VETA NEGRA (VARIATION)
Carlos Cruz (Pachuca)
Schedule
European Premiere
With the powerful solo performance VETA NEGRA [eng. “black vein”], director Carlos Cruz traces the path of his own family history back to Real del Monte, one of the most historically significant mining regions in the state of Hidalgo, Mexico. Colonised by the Spanish in the 16 th century, the region experienced a boom thanks to the implementation of an effective method of silver extraction – one that was also extremely damaging to one’s health. This deadly process of using one’s feet to amalgamate mercury and silver was carried out by African slaves and Indigenous forced labourers; for Carlos Cruz, this became the starting point for a macabre dance. Inspired by Butoh, a form of Japanese dance theatre featuring grotesque movements and breaks with convention, both formal and social, Carlos Cruz crawls, digs, and quivers towards the bodies of oppressed miners and thus towards the long-buried history of this exploitation that lies at the heart of European prosperity – fighting to ensure that these colonial crimes on the American continent are not forgotten.
Biography
Carlos Iván Cruz Islas is a performance artist, director, actor, and a scholar of theatre from Pachuca, Mexico. He studied drama at the Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo and performs internationally, including France, Germany, the United States, and South America. His work connects Butoh dance with social and cultural issues. Recently ACHILA: THE EXILE OF THE CHILD GODS was performed in Paris as part of the programme “Expressions contemporaines du Mexique” (2024). He heads the collective Teatro Cuerpo Social, which presents artistic responses to political and ecological questions.
Cast
Performance
Carlos Cruz
Music
SORIAH (Enrique Ugalde)
Production
Gabriel Yépez
Info
For the programme BIRDS ON PERIPHERIES, a reduced ticket price applies when attending at least three events: each ticket then costs only 5 € per performance.
Accessibility
Production & Realization
Production
Teatro Cuerpo Social
Management
Demiurgos. Pensamiento y creación en artes vivas
With the kind support of the Goethe-Institut Munich.
