A Festival Shines through the Fog: The Hemispheric Institute's 6th Encuentro, "Corpolíticas / Body Politics in the Americas"

FALL2007 159 AFestival Shines through the Fog: The Hemispheric Institute’s 6th Encuentro, “Corpolíticas / Body Politics in theAmericas” Paul E. Politte Buenos Aires was recently the site of one of this year’s most anticipated performance-related gatherings, the 6th Encuentro of the Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics, titled “Corpolíticas / Body Politics in the Americas” (2007). Taking place from 8-17 June, it was cohosted by the Centro Cultural Recoleta in collaboration with the Instituto Torcuato Di Tella and the Teatro Empire, along with students and faculty from the Universidad de BuenosAires. Mixing artists, activists and scholars from across the hemisphere in an environment of intense interdisciplinary discussion and production, the Encuentro was almost universally considered by participants to be a great success. Rubbing shoulders with the cemetery that is the final resting place of so many figures who occupied center stage in Argentine history, the Centro Cultural Recoleta was truly the heart of this event. It seemed as though every inch of the uniquely designed Centro – from its airy, white exhibition rooms and tall-windowed hallways, to its courtyards, black box and auditorium – was taken up by the Encuentro’s performances and group discussions. The historic Teatro Empire’s proscenium-style theater, just a short taxi ride down Avenida Callao, also proved to be a cozy setting for a number of evening performances. Taking the Encuentro off-site, events such as Thursday rounds with the Madres de Plaza de Mayo, performances in the Plaza del Congreso and a visit to la Boca to see the Grupo de Teatro Catalinas Sur were opportunities to interact with other parts of Buenos Aires. Consistent with the conference’s spirit of creativity, even the Hotel Bauen (a cooperative “empresa recuperada” taken over by former employees after the economic crisis), which lodged most participants, was a model of out-of-the-box thinking. It was also notable that members of the Argentine public were eager participants in most events, 160 LATINAMERICAN THEATRE REVIEW making the Encuentro’s goal of facilitating exchange across the hemisphere a reality. The Institute’s best laid plans were almost frustrated, however, by what has proven to be a remarkable winter for Buenos Aires weather-wise. Overlapping with the Encuentro’s beginning, EzeizaAirport came to a virtual standstill for the better part of three days due to heavy fog. This unforeseen obstacle – indeed, faulty radar technology was rumored to be the underlying cause of the problem – threatened to seriously interrupt the conference as many waylaid participants anxiously hoped for the chance to soon join the significant porteño contingent of this four hundred-person gathering. Though many, myself included, missed the first couple of days, through the flexibility of the event’s coordinators (Diana Taylor, Claudia Briones, Diana Raznovich, Isabel Puente, Marlène Ramírez-Cancio and César González Mathus), a commendable feat of organization typical of the Hemispheric Institute took place, and the needs of tardy artists, academics and activists were effectively accommodated. If anything, the travel difficulties proved to be a galvanizing force for the many who, after getting little sleep in various airports, were then confronted by a schedule of events staggering in both size and scope. Performances, installations, exhibits, films, roundtables, workshops, keynote lectures and work groups ran from 9:30am until 2:00am and frequently later into the night. The enormous variety and overabundance of possible activities was precisely what made the 6th Encuentro so thrilling, however, and throughout the ten days each event seemed to inevitably draw an eager crowd of participants. As its title suggested, the conference’s focus was on the body, specifically its political articulations in terms of race, gender and class. These issues were confronted effectively in round table discussions such as “Performance e intervenciones colectivas,” “Mecanismos de terror” and “Cuerpos utópicos” led by authorities like Reverend Billy, Coco Fusco, Danny Hoch andAntonio Prieto, among others. Keynote speakers Diamela Eltit and Rossana Reguillo both dealt with violence against women’s bodies in their respective keynote talks, “Pliegues del cuerpo. Los síntomas del poder” and “Condensaciones y desplazamientos. Las políticas del miedo en los cuerpos contemporáneos.” In other keynote lectures, Jorge Dubatti...