Las Cuevas Art Residency
La ofrenda de la sirena
Site-specific performance at Cerro Colorado Natural and Cultural Reserve.
Red Quincho, June 2024.
Saying goodbye to a loved one, offering something to be taken on the long journey after life on earth has concluded. The bridge between two worlds through an altar that brings together elements to welcome the deceased. A moment of waiting and reunion. A ceremonial space that has a solemn character, but also has a festive and joyful aspect. These constant dualities are present in the worldviews of indigenous peoples, who did not deny the existence of an afterlife, nor the possibility of reuniting with their dead.
Funeral rituals are carried out in different ways in each culture. In Andean culture, when a loved one dies, they are welcomed into the home with an offering of bread called tantawawa, a bread of various shapes capable of nourishing the deceased in the earthly world for a day. What is offered to Pacha Mama? How does the body-territory operate in this context? As a link or as an offering in itself?
La ofrenda de la sirena is a site-specific performance that took place during the stay at Residencia Las Cuevas. It explores the connection between funeral rituals in Cerro Colorado and Andean-rooted funeral rituals. It began with the recognition of the land that comprised the cemetery as property of the local indigenous community. The ritual featured elements from the site, such as textiles used to make the performer's garment, incense, and plants. Tantawawa (bread) was also baked to be offered during the ritual on the banks of the stream that runs through and gives life to the village.
Audiovisual recording: Vanina Cometto
Photography: Mercedes Fidanza and Guadalupe Arriegue
Editing: David Gudiño