The Colmenita: Cuban Children on World Stage

La Colmenita (the little beehive) emerged from a dream and hobby of Carlos "Tin" Cremata when he was still a student at the Cuban Theatrical Art Institute directing aquatic and judo performances with young people. The nucleus of La Colmenita was formed from some of these youngsters and children of three, four and five years from the popular television series "Cuando yo sea Grande" that he also directed.

"If I had been a carpenter, I would have built a wooden beehive", says Cremata. "Theatre is just a pretext. It is a gift of my mentor, actress and director Berta Martínez (2000 National Theatre Award), who saw it as a group of bees who create their own home." That was the seed of a team that gathers for the good of the individual and the collective, as Cuban National Hero José Martí wished it.

The 90 actors in La Colmenita range from three to fourteen years of age. It is the first theatre group, and one of very few groups of any kind, to become a Goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Children's Fund. Accepting the award in October in defence of the rights of children, director Cremata said "it is the children who are the true maestros. We only give them the tricks and instruments."

To Tin, as his closest friends call Cremata, goodness is something spiritually very elevated and is seen in his work with the performances of handicapped children at the Solidaridad con Panamá School in Havana. The same with the happy days spent with the AMICA association (Association of professionals and relatives of people with disabilities) in Spain or the exchange with the Small Theatre of the People in Dhaka, Bangladesh, to cite just a few examples of altruism. Many times Cremata has included children with motor, visual and hearing disabilities, Down syndrome, cancer, mental handicaps and cerebral palsy, among other problems, in La Colmenita's shows. The Cuban Health Ministry recognized the company with the title Health Promotion Centre in 2006 for its outstanding work...