Mexico Journal, August 14 or 15? Living theater event, in the courtyard of an old hacienda

(I wrote this in my imperfect Spanish, probably because I couldn't simultaneously listen to the play in Spanish, then translate and also write in English, so this is a loose translation from my poor comprehension of the language. And since I'm transcribing these journal notes in 2017. I remember I fully entered into the drama, as it unfolded, and was transfixed. There were ghost characters interacting with the main characters. The playwright used personal experience to characterize the larger social issues Oaxaca is facing on the eve of revolution.)

Living theater event, in the courtyard of an old hacienda, Oaxaca.

The maestro de teatre introduced himself and gave a discourse on the premise of living theater. He said the function of theater is very important and the form is the total sum of the differences between the reality of life, and the grand passion of the Catholic Church. (Church and state vs. the real drama of life.)

The premise is of a mother and child from the campo, surviving in the city. It brings up the past, spliced with familial memories, and juxtaposes them with the present day reality. There is a proposition and the possibility that takes the powerful moments of life and juxtaposes them with the ideal situation where everyman too is represented. It's a very powerful message, defined by a life of possessions. And there is possession of the spirit  too.

The sentiment of the other function, the other arts, we communicate with this process. The function of class signifies everything, it is the reason for the arts, for music. And we quickly go with the rational process. It is not solely national, it is not solely based upon positive emotions. And I think it makes us want a more relevant God.

The maestro continues: I think it's very interesting, at 2 AM, the terror in the night comes. Yeah it is bad, it gets ugly for about 30 minutes. The emasculation of the cast. I very much would like the participants (you) to think of the motive, it's very facil, and it's revealed, little by little. The theatrical piece is ambiguous, with many profound ideas. (He breaks the fourth wall.)

He said: I look at the miracle of Brecht and think on the social structure, in the practicality of life. The plays of Brecht, I understand, but I don't do sentiment, exactly. The work is hard, and is socially profound. It is meant to be difficult. It's the theater of change, the theater of life. It is authentic theater.

(OK that premise was blowing my mind as I am a Brecht fan, and I have been involved with the living theater of Julian Beck, and have seen productions of The Committee, so, in a sense, it was old home week. Something I certainly didn't expect to see in Oaxaca, which I had labeled a provincial town.)

He continued: There are many controversies within the strength of living theater. For example the inspiration, in some cases, it's 70 years too late for change. The social context of the lands of the country has changed, for example Columbia, the tribulations of the country is interesting. Meanwhile there is much violence.

The Latino theater of the United States, the people get it, it's very clear and very explicit, it's curious, and relevant. It's all about the individual. The change is active and it brings out the commentary and the neuroses, it's also a very necessary social function. It preserves the political, and honors the land. It takes the cojones of imperialism of the United States, and adds the customs and the values of the people, this is the theater of Latin America—very curious.

The international theater focuses more on imported classicalism. And caught in the middle are the artists. We have to go back and look at the Mexican theater, it's very satisfying, and 80% of the people believe that it is a mirror of society. Focusing on the little houses, the microcosm, then it's just there. We have to look at the theater from the outside to understand the values or the strengths. It's a pertinent art form.

Yes, there are anti-Latin Americans in the United States but the process of art is also the process of life. It is the public personae. Though it is one language and it's ceremonial, but it's also factual. It includes contradictions, and it is very smooth. I don't know about the causes, all I know is the country. The situation of the campesinos is horrific, and you have to capture it and then process it....

(.....I'm bailing on the rest this piece because it's too hard to translate from my mangled Spanish.) He talks about the social context in various countries, Columbia.... Not sure if he's referring to the Zapatistas. But he mentions the violence. Which was palpable in Oaxaca. This theater movement seems important, the theater of change.... It was a memorable theatrical experience.)

CLARIBEL AND MUNCH BEFORE THE VOLCANO

CLARIBEL AND MUNCH BEFORE THE VOLCANO

      Dream segment involving Claribel Alegria's Flowers From the Volcano

        For Julian Beck

Edvard Munch dreams of iron beds dotting the landscape

and outside, a woman screams in the night.   

Light catches the dull gleam of your eye                           

as you are torn from sleep                             

and I feel the coolness of these bars,

cool as rainwater in this torrid place,

he said, and he listens to her vanishing in the dark.                     

Your breathing is like footsteps, like cool air. In what country?

The waters of the trench surround this bed.

This heat. I cannot swim. Will I never see home?

A faint light catches the dull gold on her hand.

In this marriage of darkness and sleep,

the iron bars of the beds grasped

during orgasm, abortion and death

keeps us anchored to the land, Claribel said,

There is no time for children.

It's all the same thing in the end.

The whiteness of her hand clutches the bars like a silent scream.

No one has ever let go of the hand holding the dream.

And we dream of our homeland, a place where we've never been.

Ashes of Izalco in my mouth. My eyes are dreaming.

Fitful sleep ties us to this bed like incomparable ropes.

He said, We breathe beside each other, 
   almost, but not quite touching.

In this conspiracy of sleep we have committed the crime

of breathing together. When they arrest us,

they will bind our hands and feet to the iron bars of this bed.

And we will be lost but they are afraid of what we are.

What remembered countries, 
iron bars placed there for you to hold?

What white doves on smooth painted iron?

I'm afraid for you. Will you never stop?

She said, They are stealing our land from us as we sleep.

Bars of the bed grasped by a woman who dreams of love or prisons—

it is the same thing. In my country, my remembered country

ashes fall like rain. Yes, they will bind us

and death keeps one anchored to the land.

Each of us sleeps alone—

especially when we sleep together, said Munch.

All that we remember sleeps with us

on the bed where the sheets bind us

like long winters of my northland.

She said, We, on this bed form new islands.

We, on these islands, form a plan of escape.

The bridge between our continents is a kiss.

The iron bars on this bed are a kiss.

The screams in the night—our hands do not touch.

Our breath like footsteps running through the dark streets,

like a woman pursued, whose scream 
       hangs like a thread across the abyss.

Why are we tied to this? Edvard, I am brushed by my own silences

and even your strong arms cannot contain the screams of a woman

We keep our ashes inside the volcano of Izalco.

Pale ashes bloom in the country of the dead, said Claribel.

Are we silently mouthing this with slack codfish jaws,

our hanging lips opening and closing like doors

where pools of sleep gush in at high tide?

There is nothing to be said, he said.

We are marooned, stranded on the rocks of this island

and the chasm keeps us from wandering in this country.

I can no longer paint, he said.

She said, The only thing tangible—

the only thing we hold, we need to let go of.

and in the letting go, we hold what we need.

We hold our need.

10/5/84

San Francisco Art Institute

Julian Beck Benefit