Jardín de pulpos.

Adaptation of "Jardín de Pulpos", renowned play by Argentinean writer Arístides Vargas (of the Ecuadorian theater group Malayerba), directed by Rosa Luisa Márquez and collectively created with her students of the "Teatro Rodante" (Traveling Theater) of the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus. A theater piece on memory, atrocity, affect and resistance, "Pulpos" bridges time (from a mythical time to the "Baby Boomers" to the "Generation X"), and place (with an Andean text rendered Caribbean, adapted to the Puerto Rican reality) in order to denounce political repression, police brutality, ideological persecution and political assassination, and to evoke and pay homage to our dead and disappeared. An organizing image is that of the "velorio" or wake for a lost child, (alluding to the canonical Puerto Rican painting by Francisco Oller and to a contemporary rendition by Rafael Trelles), in an exploration of memories of loss and a sense of community, of a broader Puerto Rican family. The recurring motif of the sea shore opens productive layers of signification, rhythm and spatial organization: it hints to the waters where Argentineans were "disappeared" during the dictatorship, the island of Puerto Rico's (geographic and political) borders, and to the Beatles' song "Octopus' Garden", which inspires the pieces title. The resulting performance is an open call to rescue and safeguard collective memories of political and historical events that have shaped our present Latin American societies. It is also an artistic attempt to capture and evoke the sensorial complexities of past events, claiming them as genealogical landmarks in our current collective life. Rosa Luisa Márquez (www.marquezmartorell.org) is a Puerto Rican theater artist and pedagogue. Founding member of the theater group Anamú in 1971, she holds a master's degree from New York University and a Doctorate from Michigan State University; she specializes in contemporary theater. Rosa Luisa started her teaching career at the Theater department of the University of Puerto Rico in 1978. She developed the current curriculum of Drama Activities, which she teaches in her workshops at schools, prisons, rehab centers, women's shelters, nursing homes and community centers. Her directing projects include "Romeo(s) y Julieta(s)", "Historias para ser Contadas", "La Leyenda del Cemí", "Procesión", "Waiting for Godot", "Jardín de Pulpos", "Absurdos en Soledad", "El León y la Joya", among others. In conjunction with Puerto Rican visual artist Antonio Martorell, she created the concept of Itinerant Performers (1987-1990) resulting in twelve productions. Published books include "Brincos y saltos: el juego como disciplina teatral" and "Historias para ser contadas, montaje de Rosa Luisa Márquez". She is a member of the board of directors and pedagogical team for the EITALCs International School of Latin American and Caribbean Theater. Ongoing artistic collaborators include Gilda Navarra and Antonio Martorell (Puerto Rico), Grupo Malayerba (Ecuador), Grupo Yuyachkani (Peru), and directors Peter Shumann (Bread & Puppet Theater, U.S.A.) and Augusto Boal (Theater of the Oppressed, Brazil). Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics