BY MARIA GALLUCCI
The News
Sept. 17, 2009
In a ritualistic and futuristic interpretation of Mayan society, a theater piece unlike any other is set to combine traditional Mayan customs with an outdoor discotech, sound and light installations and an edible character covered in Mexican treats.
"Pakal 2012 El Retorno" ("Pakal 2012 The Return") opens tonight at 8 p.m. at the Salón Juárez Terrace in the Tlatelolco Cultural Center in Mexico City. Upcoming performances include tonight, Sept. 19 and Oct. 1 and 3 presentations.
"This play is integrated and interrelated - it's a 'complete art,'" Jorge Tamatz Juanes, play director and anthropologist, said from the open-air patio.
"It's an art that synthesizes all other types of art," he said of the science fiction play, which includes live electronic music, light shows, multimedia installations, graffiti and photography, among other aspects.
Tamatz said the play developed after members of the Escuadrón Mutante theater company visited Mayan ruins and decided to create a play combining this ancient civilization with the high-tech contemporary society.
The theater piece begins with the introduction of King Pakal (Cesar Cárdenas), a character based on the Mayan ruler of the same name who governed the Palenque kingdom from 603 to 683 A.D.
In the play, Pakal is a guide, shaman and priest who encounters the four elements of nature - earth, wind, water and fire - along his journey, as well as the God of Fire (Juan Manuel González Camarena), the Red Queen (Ieany Chávez Cuahutencos) and the Uterus Woman (Luna Bizzueto).
A culture clash between the civilizations past and present unfolds when the monarch is suddenly transported to the year 2012 via a hieroglyph-covered temple.
Tamatz said evoking that specific year makes a satirical gesture to those who believe the apocalypse is coming in just three years. The Mayan's "Long Count" calendar, for example, curiously indicates an end to its 5,126-year on Dec. 21, 2012.
Once transported to the future, Pakal comes across the futuristic characters Audioman (Evan Flores), a walking sound installation; Luzman (Fernando Huerta Zamacona), who is covered in lighting; Videoman (Carlos Alcántara Kna), who wears monitors projecting video clips; and Foodman, an edible suit constructed by Orgy Punk and Cesar Huesca Molina that is covered in mole, pasta and various dishes, encouraging audience members to take a bite.
Cárdenas explained Pakal's transition from one world to the next as a complete "psychological shock."
"We take the play beyond the traditional parameters of theater," he said, adding that playgoers will utilize their smell, touch and taste in the nontraditional theater experience.
Tamatz added that while audience members would not be forced to participate, their interaction with the characters and sets means that all four presentations would be distinct and fresh offerings.
He said that the play's ultimate goal was to encourage the audience to reflect deeply on a modern society entrenched in excesses, consumerism and an alienation from the natural elements.
"We hope we can achieve our objective, and that there will be a completely different type of theater in Mexico," he said.
For more info, visit www.my space.com/pakal2012
No comments:
Post a Comment