La Pocha Nostra: Other Coalition Forces
Workshop Dates: July 14- 23, 2005 at Toronto Free Gallery
Workshop Performance Date: July 23, 7-10 pm at Toronto Free Gallery
“Mexterminator vs. the Global Predator” a Solo Performance by Guillermo Gómez-Peña Saturday July 16, 2005 at The Theatre Centre
This was a co-prodcution with Latino Canadian Cultural Association with a generous contribution from South Asian Visual Arts Collective
“Mexterminator vs. the Global Predator” a Solo Performance by Guillermo Gómez-Peña
In this performance, Gómez-Peña is back as a spoken word brujo-poeta to explore fear of immigration, the dark side effects of globalization, the digital divide, censorship, and interracial sexuality. Continually developing multicentric narratives from a border perspective, Gómez-Peña creates what critics have termed “Chicano cyber-punk performances.” Cultural borders have moved to the center while the alleged mainstream is pushed to the margins and treated as exotic and unfamiliar, placing the audience member in the position of “foreigner.” The artist uses spoken word, multilingualism, humor, and hybrid literary genres as subversive
strategies. His personas include El S&M Zorro, El Mad Mex, El Web-back and El Traveling Medicine Vato.
Other Coalition Forces: A10 Day Workshop and Performance
Participating Artists: Tejpal S. Ajji, Ulysses Castellanos, Carlo Guillermo Proto, Rita Kamacho, Elysa Martinez, Anand Rajaram, Eugenio Salas, Rashmi Varma, Jessica Wyman and Ash Yoon
This workshop led by La Pocha members, Guillermo Gomez Peña and Michélle Ceballos, worked with 10 local participating artists over a 10 day period. Their work culminated into a performance and installation. The participants reflected on their personal connection to ideas of boarders/ boundaries / hierarchies / difference/ utopia / migration and or hybrid. Using these elements they developed personas for the large group performance.
Who is Pocha Nostra?
Founded in 1993, in Los Angeles by Guillermo Gómez Peña and Roberto Sifuentes. Since 2001, Pocha Nostra has been a non-profit organization with more than 30 associates and occasional collaborators in various coun- tries worldwide. Pocha Nostra’s projects range from solo performances to large-scale performance installation, including video, photography and cyber-art.
This unusual inter-trans-disciplinary organization aims to provide a forum for artists from various disciplines, genera- tions and ethnic backgrounds that challenge contemporary artistic practices to cross boundaries and borders in order to create utopian space for “like minded individuals” and artists to find new ways of expression. “The basic premise of these collaborators is founded on the idea that if we can negotiate differences on stage we may do so in the world” Guillermo Gómez Peña The workshop will use these ideas as a starting point for discussion and collaboration.
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Workshop Performance Date: July 23, 7-10 pm at Toronto Free Gallery
“Mexterminator vs. the Global Predator” a Solo Performance by Guillermo Gómez-Peña Saturday July 16, 2005 at The Theatre Centre
This was a co-prodcution with Latino Canadian Cultural Association with a generous contribution from South Asian Visual Arts Collective
“Mexterminator vs. the Global Predator” a Solo Performance by Guillermo Gómez-Peña
In this performance, Gómez-Peña is back as a spoken word brujo-poeta to explore fear of immigration, the dark side effects of globalization, the digital divide, censorship, and interracial sexuality. Continually developing multicentric narratives from a border perspective, Gómez-Peña creates what critics have termed “Chicano cyber-punk performances.” Cultural borders have moved to the center while the alleged mainstream is pushed to the margins and treated as exotic and unfamiliar, placing the audience member in the position of “foreigner.” The artist uses spoken word, multilingualism, humor, and hybrid literary genres as subversive
strategies. His personas include El S&M Zorro, El Mad Mex, El Web-back and El Traveling Medicine Vato.
Other Coalition Forces: A10 Day Workshop and Performance
Participating Artists: Tejpal S. Ajji, Ulysses Castellanos, Carlo Guillermo Proto, Rita Kamacho, Elysa Martinez, Anand Rajaram, Eugenio Salas, Rashmi Varma, Jessica Wyman and Ash Yoon
This workshop led by La Pocha members, Guillermo Gomez Peña and Michélle Ceballos, worked with 10 local participating artists over a 10 day period. Their work culminated into a performance and installation. The participants reflected on their personal connection to ideas of boarders/ boundaries / hierarchies / difference/ utopia / migration and or hybrid. Using these elements they developed personas for the large group performance.
Who is Pocha Nostra?
Founded in 1993, in Los Angeles by Guillermo Gómez Peña and Roberto Sifuentes. Since 2001, Pocha Nostra has been a non-profit organization with more than 30 associates and occasional collaborators in various coun- tries worldwide. Pocha Nostra’s projects range from solo performances to large-scale performance installation, including video, photography and cyber-art.
This unusual inter-trans-disciplinary organization aims to provide a forum for artists from various disciplines, genera- tions and ethnic backgrounds that challenge contemporary artistic practices to cross boundaries and borders in order to create utopian space for “like minded individuals” and artists to find new ways of expression. “The basic premise of these collaborators is founded on the idea that if we can negotiate differences on stage we may do so in the world” Guillermo Gómez Peña The workshop will use these ideas as a starting point for discussion and collaboration.
T
