Jhon Alex Toro and Lali Giraldo open 'Casa Plastica' in the San Felipe neighborhood, where the performing and audiovisual arts come together

The San Felipe neighborhood, in Bogotá, has become known as a space in the capital where art and culture are the protagonists, which is why it is one of the places that stars on one of the circuits promoted by the ArtBo fair during this weekend. Precisely one of the houses that will have its doors open to those interested in the plastic, audiovisual and performing arts is 'Casa Plastica', a creation by actor Jhon Alex Toro and his wife, the producer Lali Giraldo.

On April 21, the couple gathered friends and media in the two-story house where, from the entrance, a work of art made with 36,000 plastic covers tells what is going to be found inside . Infobae Colombia was at the opening of this new dream of the actor and businesswoman, she spoke with them and with one of the artists who participated in their works.

Neither of them likes to refer to the house as an art gallery, so they call it “an artistic and cultural platform”, since if something sets Casa Plástica apart from the other places that surround it in this strategic location it is that it goes beyond the plastic arts and becomes a more experimental space for those who decides to go into each of the rooms.

The house is open this weekend during the ARTBO art circuit in the city of Bogotá -specifically on 75A #22 -24 street- and, in addition, it will continue to operate with a series of events and activities such as Short Film Night, Open Mic Sessions, Clandestine Dinners, 'Speakeasy' Bar with live performances and/or DJ's.

They agree that opening this space was a “chance of fate”, because, three years ago, they bought the house considering it a real estate investment and rented it. At the end of last year, Lali Giraldo sold the office where her production company Central Films managed, since due to the pandemic it was not being used and, coincidentally, the house was handed over to them.

“I told Jhon Alex 'let's take the office there', but there was still a lot of space left, so we arranged other places for him to give his acting workshops and the whole floor below was still free,” explained the production company. Over time, the location of the house, in a cultural sector of the city, gave rise to the couple's decision to open a space to the arts thanks to the contacts they have made throughout their careers.

For the actor, the house was also a response to the need for reunion after the pandemic and the reactivation of the cultural sector that was severely impacted by the health emergency. In addition, Jhon Alex Toro refers to his pedagogical vocation, highlighting the importance of people who are not linked to the art world to come to this place and live the experiences offered by each space of Casa Plástica. “I have had the opportunity to go to public schools and have talks with students, we want to bring several groups to enjoy the spaces... that people who are not involved in the art environment come is essential.”

The entrance to the house is already quite a colorful experience, thanks to the mural made by Jonathan Cadavid with approximately 36,000 plastic covers and is also a representation of the message of care for the environment that is raised in the house. The mural is called 'Silvesthre' and is inspired by the artist's experience after several months living in Putumayo.

His message is clear: “It's too easy for me to get thousands and millions of tapas, I have lots of them; people often ask me where I get the covers and it seems obvious to me, they are everywhere. The important thing is to understand that each cap is the meaning of a plastic bottle that generates garbage, it means that we are consuming too many soft drinks and bottled water.”

After passing the entrance, there is a space to exhibit the personal work of different graphic designers and, in the first room, an exhibition of augmented reality paintings made by the Mexican artist Yunuen Esparza in which the viewer can install an application on their mobile phone to see the movement of each work of art. Then we see the 'infinity room/Misterra', created by the artist María Fernanda Arias, who collects leaves on the banks of the Orocué River, in Casanare, and turns them into pieces of art that, in Casa Plástica, provide an experience that makes the viewer feel in nature.

In addition, the space for the visual and performing arts is also arranged in the house through three screens on which these days' Satori 'will be presented the short film directed by Juan Pablo Caballero, which also sends a message of care for the environment. And on the second floor is the experience of 'theater for one person' in which spectators will live an immersive and individual experience with several actors.

On the other hand, from May 7, Jhon Alex Toro will be presenting his monologue 'Jhonalexedario' which will have other private performances on May 14 and 15 as part of the Open San Felipe Festival. About this proposal, the actor told Infobae Colombia that “it is the idea of the writer Antonio García to make an alphabet with an actor. We sat for two years until we could constitute a text based on anecdotes, technical things of acting and shooting in the middle and colleagues from A to Z”.

In addition, the actor has been working on the play 'El Coronel has no one to write to him', appears in the series' Primates' and will be at the Book Fair with Dago García and the book “The truth about the truth”, for which he narrated the audiobook version. In the midst of the pandemic, he told us, he also made peace with 'Brayan Galindo', his character in 'Nuevo Rico, Nuevo Pobre', a production that was re-broadcast on national television.

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