hoped to encourage a return of the freedom of expression whose absence had led so many other cultural figures to leave Argentina since 1975. Converting a shuttered spark plug factory in the Balvanera district of Buenos Aires to the "Picadero Theatre," they premiered a festival of their collective new works (including Dragún's Mi obelisco y yo - "My Obelisk and Me") to acclaim on July 28, 1981. This success was marred by the theatre's fire bombing a week later, still an "unsolved mystery." The setback did not shutter the Open Theatre, however, which reopened in Corrientes Avenue's famed Tabaris Theatre (well-known locally for its revue). The Open Theatre's 1982 season, whose slogan was "winning back the streets," featured Dragún's Al violador (To the Rapist). The play was one in a trilogy that included Al perdedor (To the loser) - a semi-biographical look at ill-fated boxer José María Gatica - and Al vencedor (To the Victor). Following the Open Theatre's final season, in 1985, he wrote Arriba, corazón (Take Heart). The 1987 play was a success, and in 1988 Dragún established the Theatre School of Latin America and the Caribbean in Havana (where he lived for a time), and reopened the Popular Theatre in Buenos Aires, in 1989. Dragún relocated to Mexico City; but returned in 1996 to accept the prestigious post of Director of the Cervantes National Theatre. He helped revive the struggling Cervantes by organizing "theatre marathons" and the Ibero-American Theatre Encounters, which highlighted troupes from the Argentine hinterland and from other countries in the region, respectively. The director of the Cervantes was enjoying a night out with his wife at the Gran Splendid Cinema (today the El Ateneo Grand Splendid bookstore) on June 14, 1999, when he lost his life to heart failure at age 70. The outspoken Osvaldo Dragún was often out of favor among his colleagues, about which he once said: I've always lived on islands. Cuba is an island, and the Fray Mocho Theatre was, too. My hope is that one day, these islands will be the continent of creativity and magic. References and external links Argentine dramatists and playwrights Argentine theatre directors People from Entre Ríos Province Argentine Jews 1929 births 1999 deaths 20th-century dramatists and playwrights