmin who has also worked as a model in Bangalore.
She explains, “I was doing theatre at Hampi with Khalid Tyabji. I happened to meet Jairo there. I met him again in the city during IFFK.”
After some performances in the city, she got an invitation to perform in Spain, Germany and France and finally ended up in Columbia with her husband.
On interpretation
“Interpretation is not just word to word translation; one has to have the capacity to understand the idea of the speaker. One should be familiar with the philosophy and functioning of the region where the speaker hails from. Only then can one interpret what the speaker is trying to convey,” she says.
Her camaraderie with Littin was evident as the filmmaker relied on her to communicate to his fans and admirers.
“The common tongue that we shared helped us understand each other.” “Spanish is the second most popular language of the world besides English,” she says.
This mother of two is currently perfecting her solo theatre performance ‘La Loba’ or ‘Wolf Woman.’ Since coming to India in March this year, she has performed at venues in Pondicherry, Bangalore and Chennai.
Yasmin, who will be in the city for the next four to five years plans to train her children in Kathakali and Kalaripayattu.
REMA SUNDAR
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Mangalore
Puducherry
Tiruchirapalli
Thiruvananthapuram
Vijayawada
Visakhapatnam
|
