Another example of the incredible things that surface almost every week is Teatro de los Andes in Bolivia. Nico and I met today with Carolina at Voces del sur in the city center. Carolina introduced us to Natalia Barry, a young Argentine girl who is working and living with the Teatro in Bolivia. Natalia was visiting Carolina Thursday and we had communicated by email earlier in the week about a possible meeting. Luckily, it worked out for all of us.
The theater group was founded by an Argentine fellow named César Brie, a talented actor, writer and musician who was arrested and persecuted during the period of the disappeared under the military junta. Like most military dictatorships, the junta began to harrass and intimidate prominent artists almost immediately.
César eventually fled to Italy, starting a theater troupe there, and somehow ended up in Norway where he founded yet another theater group. The common thread in these groups was their focus on incorporating native traditions into their theatrical works. |
| Teatro de los Andes website. (click image) |
When Argentina returned to democracy, he came back briefly, but then fell in love with the traditional Andean culture of Bolivia on a trip there. He and a friend who had come with him to Argentina from Italy, bought a small olive orchard in Yotala, Bolivia, moved there and started Teatro de los Andes 16 years ago. They now perform regularly across Bolivia and hold an annual workshop that attracts people from across the Andean nations.
One of César's interesting insights is that ancient Andean culture never developed theater! Perhaps because they had no written language? But it is a salient point. So César's troupe incorporates traditional Andean culture and myths into their plays, even into something such as the Iliad, which they have performed to enthusiastic local audiences on several occassions.
The Teatro is not overtly political, but the actors as a group are sympathetic to Evo Morales and have become more politically engaged and entangled than in the past. Who knows where this will lead given Bolivia's volatile political situation.
We watched a video of one of their performances, and Natalia gave us a ton of literature and a couple of impressive looking books written by César. Carolina, Natalia, Nico and I had lunch afterwards at a little neighborhood cafe with simple daily specials, and we talked about possible ways to work together. We agreed that a Skype call with César might be a good starting point.
Nico and Natalia had other appointments after lunch, but as a special treat, Carolina took me on a little walking tour of the area around the national Congress. All the tents from the warring sides in the historic months long battle between the farmers and the Kirchner government were still up, and we wandered around talking to the rural activists. It was fascinating, worth filming if I had thought of it two weeks ago. At that point, this entire area was like a carnival! Now, the main political victory had been won by the farmers, although there would doubtless be plenty of additional skirmishes in the months and years ahead.
