Definition of sainete - What is it, Meaning and Concept

Subgeneros within the theater can be divided into major ( tragedy, drama and comedy ) and minor ( auto sacramental, sainete and entremes ); the former are complex representations, divided into several acts, while the latter are generally composed of a single act and last for a short time.

The word sainete is used to identify the pieces that are framed in the dramatic genre, have jocular content and are developed in a single act .

In ancient times, these works were carried out during an intermediate cut or after the end of a function .It should be noted that this word is also used to name the play , usually with comical characteristics, which has an atmosphere and popular characters and is organized in one or more acts, such as an independent staging.

For example: "Next weekend a sainete directed by Hector Gozniak will be premiered at the People's Theater" , "A beggar, a street vendor and a prostitute are the protagonists of the sainete that was awarded the Prize to the Excellence ”, “ I don't like the horsemen, I prefer the tragedies ”.

It is considered that the sainete is a theater subgenre that replaced the entremes during the 18th century .This work had a strong humorous tinge and it reflected popular ideas and customs.

Some authors who shone especially in this genre were the Brothers Alvarez Quintero and Carlos Arniches, who knew how to bring to the stage a much more lively show and with a colloquial language that allowed us to see everyday Madrid reflected in a work.

The fundamental characteristics of the genre are to show a light expressiveness represented in a popular and extremely realistic environment; It also had a documentary value faithfully showing how one lived and thought in a certain society and above all, showed the importance of identifying with the country and joining others in the same nationalist fervor.

On the other hand, they were works that lacked artifice on stage because they were considered smaller than large works, but this although made them simpler, also brought them closer to the people and made them look more spontaneous and fresh.

Over time the sainete was incorporating elements of other genres such as the zarzuela and the melodrama, combining humor, morality, songs and dances.

The sainete were very common during the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth centuries, were the substitutes of the hors d'oeuvres, another minor work that also served as support for major works.Some of its main representatives were Luis Moncin, Juan Ignacio Gonzalez del Castillo, Antonio Furmento Bazo, and Gaspar Zavala and Zamora.

At the end of the 19th century this subgenre crossed the ocean and began to be cultivated in the Rio de la Plata, so it was that it gave rise to another subgenre the grotesque Creole, similar to the sainete in the irony and the folkloric dye but with a more dramatic and lugubre character and that represented the customs of these coasts.Armando Discepolo was one of its fundamental authors.

It is interesting to add that the dictionary of the Spanish Royal Academy (RAE) recognizes other meanings for the notion of sainete.According to the institution, it can be a pleasant snack to taste or palate, a Smooth and delicate flavor, of a sauce that complements some delicacies to improve its flavor, of a thing that serves to enhance the merit of something, or of a special ornamentation in dresses.