Run-time (hh:mm:ss): 01:12:42
Language:
In Spanish.
Synopsis: The main action of the play takes place over a few hours within the confines of a church, centering on the efforts of church
caretakers to prepare the statue of Santiago for an annual procession. Due to the war, these three caretakersthe only survivors
of the townhave been unable to honor their patron saint for many years. For the Hispanic Mayordomo and his mestiza employee,
Bernardina, the procession would restore order and bring meaning back to their lives. Yet, for the subaltern indigenous character,
Rufino, to honor Santiago would betray his cultural identity. Rufino thus decides to adopt the language, masks, and clothes
of an Andean trickster deity in order to betray the attempt to restage the procession. As the program notes explain, during
la Reconquista the figure of Santiago was transformed from a peaceful follower of Christ into the Moor-slaying Patron of Spain;
in the Conquest, he became a killer of Indians.Ironically, Catholicism's colonizing force turned Santiago into the holy patron of many Peruvian towns, venerated by the largely
native and mestizo population. This production suggests that, although forgotten by most Peruvians, a syncretic connection
between Santiago and the Andean god Yllapa motivated this odd veneration. The piece merges dream with reality, past with present,
as the memories of the earlier peninsular Reconquest allegorize both the Spanish Conquest of America and the recent guerilla
war that ravaged the country for decades. Perus most important theatre collective, Grupo Cultural Yuyachkani (www.yuyachkani.org)
has been working since 1971 at the forefront of theatrical experimentation, political performance, and collective creation.Yuyachkani is a Quechua word that means I am thinking, I am remembering; under this name, the theatre group has devoted itself
to the collective exploration of embodied social memory, particularly in relation to questions of ethnicity, violence, and
memory in Peru. The group is comprised of seven actors (Augusto Casafranca, Amiel Cayo, Ana Correa, Débora Correa, Rebeca
Ralli, Teresa Ralli, and Julián Vargas), a technical designer (Fidel Melquíades), and an artistic director (Miguel Rubio),
who have made a commitment to collective creation as a mode of theatrical production and to group theatre as a life style.
Their work has been among the most important in Latin Americas so called New Popular Theatre, with a strong commitment to
grass-roots community issues, mobilization, and advocacy. Yuyachkani won Perus National Human Rights Award in 2000.Known for its creative embrace of both indigenous performance forms as well as cosmopolitan theatrical forms, Yuyachkani offers
insight into Peruvian and Latin American theatre, and to broader issues of postcolonial social aesthetics.
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Copyright Holder: Grupo Cultural Yuyachkani
Contact: Teresa Ralli
Address:
Teresa Ralli
Casa Yuyachkani
Attn. Teresa Ralli
Tacna 363
Magdalena del Mar
Lima, Perú 17
Phone(Business): +51-1-263-4484
Phone(Fax): +51-1-263-0505
Email: yuyachkani@yuyachkani.org
Website: http://www.yuyachkani.org
Copyright Holder: Grupo Cultural Yuyachkani
Contact: Teresa Ralli
Address:
Teresa Ralli
Casa Yuyachkani
Attn. Teresa Ralli
Tacna 363
Magdalena del Mar
Lima, Perú 17
Phone(Business): +51-1-263-4484
Phone(Fax): +51-1-263-0505
Email: yuyachkani@yuyachkani.org
Website: http://www.yuyachkani.org
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