Patricia, Katia and Saskia premiere the sequel to “Las Bándalas”, a show born out of necessity: this is their story

Eleven years after the premiere of “the bandalas″, Patricia Portocarrero, Katia Palma and Saskia Bernaola, return to the theater with a sequel that maintains the essence of the original, but much more mature and sophisticated. After meeting again on stage, the fun and insane multidisciplinary musicians will try to put together a new concert. They return renewed, with new costumes and new emotional proposals.

“After separating, after taking different directions, because we didn’t want to see each other anymore, we forced ourselves back on stage. The public launches us, forces us to return. So we started this new show”, says Bernaola. “And we appear with a new look, recontra rocker. Then, as is customary, we go through various rhythms, such as: rock, huayno, salsa, and also gospel. And they are all unpublished songs, original creations, composed by us and the extraordinary musical director, Iván Abanto”, warns Portocarrero. “And wardrobe with budget”, adds Palma.

The chemistry that the actresses have on stage is the result of a great friendship forged more than 23 years ago during a workshop organized by the Pataclaun Cultural Association, in which Renzo Schuller, Roger del Águila, Armando Machuca, Rossana Fernández Maldonado and Christian Ysla.

“We are daughters of the stage, it gave birth to us. We have been seeing each other’s faces for more than two decades, practically daily, because, in addition to working together, we are like a family, like a married couple. The three of us create content, we are very creative. And when one is a little tired or down, the other immediately fills that space and proposes ideas. We are never abandoned on stage”, says Bernaola. “We support each other so much that not even the money we owe ourselves, we charge”, jokes the participant of “The Great Chef: Famous”.

“Katia is practically the godmother of Saskia’s children. Our children are friends, they are like brothers. We have gone through different stages: from the rock and roll chibolas who wanted to take over the world, to the focused mothers that we have become. And not to mention our physical transformations”, emphasizes the remembered Sor Rita from “La santa comedia”.

“This is more than a job, it’s fun, therapy, for us. We wear caps, we laugh all the time. She is the one who wears the most badges (points to Katia). Working together is really very pleasant. We have managed to carry out a show without having a director who sees from the outside. We are self-directed. And when one is tired, the other takes the baton, but this pass of power comes naturally”, describes Saskia.

Prior to “Las Bándalas”, the actresses developed other projects together, such as: “Patacomix” and “La santa sazon”. “Las Bándalas” was born as an initiative to deal with the difficult economic situation they were going through in the first decade of the 2000s due to unemployment.

“This show was born out of necessity. We were unemployed and with babies in our arms. And even though we didn’t have a job, we would get together to laugh and cry.”

Saskia Bernaola

“This show was born out of necessity. We were unemployed and with babies in our arms. And even though we didn’t have a job, we got together to laugh and cry. We wanted to be on stage, playing instruments and singing whatever we wanted.”, details Bernaola. “And we wanted to uncover ourselves because it had been ten years of wearing a cassock, and show ourselves a little made up.”, adds Portocarrero.

“So one day, over breakfast, we decided to start this project. Saskia on guitar, me on drums, and Patricia learned to play bass. Iván is on the keyboards. And we have been eleven years of our lives with this incredible show. Traveling throughout Peru and receiving enormous expressions of affection from the public”, Katia describes.

And in the midst of a society of changes and movements like #Metoo, the funny actresses admit that they have been forced to reinvent their humor on stage.

“We always joked with Katia about the subject of weight and now she is made a Jennifer López from Polvos Azules. We have had to vary because internally and externally we have changed. We are very alert not to offend anyone. We make fun of ourselves, of our defects, never of peopleSaskia says. “There is a very fine line between humor, mockery, offense and disrespect. Our experience and the humor techniques that we have do not allow us to go beyond the middle ground”, emphasizes Patricia.

“The Bandalas 2″ runs from Thursday 27 to Sunday 30 July at 9.45 pm on the esplanade of the first floor of MegaPlaza, in Lima Norte, as part of the second edition of the Teatro Fest. There will be four functions. Tickets are on sale at Joinnus.