Hamlet

Octavio Bernaza is 30 years old. From the age of 17 days, he received early stimulation, with the active participation of his parents and brother. At 15 months, he began preschool at Kallpa, and at the age of 7, he enrolled in Colegio Los Reyes Rojos, where he completed his secondary studies. He started swimming at four months old and became a freestyle swimming champion at the 2010 Pan American Games in Puerto Rico. At the age of 10, he began tennis lessons and participated in internal championships. After finishing high school, he studied a styling course while also working on weekends as a waiter in his family restaurant. From 2014 to 2017, he took dance classes at D1 and won national championships in group salsa dance and pair bachata, as well as the Latin International Dance Cup in group salsa and second place in pair bachata in 2017 in Orlando. In 2016, he worked as an assistant to the Minister of Labor. From the end of 2016 until February 2018, he worked part-time at Saga Falabella while continuing his dancing. In 2018, he was called to work full-time at his family’s restaurant, but the demanding hours and limited rest time led him to work at Holiday Inn instead. 

Jaime Cruz is 30 years old and has had a deep passion for sports, technology, and theater from a young age. He joined Kallpa and later attended Colegio Champagnat, where he completed his studies. He worked as an assistant at the Ministry of Labor and studied computer science. He later worked as a waiter at the Crown Plaza Hotel. Since the age of five, Jaime has been involved in swimming, serving as the captain of his team and winning the national butterfly stroke championship at the Special Olympics. He has taken workshops at Teatro La Plaza and traveled to Colombia and New York, where he represented the Peruvian Down Syndrome Society at various conferences. Jaime is also an advocate for the rights of people with disabilities and is involved in organizations like Liberarte, Retos, and Best Buddies. In the past year, he has been working at Starbucks, honing his work and customer service skills. Jaime enjoys playing basketball, football, practicing yoga, going to the theater, watching Peruvian films, reading, and spending time with his friends. 

Lucas Demarchi was born in Buenos Aires and is 24 years old. He has always been a cheerful person, greeting everyone as if they were his friends. At 15 days old, he started early stimulation. When he lived in Córdoba, he practiced competitive swimming. He attended a regular school until the age of 12 when he moved to Peru and joined Kallpa, a school for people with disabilities. There, he participated in sports, theater, singing, and dance. He has designed stage sets and costumes. He studied cooking at the Instituto Columbia and participated in a play at Liberarte Talleres Especiales. After living in Peru for six years, he returned to Argentina just as he began rehearsing Hamlet, but he has continued traveling back to Lima periodically to rehearse. He loves dancing, often performing in the street and passing the hat. Last year, he participated in the Special Olympics in Lima. He plans to study psychology at university and is a creative individual who can craft things even with just a wire. 

Manuel García is 32 years old. At the age of 15 days, he met Dr. Elba Zúñiga, who guided his parents in how to enhance his capabilities, starting a routine of continuous learning. He also received psychomotor therapy and reading therapy at the Centro Médico Peruano Japonés. At six years old, he enrolled in CEBE San Juan Bosco, where he studied with friends with different abilities and participated in various theater performances, which sparked his passion for theater. At 10, he transferred to CEBE Santa Teresa de Couderd, where he learned about baking. He studied electronic organ and reached an advanced level. He also studied kung fu at the Club Peruano Chino, earning a red belt with a star. He met Professor Jonathan Oliveros, who taught him musical theater, and he continues to be his student at the Liberarte Theater School.

Diana Gutiérrez is 35 years old, and is the youngest of six siblings. From a young age, she received many therapies in various centers. She completed primary school until the age of 16 at an inclusive school and finished her alternative basic education at 20. Since childhood, she practiced swimming, aerobics, and dance, and she studied computer science at 24. She attended the Himawari Center, where she received work training. She joined the Peruvian Down Syndrome Society (SPSD) and participated in a Life Project workshop. She had her first job at the REPSOL Santa María gas station as a store assistant and later worked as a messenger for the UNDP. Diana is currently a self-manager at SPSD. 

Cristina León Barandiarán has extensive work experience in different areas, having worked in merchandising at a jewelry store, as an assistant swimming instructor, and as an intern at the municipal library in Miraflores. She is currently training in shot put, a sport she loves because it relaxes her and makes her feel good about herself. Cristina’s goal is to reach the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, and she believes she will achieve it. She has also taken singing, painting, and theater classes, particularly excelling in acting workshops at Teatro sin Límite. Over the past year, she has been working at Starbucks, where she is further developing her professional skills. Her hobbies include watching horror films, romantic dramas, anything related to the paranormal, and her two great passions: anime and having deep conversations with someone very special to her. 

Ximena Rodríguez is 25 years old. She has an older brother and a younger sister. She attended a regular preschool and later completed her secondary studies. She participated in the soap opera Girasoles para Lucía when she was only days old and also took part in several school performances. She played the role of Juliet in the play Romeo and Juliet during primary school. This year, she recorded a commercial for the Universidad Peruana de Ciencias. Ximena has always loved dancing, especially traditional dances and reggaeton. She took ballet classes until she was eight, after which she started modern dance lessons. At the age of 14, she enrolled in reggaeton classes. At 12, she participated in a race at the Special Olympics, held at the AELU club, and competed in swimming for OMAPED of Pueblo Libre in 2017. In her free time, she creates choreographies and dances, which is her favorite pastime. Over the past year, she has been working at Starbucks, where she has continued to build her customer service skills. 

Álvaro Toledo is 24 years old. He is part of the Liberarte Talleres Especiales family. He attended Kallpa and then Colegio Los Reyes Rojos, where he won the 2013, 2017, and 2018 floral games and became the champion in black dance. He has worked as a waiter at the Marina kiosk and also in the school library. He is a black belt in karate and trains tennis every Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. In 2015, he won the swimming championship at the Terrazas club. He studied photography at the Peruvian Down Syndrome Society. He enjoys painting and has sold several paintings to the Hamlet family. Álvaro loves singing “Despacito” at home while watching YouTube. He also enjoys organizing small, medium, and large parties, going to the movies with his Hamlet friends and those from his high school. His favorite series and movies are El Chavo del Ocho, Descendants, The Lion King, Shrek, and Kung Fu Panda. 

Chela De Ferrari (Writer & Director) Born in Lima, Peru. She is the founder of Teatro La Plaza, a non-profit institution founded in 2003, and artistic director since its foundation until 2021. In 2013, she created Sala de Parto, a program of Teatro La Plaza to stimulate the birth of new Peruvian playwriting that in 10 years has helped to give birth to more than 50 plays working with local and international partners, such as the Royal Court in London. Recently, the emphasis has been placed on women creators, to accompany them in their process of creating new plays. In recent years, her work as a director and playwright has focused on the adaptation and direction of Shakespeare plays and new Peruvian playwriting. In close creative collaboration with Peruvian playwright Luis Alberto León, she premieres: La cautiva in 2014, Savia in 2017, and La Barragana in 2023, which closes a trilogy that speaks of three moments of extreme violence in the history of Peru. In 2024, she presented a version of Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull with visually impaired actors that premiered at the Avignon Festival and the National Drama Center of Spain. She is currently working on a documentary film: Ser Hamlet, which tells the story of the creative process of eight actors and actresses with Down syndrome and cognitive disabilities rehearsing Hamlet.