2016
For this collaborative performance with Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons & Neil Leonard at the Peabody Essex Museum, we took a multisensory journey into Cuba's bittersweet past. Performed in conjunction with the exhibition Alchemy of the Soul: Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons, in these images, I am carried a platter of Mojitos and reciting this text:
Drink the mojito, and as you do, sip in the pain of unseen tears that have been poured in
When the abuse was unsustainable we added sugar to overcome the bitterness
When the wound was just too deep, we added rum to seal the pain
When lips were broken from exhaustion, we added more water, when flies were landing on our bodies, considering them carcasses we added mint to refresh and confuse those annoying beasts
Through out it all we never forgot the rhythm deep, deep in our hips
So we dance, we still dance and our children will dance the rhythm inscribed deep in our minds, hearts and bones
An unforgettable dance of joy and triumph over oppression
Today you are a witness to the future
