Les Luthiers

More than five decades on-stage. Easier said than done, ché. During that time, the Argentinian group Les Luthiers have brought joy to audiences of different generations with their comedy-musical show. “Over the years, we’ve created a really personal style combining humour and music,” declares Carlos López Puccio, a historical member of the group. “I think Les Luthiers managed to do humour that brought together Spanish-speaking countries; it is understood, respected and admired everywhere,” adds Horacio Turano. This humour did indeed transcend borders and, between May 31^st and July 9^th, will travel through several Spanish cities one last time with the show Más tropiezos de Mastropiero.

“It’s not that we feel unable to carry on, but we prefer to stop now that we still feel alive —confessed López Puccio during the official press conference—. We’re excited to enjoy this year of bidding farewell.” What a declaration of intent. “Our show has never been educational or ideological —continues López Puccio—. Our basic premise has always been to be entertaining and have fun.” Because even though the Les Luthiers show cannot be understood without music, it’s obvious what lies at the heart of their proposal. “For me, humour is the driving force to carry on—confirms Martín O’Connor—. If you take things too seriously, sometimes you can’t carry on.”

“For me, humour is the driving force to carry on. If you take things too seriously, sometimes you can’t carry on” — Martín O’ Connor

The show Les Luthiers puts on-stage is anything but simple and, at this stage in the game, its group members have no problem revealing one of the secrets to their success. “Timing is really important: being, listening, fitting together the music and our voices. We work collectively all the time,” confirms Tomás Mayer-Wolf. Madrid will get to see Carlos López Puccio, Jorge Maronna, Roberto Antier, Tomás Mayer-Wolf, Martín O'Connor and Horacio Turano —with Santiago Otero Ramos and Pablo Rabinovich as standbys—. Maronna is the only original member of the group that started around 1967, but the connection between its members remains intact. “Now there are different people to the original ensemble, but I can confirm that it feels like we’ve been friends forever, and that’s fantastic,” celebrates O’ Connor.

If there’s something the members of Les Luthiers have in common, it’s the stage. But that doesn’t prevent nerves and uncertainty from making an appearance before going on-stage. “Comedians are both extremely lucky and unlucky in that the quality of the product is immediately validated when you hear the audience laughing or not,” López Puccio assures us. Throughout their career, Les Luthiers have recruited thousands of fans, for whom they only have kind words. “The audience knows what they’ve come to see, and I feel like they savour it. As the saying goes, you could hear a pin drop. They are wholeheartedly focused on the show for almost two hours straight, and that’s a gift for an artist,” appreciates Roberto Antier.

“You have to work hard on talent. For us, the mise en scène is essential because the more runs we do, the more confident we feel” — Horacio Turano

Les Luthiers have been catching the audience’s attention for 55 years, which they achieve with talent and something more. “Talent comes naturally, but you have to work hard on it —Turano assures us—. For us, the mise en scène is essential because the more runs we do, the more confident we feel and the more we’re able to encourage those natural traits we have.” The group’s talent, together with their boundless creativity, have proved that you can make people laugh, a lot, without sacrificing smart humour. So, they’ll say goodbye to their audience in Spain with smiles and laughter. Farewell!