Roberto Escobar and Igón Lerchundi (Basque Country

Basque Country (autonomous community)

The Basque Country is an autonomous community of northern Spain. It includes the Basque provinces of Álava, Biscay and Gipuzkoa, also called Historical Territories....

, 1934) were pioneers in the art of miming in Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

 and in Latin America

Latin America

Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages  – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...

. In 1959 they both founded the "Compañía Argentina de Mimos" (Argentine Mime Company) and toured around many countries in America and Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

. They later participated in the First International Pantomime Festival, which took place in Berlin

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

 in the year 1962, along with the most renowned mimes in the world (Marcel Marceau

Marcel Marceau

Marcel Marceau was an internationally acclaimed French actor and mime most famous for his persona as Bip the Clown.-Early years:...

, Kabuki

Kabuki

is classical Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for the stylization of its drama and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers.The individual kanji characters, from left to right, mean sing , dance , and skill...

 from Tokyo

Tokyo

, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

, etc.) Based on their success in this Festival they organized a long tour throughout Europe. At that time they had the opportunity to study in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 with Etienne Decroux

Étienne Decroux

Étienne Decroux studied at Jacques Copeau's Ecole du Vieux-Colombier, where he saw the beginnings of what was to become his life's obsession–Corporeal Mime...

, the creator of 20th century miming. Throughout their long careers they have obtained innumberable national and international awards. In 1973 they created the "Mimoteatro Escobar-Lerchundi" (Escobar-Lerchundi Mimetheatre), the only theatre dedicated to miming in America and one of the few in the world. Their Miming School is located at this theatre, in the traditional San Telmo

San Telmo

San Telmo is the oldest barrio of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is a well-preserved area of the Argentine metropolis and is characterized by its colonial buildings. Cafes, tango parlors and antique shops line the cobblestone streets, which are often filled with artists and dancers.San Telmo's...

 district, where they receive students from all over the country and the world.

External links

• Escobar-Lerchundi Theatre
• Igón Lerchundi at the Internet Movie Data Base
• Konex Foundation 1991 (Spanish)