Venezuela: INT´L progressive theater festival, March 22nd to 31st
The International Progressive Theater Festival of Venezuela, held March 22-31, brings together artists from around the world under the slogan "Let Humanity Be Human," highlighting solidarity and brotherhood among peoples. teleSUR
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00:00 Caracas takes to the stage with Venezuela's International Progressive Theatre Festival,
00:04 an event that unites culture with solidarity.
00:07 Let's see the details with our correspondent Gladys Casada.
00:10 March 22nd to March 31st, Caracas hosted the International Progressive Theatre Festival of
00:19 Venezuela. Among the main venues was San Agustín, one of the most popular areas of the Venezuelan
00:26 capital. Its theatre, La Arameda, lent its stage for a singular play for its spectators.
00:51 This is "The Knights of Significance", a Barbadian play in two acts that recreates first the
00:58 kidnapping of Africans, the dispossession of their culture, and then the rebellion of Busa,
01:04 a historical passage of the anti-slavery deeds in the island. With a minimal scenography and
01:11 live music, 12 actors interpret these events. In spite of the language barriers, for them,
01:17 it is crucial to bring their message to the Venezuelan lands.
01:22 We don't take many opportunities to explore the linkages between our history,
01:28 and I think this play was a great opportunity for us to do just that, to, you know, tell the public
01:35 that, "Hey, listen, we have been through the same thing." We both have characters, individuals who
01:41 would have fought for the emancipation, either from colonial slave masters or from, you know,
01:47 an imperialist system. General Busa sought to do so for the enslaved in Barbados, like Simon
01:55 Boulevard from Venezuela, as he sought to liberate Venezuela from Spanish control.
02:02 The play, although simple, contains codes of negritude and blackness shared by the Caribbean
02:09 and Latin America. Those behind production know very well the value of every detail.
02:16 Stitching together the play with the music of Africa, fused with the music of Barbados,
02:22 which is what was created through the slave society in Barbados, was very important to me.
02:27 We have very, very, very similar history, but in different diasporas, and for Barbados and
02:38 Venezuela to come together and build a tighter friendship, because that's what's needed within
02:45 the Latin American country and the Caribbean. We need to be one and not just separate. So,
02:51 this is a step towards that. In spite of the language barriers,
02:55 this performance achieved its goal to bring together two peoples with common struggles,
03:00 and this was its message. Afterwards, it will go to Cuba to expand Caribbean brotherhood
03:07 through the art. Gladys Quezada, TELASUR, Caracas, Venezuela.
03:13 We have come to the end of this news brief, but you can find this and many
03:17 other stories on our website at telasurenglish.net.