Affective Acoustic Territories: Mapping and performing Disappearance in Zona clausurada Sombra (2022) by Teatro Línea de

On August 14, 2012, driving along what has become known as Mexico’s “Carretera de la Muerte,” Milynali Pérez, her three cousins, her uncle, and their car all disappeared as they approached Ciudad Mante, Tamaulipas. Since that day, Graciela Pérez, Milynali’s mother, has arduously searched for answers and her daughter’s remains, becoming one of Mexico’s numerous buscadores. Moved by her story, Teatro Línea de Sombra (TLS) created Zona clausurada (2022) to relate the ruptured genealogies that have devastated Graciela’s family, as well as myriad families in Tamaulipas and the nation. Emphasizing the sounds Graciela associates with Milynali’s life and silences that characterize her disappearance, the performance-installation underscores the power of sound to affect us physically and emotionally. Employing what I call an acoustic affective map, I analyze how auditory recordings of search efforts, artistic prerecorded and live voices, and vocal interpretations of songs from Graciela’s personal Spotify playlist remap affective triggers.