Once, Twice, and for All :
Experiencing All of Cabaret PreHispanico El Ombligo de las Diosas , a performance by Jesusa Rodríguez and Liliana Felipe
by Christie Jiménez
The following is the result of the discussions, coursework, readings, video conferences that comprised the course Performance and/of Indigeneity, the course given by the Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics, offered during the spring semester 2005 and taught by Profs. Diana Taylor and Fred Myers. Alongside the course, the experiences gathered at the Encuentro de Performance y Raizes (March 2005), the biannual "intensive exploration of the relation between performance and politics in the Americas, featuring lectures, performance workshops, participant round tables, work groups, performances, video screenings, and installations," has been fundamental to this project.
Author's Note: I write both of this piece to hold onto the events therein described. Memory evokes sensation, not only what can be considered a “vivid mental picture” but a “vivid mental ear,” and a “vivid mental taste;” a memory can be a virtual sensory overload. It is this that I look for in recalling two of the many experiences I had at the Hemispheric Institute's Encuentro, attending the workshop and performance of Jesusa Rodríguez and Liliana Felipe.