Take II: Atlacualo (Ceasing of Water)

Friday - Sunday, September 14-16, 2012 at 8pm

As a citizen of the world, I cannot close my eyes and cross my arms to the huge environmental consequences of the commercialization of WATER as it is corrosively present and is affecting the life of the planet. We are coming back to CounterPULSE, the place Atlacualo was created, to share with our art our concerns. We want Atlacualo to have a long life, to be able to take it to small communities and big cities, to inspire audiences to talk and take action on these issues we believe are urgent and require all our efforts.

Jose Navarrete

ATLACUALO The Ceasing of Water reinterprets ancient Mexican mythology and iconography to explore universal ecological issues of our time, particularly around water and water rights. ATLACUALO is an evening length, multi-disciplinary work that marries dance, performance and visual arts. ATLACUALO is the product of the artistic encounter between two Mexican artists living in San Francisco, Jose Navarrete and Violeta Luna, and their collaboration with video/film artist, Ricardo Rivera, music composer, Javier Torres Maldonado and visual artist Lauren Elder. For this engagement Navarrete and Luna have invited dramaturge Roberto Varea to add his expertise to the re-staging of ATLACUALO.

Luna and Navarrete are interested in the socio-political impact of their work, as much as they are in forging new aesthetic values. Historically, water has been the primordial element that allowed for the founding of all great civilizations but above all it represents about 70% of the human body and its most vital component. Today, however, water has become another consumer good and in its commercial process is being contaminated and wasted to the point of no return.