(This part read by Gomez-Peña at the beginning of the presentation):
Dear Audience, welcome to our performance laboratory. What you are witnessing here tonight is not a performance but rather a work in progress and glimpse into our week-long rehearsal process.
For the past week core La Pocha Nostra troupe members: Roberto Sifuentes (Chicago/LA) Erica Mott (Chicago), Dani d’Emilia (Brazil), Saul Garcia Lopez (Mexico City/Toronto), Emma Tramposch (San Francisco/New Zealand) and I have been engaged in a daily workshop and rehearsal process with the goal of generating new material for our next large scale performance project. We are searching for living metaphors to articulate the multiple crises we are all facing. The images you will witness here are personas still in the process of formation. Images in search of a place in the world. In a sense you are witnessing the last moments of our week-long workshop and these young images are being tried out for the first time. We invite you to move around the space and view the work from multiple angles and perspectives throughout the evening.
La Pocha Nostra wishes to thank the generous staff at CASA who have made us feel very at home for the week. Special thanks to Daniel Brena, César Espinoza, and our protectors Abel Palacios Gomez and Miguel Angel Cruz Lopez. The troupe wishes to thank Gabriela Leon of La Pererra, Julia Antivilo, and Berenice Guraieb. Culinary gratitude is especially extended to María del Carmen Espinoza Lescas, Terea Ruíz and Alejandro Escobar of Comedor Alhelí. Last but definitely not least, the troupe wants to say a special thank you to our international Kickstarter supporters, without their generosity we would not have had this amazingly inspirational and productive week in Mexico.”
