José Ignacio Cabrujas Lofiego (July 17, 1937 – October 21, 1995 in Porlamar, Margarita Island) was a Venezuelan playwright, theater director, chronicler, soap opera writer, drama librettist, screenplay writer, radio moderator, humanist and political campaigns designer. He is considered one of the founders and innovators of the modern telenovela genre in Latin America, and is called the "Maestro de las Telenovelas."
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Early years
José Ignacio Cabrujas spent his childhood in the Caracas neighborhood of Catia. His parents were José Ramón Cabruja Esteso and Matilde Lofiego of Cabruja. His original name is "Cabruja" so he was changed when the a story emerged during his tenure in the Teatro Universitario (TU). The confusion arises from the renowned journalist Lorenzo Batallán, who published a note on the Cabrujas' performance at TU, adding an "S". Apparently the young actor was pleased and decided to continue using the 'S', so he came to be known as "José Ignacio Cabrujas."
Career
After reading Les Misérables by Victor Hugo as a youth, he decided to be a writer. In fact, he could not stop crying and was so involved in his exaltation that he said: "This is what I want to do in life; these letters, these pages have produced in me all this emotion ...it's a miracle; I want to be part of that miracle."
In 1956, thanks to a grant, he began studying law at the Universidad Central de Venezuela. After two years of studying law, his second brother, Francisco Cabrujas, was born (Today, he is involved in film and soap opera's scoring). But José Ignacio's sudden entrance in the university theater revealed his true vocation, and so he left the University.
Family
He married three times: to Democracia Lopez (1960-1965), to Eva Ivanyi (who was his costume maker and producer), and the famous Venezuelan singer, musicologist and choral director Isabel Palacios (1985 - 1990). He had 2 sons: Juan Francisco Cabrujas (1961) and Diego Cabrujas (1987). He had one sister, Martha Cabrujas, who is involved in the plastic arts.
Printed and electronic publications about his life and work
1979: «Tres dramaturgos venezolanos de hoy R. Chalbaud, J.I. Cabrujas, I. Chocrón» [1] by Gleider Hernández-Almeida, text published by the Nuevo Grupo.
1983: «Cabrujas en Tres Actos» [2] by Leonardo Azparren Jiménez, text published by the Nuevo Grupo.
1991: «El Teatro Según Cabrujas», [3]
1994: «Catia en Tres Voces» [4] [5] [6] by Milagro Socorro, where she interviews Cabrujas about his childhood in Catia.
1995: «Cabrujerías: un estudio sobre la dramática de José Ignacio Cabrujas» [7] [8] by Francisco Rojas Pozo
1999: «La Caracas de Cabrujas» [9] by Ibsen Martínez.
1999: «Descubriendo a José Ignacio Cabrujas Un hombre... Un Artista... Una Conciencia...» Claudy De Sousa's Degree's Thesis [10].
2000: «Venezuela: La Obra Inconclusa de José Ignacio Cabrujas» [11] [12] Yoyiana Ahumada's, MSc. Thesis
2006: «Premios Nacionales de Cultura: Teatro José Ignacio Cabrujas 1989» [link removed] by Gloria Soares, in which she collects information and references notes divided into seven chapters to organize and summarize his work.
2006: «Cabrujas, ese ángel terrible: seis miradas de taller» [13] [link removed] by Yoyiana Ahumada and La Fundación, in collaboration with Manuel Felipe Sierra, Daniel Gutierrez, Eduardo Fermin Furiati Claudia Paez, Iraida Tapias and Arnaldo Gutierrez.
2009: «Historia y cotidianidad en la dramaturgia de José Ignacio Cabrujas» [14] by Magaly Guerrero [15]
Selected filmography
La quema de Judas (1975)
Telenovelas
LA SEÑORA DE CARDENAS
La Señora de Cardenas .... Venezuela (1977) with Doris Wells and Miguel Ángel Landa
SANGRE AZUL
Sangre azul ... Venezuela (1979) with Pierina España and José Luis Rodríguez
NATALIA DE 8 A 9
Natalia de 8 a 9 .... Venezuela (1980) with Marina Baura and María Conchita Alonso
Vivir por ti .... Mexico (2008)
LA DUEÑA
La Dueña .... Venezuela (1985) with Amanda Gutiérrez and Daniel Alvarado
Dueña y Señora .... Puerto Rico (2006) with Karla Monroig and Angel Viera
La Patrona .... Mexico, USA (2013) with Aracely Arambula and Jorge Luis Pila
La Patrona .... Mexico, USA (2018)
LA DAMA DE ROSA
La dama de rosa .... Venezuela (1986) with Jeannette Rodríguez and Carlos Mata
Cambio de Piel .... Venezuela (1997) with Coraima Torres and Eduardo Serrano
Géminis, venganza de amor .... Spain (2002)