Réquiem para un Alcaraván

Requiem for an Alcaraván is a performative dance of the ‘man-woman’. In the Zapotec culture, ‘muxheidad’ includes homosexuality, gayness and same-sex marriage with certain contradictions. A ‘muxe’ is a man who assumes affective, emotional and sexual roles that are traditionally reserved for women. The ‘muxheidad’ is a celebration of what is socially acceptable to some degree and yet it is still considered a transgression.

As the zapotec man-woman dances, they invite the spectator to participate in the ‘female rites of passage’ - the traditional wedding, the stewardship, the Healer-prayer, the Mourning and the Metamorphosis. The dancers soul is incarnated into a local bird called the stone-curlew (berelele in Zapotec, or alcaravan in Spanish), where the male cycle closes when they mate. Sometimes the male is sacrificed by the females.

The performance will be followed by an audience discussion.

Credits:

Performance: Lukas Avendaño