Artist Statement

I am interested in the educational power of art as a tool to connect with language and culture. It is through stories that we transmit culture from elders to kids, preserving teachings with joy and playfulness.

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I am influenced by the Théâtre Libre, and its impact on Latin American theatre in organizations such as the Teatro Popular de Bogotá TPB, el Teatro Libre de Bogotá, and the experimental approach of Paco Barrero and his academy Studio XXI. Later on, I discovered the Theatre of the Oppressed, developed by the renowned Augusto Boal, and performed in the theatre he founded in Paris. I recently performed using Boal’s Forum Theatre technique in the play Harvest Justice at the Aki Studio. I would like to continue developing theatre and other performing arts as a playful tool for reflection.

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My purpose is to expand my skills as an educator to provide families with resources to promote bilingualism and social awareness in their homes through art. I believe that theatre is and will be the primary tool for connection now that technology has saturated every aspect of life. I believe that it is through theatre that we will organically teach our stories and preserve those of our ancestors, and maintain our connection to our humanity.

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In practice, this means facilitating bilingual, intergenerational workshops that use cultural references such as the poems of Rafael Pombo or folk tales from different Andean regions, which are deeply ingrained in Colombian culture, as a stepping stone to performing and enjoying the Spanish Language with Forum Theatre's spontaneous, audience-engaged techniques, so that participants don't just watch a story but help shape and perform it. This will be a stepping stone to working with other minorities who are struggling to pass on their language and culture to their descendants.