Performing Argentina in Spain after the Bombing: The Resignification of Theatrical Referents in Cecilia Rossetto in Madrid

This essay examines the semiotic referents in the performance of Argentine singer, dancer and comedian Cecilia Rossetto in her Cecilia Rossetto en Madrid in order to trace how meaning shifted in the immediate context of the aftermath of the Madrid train bombings of March 11, 2004. The author analyzes audience response and participation (or lack thereof) in this one woman "comedy-cabaret" show and the transformative experience of collective grief that unexpectedly emerged during the evening, joining both performer and audience. The theoretical underpinnings of the essay involve key concepts related to feminist criticism, performance studies and reception theory.