Franziska and I went to see Fuerzabruta, the new production by the creators of De La Guarda, and we were left with some questions. In a nutshell, we stood in a large dark room for a little more than an hour while water was sprinkled on us, blasts of air and bits of paper were blown on us, and performers executed acrobatic maneuvers to techno music above us. We felt like we were cramped in a club with people of all ages. The atmosphere was unpredictable, filled with a rush of excitement, a tinge of fear, and an ounce of confusion. The performance was high intensity and had great special effects, but how could a show about nothing cost $70? But after hearing from Tamara Levinson, one of the performers in the show, I realized maybe we aren’t as down and dirty, and “free” as we thought we were…(Ojo: maybe have a few drinks first).
Name: Tamara Levinson
Age: 31
Occupation: Performer
Roots: Argentine
Hometown: Buenos Aires
How did you get involved in De La Guarda and then Fuerzabruta?
When I was 20 years old, I was living in New York City, and I heard through a friend that there was a show from Argentina called De La Guarda. I went to see it and instantly fell in love with the show. I knew it was in my destiny. I hadn’t just stumbled across it; it was a gift that was given to me on so many levels. It was from my country and I felt a closeness to it. In De La Guarda, I met Diqui James, the director. So when he started working on Fuerzabruta about nine years later in Buenos Aires, I just joined in since I was living there at the time. The rest is history.
Which do you like better, and why?
They are both special to me, and they are incomparable. De La Guarda is powerful, electric - a rave of sorts. It’s a party where you could just let go. Just be. Scream, have fun, dance, get it all out. It brought out the younger, "let’s just go have fun and get crazy" side of me. Fuerzabruta is subtle, detailed, mature, beautiful, sensual and mesmerizing. It brings out the mature feminine side of me. Together these two shows have come to me at the most appropriate times in this lifetime and have guided me through my twenties. They have allowed me to discover all the parts of who I am, and continue to search for, as a person and an artist.
Does Fuerzabruta have a story plot and/or meaning besides the cool music and special effects?
I believe everything in life and art has a story and a plot - sometimes it’s just not given to you in an obvious manner. Diqui James created a show that allows the audience to think for themselves and to take their own experiences and the visuals/sounds and interpret them as is. He is speaking to a public who isn’t afraid to get "dirty" and inside themselves and allows them to feel all emotions without limitations. He is letting them create their own ideas of the visuals they are seeing and the sounds they are hearing. Of course, I have my own ideas of what it’s all about, but then if I told you it wouldn’t be as fun!
What are your co-performers like? How were you guys chosen?
My co-performers are great! They inspire me to be better as a person and an artist, but I believe that everybody is a teacher and a student. We are all here to guide each other through life. I learn from the audience every night just as I do from my cast members and the show. That’s what is so great about Fuerzabruta - the audience does it with us! It’s not just 13 cast members, it’s actually 513! This show would be impossible to do without the energy of the audience.
As far as being chosen...I came in from the start, so I helped in the process of the creation when Diqui was making his vision into the reality it is now. All the other cast members went through an audition process. They danced murga (an Argentine dance that is in the show), they ran on the oversized treadmill, and the girls played in the milar (that’s what we call the giant pool).
What’s your favorite part of Fuerzabruta?
My favorite part of being in Fuerzabruta is that I get to play every night, and they pay me for it! I look forward to just simply coming to work and having a place where I can just let go and have fun with people, and to see the audience really enjoy every moment and leave with huge smiles on their faces. Many of them even come back a second and third time! My favorite part in the show, is dancing the murga. I identify with it and it feels really good to my body. It’s a great way of just letting go and simply being.
What are your plans for the future?
I live in the moment. Every second is important, because you never know when those seconds will stop coming. Focusing on the future only takes you away from the present.
(Published in NYRemezcla.com)
Saturday, December 8, 2007
Saturday, December 1, 2007
La Tiendita
Name: Luna Bella Avila
Occupation: Arts Programs Associate of the Lower Eastside Girls Club and La Tiendita Manager
Age: 26
Barrio: Lower East Side
Roots: Ecuadorian-Dominican
How long have you been running La Tiendita?
Since its inception, last fall.
How and when did the idea of La Tiendita originate?
Last fall, we were trying to come up with a way to teach our girls about running a business, teach our neighborhood about buying fair-trade and local, and a place where we can sell our great products. Easy answer: open up a store.
How many people are involved in operating it? Who specifically?
Most of our programs are interconnected so we all help each other out. The gallery, performance series, and bake shop all have a relationship with La Tiendita. Orders to Sweet Things Bake Shop often involve La Tiendita, and vice versa. It’s an intertwined family.
Who makes the items?
Some items are made by women in Africa and some by women in Chiapas, Mexico. Some are made by our gallery artists, some by our performance artists. Some are made by our girls, and some are even made by our staff. We have a wide range of things in the store. You might find a chicken made out of plastic bags from Africa, or a stuffed teddy bear made by our girls.
How are the profits distributed? Where does it go?
It goes to a variety of places, depending on where it came from. All of the proceeds from products from Mexico go directly to our sister girls club - Club Balam.
What are some of the most popular items sold? Prices?
Our rose pins, made completely of recycled materials, are made by our girls. They are a hot item, and cost $2.50. People absolutely LOVE the plastic chickens, which come in different sizes and are made from plastic shopping bags. And of course, our Girls Club tee-shirts, which can be reconstructed on-site, are often snatched up.
What is its relationship to the Lower East Side Girls Club?
It is the second small business run by the Lower East Side Girls Club, and it was started as a way to teach members in our neighborhood about buying fair-trade. It was also set up as a teaching tool for our girls to learn about running a business and selling their wares.
Who have been some of your most interesting customers?
I once had a customer who had a lot to teach me about a doll we carry. I thought it was just a cute doll of a mother and child from Chiapas, but she demonstrated how the baby could be inserted into her tummy, attached to her nipples, or held by buttons that were strategically placed. She then bought all of our stock of mother child dolls.
Favorite/least favorite thing about NYC?
I love New York. I love to tell people that not only am I a New Yorker, I am a NATIVE New Yorker. New York is ever changing, but it’s the old spots that make it home.
Plans for the future?
I love The Girls Club. There is an in office joke about the first members being trained to become the future women who run the Girls Club, but to me it isn’t a joke.
For more info.:
http://www.girlsclub.org/store
http://www.girlsclubworldwide.org
(Published in NYRemezcla.com)
Occupation: Arts Programs Associate of the Lower Eastside Girls Club and La Tiendita Manager
Age: 26
Barrio: Lower East Side
Roots: Ecuadorian-Dominican
How long have you been running La Tiendita?
Since its inception, last fall.
How and when did the idea of La Tiendita originate?
Last fall, we were trying to come up with a way to teach our girls about running a business, teach our neighborhood about buying fair-trade and local, and a place where we can sell our great products. Easy answer: open up a store.
How many people are involved in operating it? Who specifically?
Most of our programs are interconnected so we all help each other out. The gallery, performance series, and bake shop all have a relationship with La Tiendita. Orders to Sweet Things Bake Shop often involve La Tiendita, and vice versa. It’s an intertwined family.
Who makes the items?
Some items are made by women in Africa and some by women in Chiapas, Mexico. Some are made by our gallery artists, some by our performance artists. Some are made by our girls, and some are even made by our staff. We have a wide range of things in the store. You might find a chicken made out of plastic bags from Africa, or a stuffed teddy bear made by our girls.
How are the profits distributed? Where does it go?
It goes to a variety of places, depending on where it came from. All of the proceeds from products from Mexico go directly to our sister girls club - Club Balam.
What are some of the most popular items sold? Prices?
Our rose pins, made completely of recycled materials, are made by our girls. They are a hot item, and cost $2.50. People absolutely LOVE the plastic chickens, which come in different sizes and are made from plastic shopping bags. And of course, our Girls Club tee-shirts, which can be reconstructed on-site, are often snatched up.
What is its relationship to the Lower East Side Girls Club?
It is the second small business run by the Lower East Side Girls Club, and it was started as a way to teach members in our neighborhood about buying fair-trade. It was also set up as a teaching tool for our girls to learn about running a business and selling their wares.
Who have been some of your most interesting customers?
I once had a customer who had a lot to teach me about a doll we carry. I thought it was just a cute doll of a mother and child from Chiapas, but she demonstrated how the baby could be inserted into her tummy, attached to her nipples, or held by buttons that were strategically placed. She then bought all of our stock of mother child dolls.
Favorite/least favorite thing about NYC?
I love New York. I love to tell people that not only am I a New Yorker, I am a NATIVE New Yorker. New York is ever changing, but it’s the old spots that make it home.
Plans for the future?
I love The Girls Club. There is an in office joke about the first members being trained to become the future women who run the Girls Club, but to me it isn’t a joke.
For more info.:
http://www.girlsclub.org/store
http://www.girlsclubworldwide.org
(Published in NYRemezcla.com)
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