This project was an initiative by two-stage groups: Tránsito-Vías de Comunicación Escénica (Transit-Ways of Stage Communication) and Derramando Lisura, (Shedding Elegance) which have in common working from processes of collective creation, and questioning our place as citizens in a country that strikes us and that is difficult for us to understand, but that also motivates us to create. From the opportunity of the Creation Project Bidding Contest, we set out to generate an intergenerational exchange that allows us to explore the precariousness and polarization which are characteristics of the period in honor of Independence, seeking to trace its connection and correlation with other significant moments in the history of Peru. As the use of humor is a point of agreement between both groups and valuing this resource as a key aspect to overcome, as a society, multiple adverse circumstances, we set out to make a political satire to invite dialogue, listening and public deliberation.
The work starts by asking us what moral incapacity in Peru lies in, beyond what the Political Constitution can say and the excuses used to vacate presidents. Starting from different situations, contextualized in different moments of our history, the play invites us to think about the impossibility of assuming ourselves as a truly independent republic as long as inequalities persist, authoritarian forms of exercise of power and particular interests are imposed above the pursuit of the common good. Through songs, controversial characters, and paradoxical situations, we seek to become more aware of how permissive we are about corruption.
In the case of collective creation, the research-creation process is always continuous. Conceptual or documentary stimuli are truly tested to produce some kind of aesthetic response.”
Paloma Carpio, M.A.
Professor of the Department of Performing Arts
It was a very enriching process, in which we resorted to different sources and tools. On the one hand, play and improvisation were the starting point of stage exploration, but continuously nurtured with spaces for reflection that emerged from the consultation of key books such as History of Corruption in Peru, The Republican Utopia, Independence, among others. On the other hand, we propose to review from the citizenry some perceptions about common ideas about Peru, expressed in phrases that have transcended in time such as “Peru is a beggar sitting on a golden bench”. To collect these perceptions, we created an itinerant device that allowed us to tour the environment of Mercado Magdalena, interacting and collecting opinions from passers-by. Finally, the process was very influenced by the current political situation in Peru, which is why the play shows our concern for the fragmentation and polarization of the country.
In the case of collective creation, the research-creation process is always continuous. Conceptual or documentary stimuli are truly tested to produce some kind of aesthetic response. Facing an issue as broad as the one that the play covers, the challenge is to be able to concretize a drama proposal that is sustained, suggestive and motivates the attention and participation of the spectator. We are at this point in time, nurturing the proposal based on the response of the first spectators with whom we were sharing the play. This is a living, dynamic process of constant evaluation and adjustment. And we are very excited that the play will generate necessary and pending debates in the country.
