Overview

• Mexico’s National Institute of Fine Arts and Literature (INBAL) confirmed the death of Mariana Gándara and praised her impact on the country’s performing arts.
• La Jornada reported that she died in Mexico City from cancer at age 41.
• Gándara led UNAM’s Cátedra Ingmar Bergman from 2018 to 2024 and previously transformed the Museo del Chopo’s performing-arts coordination into the pioneering Artes Vivas program.
• She founded Colectivo Macramé, received UNAM’s 2020 Distinción Universidad Nacional, and was a Sistema Nacional de Creadores de Arte grantee for 2023–2026.
• The theater community is organizing tributes, including a homage at UNAM’s Festival Internacional de Teatro Universitario starting September 4, and her most recent direction, Ovillo, premiered on May 15, 2025.