Ignacio López Tarso shuns retirement at 96

At 96, the Mexican actor Ignacio López Tarso is preparing to return to the stage in person and, in order to do so, he is in the process of physical rehabilitation, his son Juan Ignacio Aranda reported this Thursday.

“López Tarso is fine at home, but in a routine check-up the doctor decided that we both have to strengthen each other. The pandemic has made us very sedentary and the play ‘A life in the theater’ is very demanding, neither my father nor I are in the physical condition to do it” Aranda told the media.

That is why the first actor could not make it to the press conference that took place this afternoon but managed to send a message of affection with the reason for his absence.

“Yesterday I saw the geriatrician who is watching me and he recommended a week’s rest, if I don’t go out and that’s what I’m going to do”, said the interpreter through an audio that Aranda shared.

In addition, his son assured that both are carrying out various physical exercises that will help them carry out the tour of the work that will begin on July 3 in the city of Cuernavaca, and then reach those of Toluca and Querétaro, all in central Mexico.

As his son explained, his father has started using a stair climber that he has in his room and they have also made him take small walks so that little by little he can regain his condition and withstand the wear and tear that a staging entails.

Although currently father and son return to the stage in person, neither of them stopped working during the pandemic, since together they made six “streaming” presentations of various works with which they broke audience records.

“There is no actor in the world at 96 who has six shows online. With ‘Leonardo and the flying machine’ we had a virtual theater attendance record with 1,000 tickets sold.” Aranda said.

“A life in the theater” will put father and son to talk about the life of a consecrated actor and another with an uncertain future. In it, the frustrations, dreams and personal emotions of its characters are exposed through the theater.

The work celebrates the 70 years of López Tarso’s career, one of the most important Mexican actors in the country and who has in his career more than 50 films, and an endless number of plays and television programs.

“The truth is I would like my father to retire, and I think this work is ideal for him to do it, but he doesn’t want to, he has two more proposals in the cinema and two more streaming works. He doesn’t think about that (retirement) ”, Aranda expressed.