CONTRA-TIEMPO will be returning on November 16th to share ¡azúcar! with Tempe, AZ as part of the ASU Gammage Beyond series.
Photo by Erika Johnson, UCSD Epstein Theater
“¡azúcar!” is a courageous naming/confrontation of and intentional obliteration of the undercurrent and often unspoken anti-Blackness in latinidad. This framework is embodied through the practice and sharing of our Afro-Latine ancestral movement and vibrational technologies. Questions are continuing to drive the process as we begin to understand the complicated history of sugar and the messages from our ancestors. What would it look like to exist in a world that centered nourishment, care and rooted in the body? How does Celia's belting out “¡Azúcar!” set us all a little more free? Can we reckon with our past without losing ourselves in the fight? Does it have to be a fight? Is there space for grace? What does it feel like to individually and collectively heal, what does it move like?
Photo by Tyrone Domingo, The Ford Theatres
Together we journey through Celia Cruz’s vibrations and unearth information embedded in our bodies. Through “¡azúcar!”, we explore ancestral wisdoms about a plant that once aided in our healing, used as a way to sweeten medicinal concoctions, now extracted, refined and used as weaponized poison. The cast and creative team of brilliant collaborators, rooted in and inspired by the sacred feminine, are building the work from personal narratives of food, labor, community and explorations of 'familying' and healing as practices and brave choices.
“¡azúcar!” is conceived and directed by Ana María Álvarez and is created with a village of brilliant artists. Alvarez works closely with CONTRA-TIEMPO company members, Jannet Galdamez, Ruby Morales, Jasmine Stanley, Alek Gabriella Lopez, Ariela Conde, Edgar Aguirre, Jose Jose Arrieta Cuesta, and Maria Garcia as choreographic and content collaborators. Master Artist and Afro-Cuban practitioner, Kati Hernandez, is a core collaborator and guest performer in the work. Additionally Anais Maviel and Rashaan Carter are collaboratively sound designing and composing; Meena Murugesan is designing video and projection vibrations; David Reynoso is costume designing; Tuçe Yasak is lighting designing and Emily Orling is visually consulting. Farah Sosa is the photographer of the work and shared her images in the live exhibition at Helms Bakery in November 2022. In each new city we visit, a community cast of 8-10 salseras will be invited to perform as part of the work. As the piece evolves new artists and collaborators will be added to the team.
“¡azúcar! will be a tapestry of truth-telling, a call for liberation and an affirmation of our future as a people.”