Affective, literary and theatrical networks in the exile of Victorina Durán: the creation of La Cuarta Carabela (1952-1963)

Abstract

Victorina Durán (1899-1993) was a multifaceted Spanish artist who spent twenty-five years in exile in Buenos Aires. During this period, she participated in numerous theatrical, literary, and artistic projects with other Spanish and Argentine intellectuals. Among her most notable endeavors was La Cuarta Carabela, a cultural association she founded in 1952 alongside Susana de Aquino. Through this institution, they promoted the creation of photo-poems, independent theater, experimental films, and other cultural events primarily involving women artists: writers, actresses, musicians, and dancers. This article aims to reconstruct the activities of this cultural institution from its inception in 1952 until Victorina Durán’s return to Madrid in 1963. To achieve this, archives in Spain and Argentina were consulted, gathering documents such as programs, brochures, newspaper reviews, photographs, employment contracts, unpublished theatrical and poetic works, and Victorina Durán’s agendas, allowing for the reconstruction of La Cuarta Carabela’s cultural program. This journey highlights the intellectual and artistic networks forged by Durán and Aquino in the 1950s and 1960s. An ethic of responsibility underpinned these networks, enabling resistance to the fragmentation and isolation imposed by the political and social context. This reconstruction will examine how ethical responsibility and collaborative commitment were driving forces behind the creation of networks that transcended cultural and geographical boundaries, fostering a space for artistic exchange and solidarity in Buenos Aires and Madrid.