Latest news with #identidad
The Guardian
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘This is art, too': the Madrid drama space bringing contemporary theatre to older citizens
The 25 people who have gathered in a small Madrid theatre over the past few months to consider identity, relationships, gender-based violence and inclusion aren't exactly the crowd you'd normally expect to haunt a cutting-edge drama space housed in a former slaughterhouse. And that is precisely the point. The men and women, aged between 65 and 84, are the first cohort of an initiative that aims to introduce those who live around the Matadero arts centre in the south of the Spanish capital to the joys and challenges of contemporary theatre. Last year, mindful of the fact that many of the older residents of the barrios of Usera and Arganzuela rarely attended contemporary theatre and would be unlikely to darken the doors of the new Nave 10 space, the Matadero and the city council came up with a plan. 'The idea of Nave 10 was to create a contemporary theatre space that provides space for relatively young directors and authors,' said Marta Ruiz, who leads the educational outreach work at Nave 10. 'But we also realised that the programming you get at a very contemporary art space, such as Matadero, can seem a bit remote to people over 65, who may see it as something aimed at a younger audience. That's why we decided that, in order to create a dialogue between generations, it would be good to bring older people in and make them feel that they were a part of things.' Last summer, Ruiz and the actor and director Mariana Kmaid Levy began spreading the word around local cultural centres and day centres that they were looking for two dozen older people to take part in a free project that would involve seeing 10 plays and attending classes, workshops and talks. 'From there we put together this group that has spent the whole season coming two or three times a month to see the shows, to do activities and workshops, to get to know the theatre a little more inside and to delve a little deeper into the themes of the works,' added Ruiz. For the past nine months, those enrolled in Escuela de Espectadores Sénior (the Senior Audience School) have watched, dissected and discussed everything from The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant to Jauría, a play based on the infamous trial of five men who raped a young woman in Pamplona nine years ago. The most recent play was an auto-fiction two-hander by the actors and writers Nao Albet and Marcel Borràs about two ageing friends. Some of the participants, such as Carmen Horrillo, have been delighted to learn how a production is put together on a technical level, but also to be given the tools to decipher some of the forbidding codes of modern drama. 'It's easier for me now to explain why people should come and see this kind of contemporary theatre,' she said. Isabel Cotado, whose membership of the programme has helped her navigate the early days of her retirement, feels it's also been about shaking up old perspectives. 'I've learned about understanding and accepting people as they are,' she said. 'I've also learned to laugh about my own life and my own problems – it takes the sting out of some of the nonsense you face in life. Life isn't just about you.' Kmaid Levy said that while the group's 'enthusiasm and life experience' had helped them interpret the works and empathise with the characters, the sessions had also proved instructive for the professionals involved. 'This a group of people who speak about theatre in different ways and have another vision and another way of looking at things,' she said. Albet and Borràs also said their interaction with the group had yielded a different perspective. 'They gave us really interesting points of view about experiences they'd had and that's always great,' said Borràs. 'We normally get reviews and criticisms from friends in the profession or from critics or on social media.' Luis Luque, the artistic director of Nave 10, said the basic idea of the project – which will resume with a new cohort later this year – was to forge links between participants, between local residents and the venue, and between art and a sometimes neglected sector of society. 'They've seen that contemporary theatre speaks to them, too,' he said. 'It isn't something remote; it's something that calls to them as men and women and poses them questions.' He highlighted Jauría, which is based on the court transcripts of a trial that provoked a nationwide debate about sexual violence. 'They're been very honest and very passionate about Jauría and have felt compelled to speak because they've witnessed assaults and some have been abused,' he said. 'They come from a generation where there was a very brutal sexism – especially the women. When older men see this, they say, 'What did we do about all this?' The questions they've come out with have been very interesting. It's not about taking the blame; it's about taking responsibility.' Theatre may not point the finger, said Luque. 'But it does show you your reflection in the mirror when it comes to how you've behaved.' Marta Rivera de la Cruz, Madrid's councillor for culture, tourism and sport, is keen to fight against the creation of 'cultural ghettoes' and the idea that certain kinds of art are only for certain people. Proof of the school's success came in a recent chat with a participant. 'She told me she'd come to the theatre with her grandchildren and that she'd explained what the play was about before they saw it,' de la Cruz said. Or, as Horrillo puts it, nothing ventured, nothing gained. 'People should go and see this; they can decide afterwards if they like it or not,' she said. 'After all, this is art, too.'
The Guardian
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘This is art, too': the Madrid drama space bringing contemporary theatre to older citizens
The 25 people who have gathered in a small Madrid theatre over the past few months to consider identity, relationships, gender-based violence and inclusion aren't exactly the crowd you'd normally expect to haunt a cutting-edge drama space housed in a former slaughterhouse. And that is precisely the point. The men and women, aged between 65 and 84, are the first cohort of an initiative that aims to introduce those who live around the Matadero arts centre in the south of the Spanish capital to the joys and challenges of contemporary theatre. Last year, mindful of the fact that many of the older residents of the barrios of Usera and Arganzuela rarely attended contemporary theatre and would be unlikely to darken the doors of the new Nave 10 space, the Matadero and the city council came up with a plan. 'The idea of Nave 10 was to create a contemporary theatre space that provides space for relatively young directors and authors,' said Marta Ruiz, who leads the educational outreach work at Nave 10. 'But we also realised that the programming you get at a very contemporary art space, such as Matadero, can seem a bit remote to people over 65, who may see it as something aimed at a younger audience. That's why we decided that, in order to create a dialogue between generations, it would be good to bring older people in and make them feel that they were a part of things.' Last summer, Ruiz and the actor and director Mariana Kmaid Levy began spreading the word around local cultural centres and day centres that they were looking for two dozen older people to take part in a free project that would involve seeing 10 plays and attending classes, workshops and talks. 'From there we put together this group that has spent the whole season coming two or three times a month to see the shows, to do activities and workshops, to get to know the theatre a little more inside and to delve a little deeper into the themes of the works,' added Ruiz. For the past nine months, those enrolled in Escuela de Espectadores Sénior (the Senior Audience School) have watched, dissected and discussed everything from The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant to Jauría, a play based on the infamous trial of five men who raped a young woman in Pamplona nine years ago. The most recent play was an auto-fiction two-hander by the actors and writers Nao Albet and Marcel Borràs about two ageing friends. Some of the participants, such as Carmen Horrillo, have been delighted to learn how a production is put together on a technical level, but also to be given the tools to decipher some of the forbidding codes of modern drama. 'It's easier for me now to explain why people should come and see this kind of contemporary theatre,' she said. Isabel Cotado, whose membership of the programme has helped her navigate the early days of her retirement, feels it's also been about shaking up old perspectives. 'I've learned about understanding and accepting people as they are,' she said. 'I've also learned to laugh about my own life and my own problems – it takes the sting out of some of the nonsense you face in life. Life isn't just about you.' Kmaid Levy said that while the group's 'enthusiasm and life experience' had helped them interpret the works and empathise with the characters, the sessions had also proved instructive for the professionals involved. 'This a group of people who speak about theatre in different ways and have another vision and another way of looking at things,' she said. Albet and Borràs also said their interaction with the group had yielded a different perspective. 'They gave us really interesting points of view about experiences they'd had and that's always great,' said Borràs. 'We normally get reviews and criticisms from friends in the profession or from critics or on social media.' Luis Luque, the artistic director of Nave 10, said the basic idea of the project – which will resume with a new cohort later this year – was to forge links between participants, between local residents and the venue, and between art and a sometimes neglected sector of society. 'They've seen that contemporary theatre speaks to them, too,' he said. 'It isn't something remote; it's something that calls to them as men and women and poses them questions.' He highlighted Jauría, which is based on the court transcripts of a trial that provoked a nationwide debate about sexual violence. 'They're been very honest and very passionate about Jauría and have felt compelled to speak because they've witnessed assaults and some have been abused,' he said. 'They come from a generation where there was a very brutal sexism – especially the women. When older men see this, they say, 'What did we do about all this?' The questions they've come out with have been very interesting. It's not about taking the blame; it's about taking responsibility.' Theatre may not point the finger, said Luque. 'But it does show you your reflection in the mirror when it comes to how you've behaved.' Marta Rivera de la Cruz, Madrid's councillor for culture, tourism and sport, is keen to fight against the creation of 'cultural ghettoes' and the idea that certain kinds of art are only for certain people. Proof of the school's success came in a recent chat with a participant. 'She told me she'd come to the theatre with her grandchildren and that she'd explained what the play was about before they saw it,' de la Cruz said. Or, as Horrillo puts it, nothing ventured, nothing gained. 'People should go and see this; they can decide afterwards if they like it or not,' she said. 'After all, this is art, too.'
Yahoo
29-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Adrian Quesada's Psychedelic Journey: How the Black Pumas Co-Founder Delved Into Latin America's Romantic Past
In music and art, the search for identity is fundamental. Perhaps that's why Adrian Quesada has achieved such a deep connection with Latin American romantic ballads, an eccentric musical style that the prolific Grammy-nominated songwriter, musician and producer discovered during his teenage years in his hometown of Laredo, a border city between Texas and Mexico. There, he grew up in a Mexican family speaking both English and Spanish. Now, almost 30 years later, the co-founder of the soul, jazz and funk duo Black Pumas revisits songs from acts like Los Pasteles Verdes, Los Ángeles Negros and Joseles in his new album Boleros Psicodélicos II, released Friday (June 27). His goal: to preserve the timeless essence of this musical genre and contribute to modernizing its sound by fusing it with hip-hop and electrifying guitars to connect with a younger audience. More from Billboard Black Pumas on 'Surprise' Grammy Nod, Success of 'Colors' & More | Billboard News 'Let's Get Sexy': Cardi B Hits LadyLand Stage After Surprise Guest Scarlet Envy Brings the Drama LL Cool J Gives Fans an NYC Rap History Crash Course in 'Hip Hop Was Born Here' Trailer 'My idea in creating all this was to find a way to have one foot in the roots, in the past, and another foot in the future. That was the concept: to go between two worlds,' Quesada tells Billboard Español. 'So I don't think I'm inventing anything. For me, these are songs inspired by another era.' In this new production — a sequel to Boleros Psicodélicos from 2022 — Quesada wanted to combine psychedelia with emotion. To do so, he brought together multi-generational artists from the Latin alternative music scene, such as California indie star Cuco, Swedish-Ecuadorian duo Hermanos Gutiérrez, Colombian ensemble Monsieur Periné, and lo-fi troubadour from Chihuahua Ed Maverick. Joining them are Mireya Ramos from Flor de Toloache, Puerto Rican artist iLe, and pop singer-songwriter Angélica Garcia, all of whom participated in the first album. But unlike Boleros Psicodélicos, which was recorded remotely during the pandemic, this second volume gave Quesada the chance to invite his collaborators to his studio in Austin and reimagine songs like 'Hoy que Llueve' by Los Pasteles Verdes and 'Te Vas y Yo Te Dejo' by Joseles. 'I wanted to make this album a more intimate experience, an exchange of ideas, while being in the same room full of energy with the people who participated,' the artist explains. 'And another thing is that on this new album, I worked with another producer, Alex Goose, and he comes from the hip-hop world —a musical genre that didn't invent anything but reinvented everything.' Opening the set is 'Ojos Secos,' a heartfelt vintage track performed as a duet with Cuco, blending smooth melodies with contemporary atmospheres. It's followed by 'Bravo,' a classic from Cuban artist Olga Guillot's repertoire that iLe recommended and recorded for this project; 'No Juego,' a dramatic trip-hop ballad performed by Angélica Garcia; and 'Cuatro Vidas,' popularized in the 1960s by American singer Eydie Gorme and the trio Los Panchos, among others. With Mexican artist Ed Maverick, Quesada recorded 'Afuera,' an atmospheric ballad with subtle touches of hip-hop, folk, and psychedelic guitars — a seductive and hypnotizing combination. 'This collaboration was the perfect opportunity for me to delve into a territory I wanted to explore: psychedelia and contemporary music,' Maverick tells Billboard Español. 'The upcoming music I have is very much in this style, so it fit like a glove.' 'Afuera' also served as a way to celebrate the Mexican roots of both musicians, at a turbulent time amidst new anti-immigration policies introduced by U.S. President Donald Trump. 'I can't help but be Mexican,' Maverick says. 'I think for a long time, many young people tried to reject that. It seemed like it wasn't cool to be Latin American or Spanish-speaking with our roots, but now I'm very happy that there's this current resistance, anti-colonial, and music is part of that resilience.' Released through ATO Records, all 12 tracks in Boleros Psicodélicos II are performed in Spanish, which becomes a political and social statement at a moment when Latin music finds itself at a crucial crossroads, with increasingly strict immigration policies threatening its continued explosive growth in the U.S. 'I am the artist I am now because I come from a world of two countries, two languages,' Quesada notes. 'Diversity is what they're trying to eliminate in the United States. And if it's a way to — being American, to make an album in Spanish is important to me, for my roots.' Best of Billboard Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1 Janet Jackson's Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits H.E.R. & Chris Brown 'Come Through' to No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart
