Current Projects
The following are brief descriptions of the current consortium projects funded through Southern Exposure: Performing Arts of Latin America. Please directly contact the listed presenting organizations for information on the projects taking place in their respective communities, including performance and other project activity dates, times and locations.
Inti-Illimani, Chile
Inti-Illimani is a renowned Chilean instrumental and vocal music ensemble that performs traditional and contemporary folk pieces from its home country and other Latin American nations.
Consortium:
Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA
Fairfield University, Fairfield, CT
Lafayette College, Easton, PA
Napa Valley Opera House, Napa, CA
Queens College, Queens, NY
Project:
Founded in 1967 by university students, Inti-Illimani rose to prominence in Chile for their song Veneceremos (We Shall Win), which became the anthem for the government of Salvador Allende. Exiled for a time after the military coup that ousted President Allende, the ensemble has become perhaps the best known representatives of the nueva canción movement, which combined traditional music with social and political content. In addition to public performances, consortium members will partner with community, cultural, education, and social service organizations to conduct film screenings, panel discussions, and lecture demonstrations, as well as social events with the visiting artists. Three of the consortium members will work with their local public radio stations to live stream the concerts. The tour will take place in October 2012.
Teatro Linea de Sombra, Mexico
Teatro Linea de Sombra is a leading contemporary Mexican theater company known for its original and highly visual multimedia productions.
Consortium:
Cumberland County College, Vineland, NJ
GALA Hispanic Theater, Washington, DC
On the Boards, Seattle, WA
Teatro Stage Fest, New York, NY
Project:
Teatro Linea de Sombra was founded in 1993 by the prominent Mexican director Jorge Vargas and is characterized by its distinctive incorporation of movement, projections, film and recorded soundscapes. The company will perform the work Amarillo, which touches on the complex nature of individual and national identity as it relates to migration–both for those who leave, and those who are left behind. In addition to performances, consortium members will conduct extensive outreach activities in their respective communities anchored by in-depth educational and contextual materials developed in partnership with the Simpson Center for the Humanities at the University of Washington. On the Boards will film and edit Amarillo using high-definition cameras for distribution through On the Boards.tv. The consortium will jointly plan screenings of the film in rural areas, two each on the east and the west coasts. Amarillo has only been performed twice in the United States and this will be its first multi-city tour, which will take place in October and November 2012.
Lagartijas Tiradas al Sol, Mexico
Lagartijas Tiradas al Sol is a celebrated contemporary Mexican theater collective that is known for its large scale multimedia performance works that blur the boundaries of theater.
Consortium:
Flynn Center for the Performing Arts, Burlington, VT
Fuse Box, Austin, TX
Helena Presents, Helena, MT
MECA, Houston, TX
Portland Institute for Contemporary Art, Portland, OR
Project:
Lagartijas Tiradas al Sol, which was founded in 2003 by theater artists Luisa Pardo and Gabino Rodriguez, will perform El Rumor Del Incendio. The piece explores the lives of young Mexican student revolutionaries in the 1960s who took up arms in an attempt to change society. As the children of that generation, the artists retrace the struggle of their elders and look to the future. The collective will stay approximately one week in each community, allowing time for extensive engagement with local audiences and artists. Each presenter has planned outreach activities geared specifically to its own community, involving local educational institutions, cultural organizations, social service agencies, and others. All sites will include a presentation by Edwin Culp of the National Autonomous University of Mexico and the Iberamerican University in Mexico City, who has written widely about the company.This first U.S. tour for Lagartijas al Sol will take place in September 2012 and April 2013.
Nemcatacoa Teatro, Colombia
Nemcatacoa Teatro is an acclaimed Colombian street theater troupe that incorporates elements of butoh dance, circus and mime with live musical accompaniment.
Consortium:
Flagstaff Cultural Partners, Flagstaff, AZ
Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center, San Antonio TX
Many Mouths One Stomach, Tucson, AZ
San Francisco International Arts Festival, San Francisco, CA
Tsunami on the Square, Prescott, AZ
Project:
Founded in 2000 in a working class suburb of Bogota, Nemcatacoa Teatro trained in a variety of circus arts, but settled upon acrobatic stilt walking as their primary performance vehicle. For their Southern Exposure tour the company will perform the site-based work Landscape Reinvention Society with live musical accompaniment by the Colombian ensemble Hojarasca Andina. During the tour the piece will be performed 27 times at free outdoor public spaces ranging from parks to town plazas to a Native American reservation. The consortium members have designed a host of engagement activities with their community partners, including slideshows, lecture demonstrations, master classes and workshops. Hojarasca Andina will perform a concert of contemporary music played on traditional Andean instruments at all stops on the tour in addition to providing the soundscape for Landscape Reinvention Society. This will be the first U.S. tour by Nemcatacoa Teatro. Engagements will take place from April through August 2013.
Maracatu Nação Estrela Brilhante, Brazil
Maracatu Nação Estrela Brilhante is a noted Brazilian music ensemble that preserves the African influenced performance genre of maracatu that originated in northeastern Brazil.
Consortium:
Avokado Artists, Placitas, NM
Grand Performances, Los Angeles, CA
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, New York, NY
Silvermine Guild of Artists, New Canaan, CT
Project:
Founded in 1906, the Recife-based Maracatu Nação Estrela Brilhante is one of the oldest and most respected traditional maracatu groups in existence. The form is typified by percussive music and call and response singing featuring performances that are part procession and part ritual. Maracatu groups usually consist of up to 100 drummers, singers and dancers, although the visiting ensemble will travel with a smaller contingent of 15 artists. To augment the reduced scale and assist with community activities, Nation Beat, a New York City-based American and Brazilian group that incorporates maracatu in their work, will travel with the ensemble to all host sites on the tour. The consortia members will work with their community partners to organize drumming and dance workshops, discussions, and informal social gatherings with the visiting artists, in addition to the public performances. This will be Maracatu Nação Estrela Brilhante’s first tour in the United States. Engagements will take place in August 2013.
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