An Argentinian household struggles to make ends meet during The '70s crisis. Carmelo, the main breadwinner, owns a stall in the local market and is very proud of it. His daughter Martita supposedly works at a drug store but is implied to be a sex worker of some kind. María, the wife, and Angela, the elderly aunt, do the chores. Carmelo's brother, Chicho, is an unemployed composer with no intention of lifting a finger to earn money. All of them look after the grandmother, la Nona (jargon for "granny"), who is one whooping century old and a massive Big Eater. Chicho and la Nona's lifestyles put a great strain on the household's finances, to the point that María and Carmelo start demanding Chicho to seek a job. He gets into all sorts of hijinks to avoid pulling his weight.
It's widely believed that the only reason La Nona was able to avoid censorship from the then dictatorial government is because of the subtlety in which it criticizes society. No character ever says anything against the regime, but the quickly worsening situation and the sacrifices they've forced to make paints a bleak picture indeed.
This Dark Comedy was written by Roberto Cossa and published in 1977 under the Argentores editorial. Two years later, it got a film adaptation directed by Héctor Oliviera and scripted by Cossa. La Nona has had such a cultural impact that it's still being performed in several Argentine and Latin American theaters.
Tropes:
- Ambiguously Human: The titular character is this. The eldest in a somewhat impoverished family, "La Nona" (jargon for "granny") is a Big Eater of superhuman quantities and is likewise Obsessed with Food. She's also extremely old yet perfectly healthy despite all of that. Throughout the play, la Nona foils her grandson Chicho's increasingly desperate attempts to get rid of her and slowly causes every member of her family to die (or move away in María's case). Meanwhile, La Nona herself is none for the worse, and could very well be immortal.
- Adaptation Name Change: Some Peruvian takes on the play change Chicho's name to Tito due to the former name's resemblance to a slang word that means tits and Aunt Anyula's name to Ángela for no reason other than drive home that the character is very religious.
- Big Eater: Played for Drama. La Nona's ginormous food consumption severely strains her family's finances while she herself cares little for the situation. Every few hours, she re-enters the kitchen to demand snacks or meals and is appeased with smaller extra portions (what little her family can offer her). Later, she gets married to the owner of a bodega and manages to eat all of the establishment's candies in a month and a half. Her finishing monologue has her alone, as all of her relatives have either died or left, reminiscing about the fantastic meals she enjoyed in her youth.
- Character Catchphrase: Due to her obsession with food, la Nona's most common phrase by far is to ask whether there's a snack [for her to eat].Nona: ¿Un piqueíto?
- The Dissenter Is Always Right: The only one who is realistic about Chicho's artistic aspirations is María. All of her in-laws are willing to excuse Chicho's willful unemployment under the guise that "he would lose his muse if he had to work". María is the only one who sees it as utter bullshit and pushes for Chicho to support the family's income. As the play progresses, Chicho's ridiculous schemes and excuses to escape work are half the reason for the family's tragic downfall.
- Embodiment of Vice: It is implied that la Nona is actually misery in human form, representing the hard times Argentinian families experienced during The '70s, with misery spreading through everyone, just like la Nona indirectly causing the deaths of all of her relatives, who either work themselves to the bone or just succumb into mental illness. She is then given shelter by a blissfully unaware family at the end of the play, so the cycle resets.
- The Film of the Play: A film adaptation was released in 1979. It was directed by Héctor Oliviera and scripted by Roberto Cossa.
- Foreign Remake: The Scottish play Yer Granny is a remake of the play, relocated to a Glaswegian chip shop.
- Gratuitous Italian: Justified. By virtue of being an Italian immigrant, la Nona often flavors her speech with basic Italian phrases and words such as greetings. When sent to her room after being denied her nth serving of food, she angrily mutters "Andiamo! Andiamo!" as she repeats back in Italian what her relatives told her in Spanish —"¡Vamos, Nona, a su cuarto!".
- Hooker with a Heart of Gold: Martita's actual jobs have always been of a "doing sexual favors" nature, what with her taking night shifts and getting picked up at her home by a man in a luxurious car. The reason she does it, however, is to lend financial support to her family. She could have gone and rented her own place but has decided to stay and give up most of her pay to help buy food and other necessities. Her love for her parents and extended family is genuine too.
- Lazy Bum: Chicho contributes exactly nothing to the household. He doesn't help with the chores, spends all day lazing around in his bed composing tangos, and is allergic to the idea of seeking a job. When the family's finances start tightening due to the crisis, he still makes excuse after excuse and plans harebrained schemes to avoid working. It's Played for Drama because his reluctance forces his relatives to make great sacrifices, which ultimately leads to their demise.
- Named by the Adaptation: In the original play, la Nona remains an unnamed character. In the film, however, she becomes Carmen Racazzi. Meanwhile, her relatives get the Spadone surname (implied to have been inherited from la Nona's husband). Finally, Don Francisco's last name is revealed as being Colauti.
- Obsessed with Food: Exaggerated. It's safe to say that 90% of la Nona's dialogue is either her insistently demanding food or animatedly reminiscing the delicious banquets of her youth. Toward any other topic, she's uncaring and apathetic.
- Only Known By Her Nickname: La Nona's real name is never disclosed, with everyone referring to her as la "nona" (which is slang for "granny") because the only other characters are her children or grandchildren.
- Secret Sex Worker: Martita is heavily hinted to be a sex worker. At first, it's something milder —like being a waitress or escort— that still requires her to "take night shifts at the pharmacy". She becomes a full prostitute when her family's situation worsens and there's barely any money to get by. This is indicated by the fact that her shifts (now "at a bakery") take longer, she returns more tired, and she eventually contracts a fatal sexually transmitted disease. Her loving family is grateful for the much-needed money she provides them but remains none the wiser until the very end.
- Tragedy: Chicho's Fatal Flaw is laziness. He's so horrified at the idea of him getting a job and therefore spending less time composing tangos that he's half the reason why his family ends up in financial ruin. Other than his grandmother, only he remains in the end—the rest of his relatives are either dead or have left. Because of la Nona's insatiable appetite and apathetic attitude, he kills himself to avoid having to take care of her.
