The “Rosete Aranda” Puppets and their Restorer: Sergio A. Montero

Abstract

Through an established collaboration between the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH) and the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes (INBA), between 2007 and 2009 a large group of string-puppets was restored by a project directed by the Professor Sergio A. Montero Alarcón, teacher of the Escuela Nacional de Conservación, Restauración y Museografía (ENCRyM-INAH). The group was composed by two kinds of string-puppets: one of them was of an old and rough facture attributed to the Rosete Aranda family, while the other of refined craftship was supposedly produced by the Espinal family. In this article, Ana Garduño Ortega talks with Professor Montero about the intervention process of the string puppets, emphasizing not only on the importance of maintaining a balance between its aesthetic, historical, and functional values, but also on restoring its performance potential.