José Ignacio Cabrujas | |
---|---|
Born |
José Ignacio Cabruja Lofiego July 17, 1937 Caracas, Venezuela |
Died | October 21, 1995 Porlamar, Margarita island, Venezuela |
(aged 58)
Cause of death | Heart attack |
Nationality | Venezuelan |
Alma mater | Universidad Central de Venezuela |
Occupation | Film director, producer, actor, screenwriter, soap opera's writer |
Years active | 1961–1995 |
Spouse(s) |
|
Children | Juan Francisco Cabruja (1961) Diego Cabruja (1987) |
Parent(s) | José Ramón Cabruja Esteso Matilde Lofiego de Cabruja |
José Ignacio Cabruja Lofiego (July 17, 1937 – October 21, 1995, 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."
José Ignacio Cabrujas was born in Caracas, Venezuela. He 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 he 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."
After reading Les Miserables by Victor Hugo as a youth, he decided to be a writer. In fact, he couldn't 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 1946, his sister Martha Cabruja [2] was born. Today she is involved in the plastic arts.
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.
He married three times: to Democracia Lopez (1960-1965), to Eva Ivanyi [3] (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 Cabruja (1961) and Diego Cabruja (1987).
A man of immense culture and wit, he had a passion for opera, theater and literature.