A Portrait of the Artistic Process: Federico León's Las ideas

Abstract:This article analyzes Federico León's 1975 documentary play, Las ideas, within the context of what Jordana Blejmar calls the "autofictional turn" in contemporary Argentine cultural production. Taking into account Hans Thies-Lehmann's theories on postdramatic theatre and studies by Jean Graham-Jones, Brenda Werth, Cecilia Sosa, and others on the recent proliferation of documentary theatre in Buenos Aires, I analyze León's Las ideas in relation to the role of the artist and artistic creation in 21st-century Argentina, specifically the way the play addresses issues of reality and simulation in a world increasingly dominated by technology and misinformation. Through the guise of autofiction, Las ideas comically blurs the borders between fiction and reality, leading the spectators to reflect on their own role in constructing reality and countering censorship.