Welcoming to the First Hemi Encuentro in Brazil by Marcos Terena

The Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics held its first Encuentro in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 2-15, 2000. Participants included artists, scholars, graduate students, and activists. This eclectic and culturally diverse group, from countries throughout the Americas, captured the spirit of Encuentros: to provide a forum that encourages an interdisciplinary exploration of the relationship between performance and politics from diverse cultural perspectives. This is a video documentation of the welcoming by Marcos Terena, member of the Terena indigenous people, who discusses the political implications in the theorization and practice of ‘indigenous performance’ and intercultural encounters. He remembers the invasions and colonization of indigenous populations, and the ongoing history of dispossession that still affect indigenous communities. Marcos Terena’s perspective, however, is inclusive and open towards multi-cultural encounters as the ones promoted during the Hemispheric Institute Encuentros. For him, to be respected in our differences provides a ground for dialogue and learning.