XUAREZ
September 2015GAM
Santiago, Chile
Coproduced byCentro Gabriela Mistral (GAM)
@MaglioPérez
“Xuárez” is a work of fiction that arises as a response to a historical void, as a reaction to a colossal blot that is laid bare in the midst of our history.
Who was Inés de Suárez? What was her true role in the conquest, founding, and birth of Santiago? We know almost nothing; we know that she beheaded seven principal caciques on September 11th during an indigenous attack. We don't really know what forces motivated her, nor how to explain her actions. The work Suárez is the retrospective fabrication of a founding myth that has been absent until now. As such, it dares to intertwine, in unusual and intentionally delirious ways, core events and issues of our history—issues that still shape and constitute us as a nation. Drawing in part on the thesis proposed by art historian Josefina de la Maza in her analysis of Pedro Lira's painting “The Founding of Santiago,” the work interweaves discussions about gender, power, pictorial genres, and historical narrative.
If we follow Todorov's description of pre-Columbian American cultures, and consider that time repeats itself, that knowledge of the past contains the knowledge of the future, and that memory is prophecy, we arrive at the questions that shaped "Xuarez": If Pedro Lira's painting "The Founding of Santiago" were a painted prophecy and not just a historical painting, what would it have to tell us about our past and, therefore, about our future? And going even further, if it were an indigenous prophecy and not a painting by a Chilean/Spaniard, how would it change our understanding of who our founding fathers were and what their true motivations were?
On September 10, 1541, just months after the founding of Santiago, the city was attacked by Michimalonco's army, which sought to free the seven indigenous leaders (caciques) the Spanish had taken prisoner. With Pedro de Valdivia gone, it was Inés de Suárez, his concubine, who had to lead the resistance. Pressed by the fierce attack, she faced a choice: free the caciques and surrender, or resist and watch as the city she had worked so hard to build was razed to the ground. Confused, Inés embarked on an inner journey to understand what to do and how to do it, while uncovering the dark motivations behind the machinery of the Conquest and ultimately rejecting any association with it.
Credits
Concept and Dramatic Structure
Luis Barrales and Manuela Infante.
Dramaturgy
Luis Barrales.
Director
Manuela Infante.
Cast
Claudia Celedón, and Patricia Rivadeneira.
Caciques
Flavio Banks, Lucas Gnecco, Octavio O’Shee, Lucas Pincheira, Daniel Román.
Set, Light, and Costume Design
Claudia Yolin.
Luis Barrales and Manuela Infante.
Dramaturgy
Luis Barrales.
Director
Manuela Infante.
Cast
Claudia Celedón, and Patricia Rivadeneira.
Caciques
Flavio Banks, Lucas Gnecco, Octavio O’Shee, Lucas Pincheira, Daniel Román.
Set, Light, and Costume Design
Claudia Yolin.
Technical Manager
Julio Escobar.
Original Music
Atom TM.
Sound
Pablo Ramírez.
Audiovisual Technician
Camilo Pérez de Arce.
Stagehand
Byron Catalán.
Choral Creation
Daniel Marabolí.
Julio Escobar.
Original Music
Atom TM.
Sound
Pablo Ramírez.
Audiovisual Technician
Camilo Pérez de Arce.
Stagehand
Byron Catalán.
Choral Creation
Daniel Marabolí.
General Production and Press
Francisca Babul
Francisca Babul
Coproduction: Centro Gabriela Mistral (GAM)
Trailer