How Important Are The Arts To Puerto Rico?

Photographed By Fernando Samalot

1.   La Trinchera is a performance and dance collective based in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It was founded in 2015 by independent artists Beatriz Irizarry, Cristina Lugo and Marili Pizarro.

3.    The members met through working with Hincapié, the University of Puerto Rico's contemporary dance collective under the direction of renowned choreographer Petra Bravo. In their years in Hincapié and guided by Bravo’s mentorship, the trinchera members had the opportunity to choreograph, design, direct and rehearse dancers, building the foundation for future artistic interests and style. La Trinchera is a triad of independent female puertorican artists, each with their own style and body of work.

4.    The collective varies in formats, usually oscillating and merging performance, contemporary dance and visual work. We regard our work as experimental because of our varied, alternate and intuitive methodology. We believe that each piece of work has its own process. By conceiving dance differently from its construct and or process we ‘force’ organic and guaranteed uniqueness. We aim to synthesize discipline and intuition as the pillars of our practice.

5.     We are hungry for ways and formats of manifestation. We’re playing it by ear when it comes to offers and collaboration invites, we try to fit as much as possible in our schedule, all while we submit proposals to festivals and residencies…We have enjoyed all so far: from writing a manifesto, photo shoots, classically styled choreographies, art biennales, gallery interventions, site-specific dance-theatre and night club performing. In the near future, we aim to work more video-art and would love to produce our next lengthy show later this year.

6.     Our work revolves around the use of the body and we are three independent latina women artist living in a severely repressed, colonial country; our societal, political and community concerns are inevitably latent in our work. We are inspired by everyday life as well as fantasy, punk aesthetics, DIY philosophy, puertorican pop culture, trending apps and morbidity. We are willfully defiled by national politics as well as glitch art. No holding back, we try to feed from it all.

7.     We live perform an average of  four times per month, for an approximate total of 48 presentations per year. This statistics doesn't include photo shoots, video work, community and table work and theme-based workshops.

8.     We have no consistent, systematical process. We change dynamics depending on time-frame, concept and which of us is directing the project (if applicable, sometimes we all direct).

9.     Art in a country like Puerto Rico is vital. Because the reigning local political parties are lenient with the colonial pettiness of the federal government, even representation is at risk. Art merges apparent contradictions, forcing us to feel and think different is necessary to evolve. Artmaking and appreciation is a way contextualizing the perplexities of character, culture, and relationships but is also a form of escapism. All highly valuable, art has the power to reflect and/or deflect our reigning interests, and as a tool for change is essential.

10   Puerto Rico is always in our hearts, in our style and in our art." 

As told to MBF by Marili Pizarro,

February 2, 2019