Maruja Bardasano: Between Dance and Painting in Mexican Exile

Abstract

Maruja Bardasano (Madrid, 1935) is one of the most brilliant and versatile artists among the Spanish republican community in exile in México following the end of the Civil War in 1939. Daughter of the painters José Bardasano and Juana Francisca Rubio, with whom she arrived on board the Sinaia, Maruja was trained in both fine arts and classical ballet. In the early fifties she was a member of Sergio Unger’s Ballet Concierto, among other companies, and came to be its first soloist; she was also from time to time responsible for its scenic design. Simultaneously, she developed as a brilliant painter who exhibited in the Círculo de Bellas Artes in Mexico City. In 1956 she returned to Spain, where she devoted herself entirely to painting, an activity with which she is still engaged. This article analyzes her most outstanding contributions, emphasing her facet as a ballet dancer during her Mexican exile.