Theatre / Latin American culture
PAPAYA Fest: nine days of deliciously juicy Anglo-Latinx theatre and music
Responding to the rising tide of nationalism that followed in the wake of Brexit, the inaugural PAPAYA Fest was born in 2019.
It comprised of four days of “electric, inclusive and celebratory” music and theatre at the Old Market Assembly and The Wardrobe Theatre, curated by Bristol-based arts collective, Popelei – who are proud champions of female narratives and LGBTQ+ stories.
The goal was to boost representation of Anglo-Latinx culture in the arts. Despite over a quarter of a million Latin American migrants in the UK – the fastest rising migrant population in the country – British-Venezuelan curator, theatre maker and performer Tamsin Hurtado Clarke remembers feeling a cultural gap that PAPAYA Fest sought to fill.
is needed now More than ever
Talking to Bristol-Mexican friend and musician Pablo Villieriezz (aka DJ Panther Panther and founder of tropical bass band Xaman X) about growing up within two cultures, Hurtado Clarke was passionate about finding ways to revel in their shared experiences.
“I like to think of it as an arepa stuffed with a roast dinner, a London Pride mojito, or a fish and chip empanada,” she explains.
Tamsin Hurtado Clarke in Push
She will be featuring in PUSH, a fiercely funny story of a woman dealing with conflicting emotions about her (increasingly evident) pregnancy.
Returning to the festival after the sell-out success of Butch Princesa in 2019, performance artist Andre Spisto performs El Dizzy Beast about “the life of a Queer, Autistic, Latinx caterpillar”. The semi-autobiographical Concha is a play exploring intersectionality within the queer experience.
Eating Myself
In Eating Myself, food and the kitchen are explored in the construction of female identity within Peruvian society. Mixing stand-up, music and spoken word, Playing Latinx is one performer’s journey to find himself, on the other side of the world.
Alongside seven original theatre shows and both an opening and closing night of music, this year’s programme has been expanded to include a screening of award-winning documentary Santiago Rising, as well as an evening with academics and activists to discuss resistance to the neoliberalist movement in Latin America.
Santiago Rising (Alborada Films) – photo: courtesy of PAPAYA Fest
“By opening up the programme, we are hoping to attract a broader range of audiences who can benefit from and be inspired by the conversations that will blossom from the festival’s events,” says Hurtado Clarke.
“Maintaining its mission of cross-cultural dynamism, we hope that PAPAYA Fest will bring unity, promote diversity and social cohesion in Bristol.”
Closing Night music comes from Desta French, DJ Bushbby and DJ Cal Jader – photo: PAPAYA Fest
PAPAYA Fest runs from October 7-15 at the Old Market Assembly and The Wardrobe Theatre. For information and tickets to all events, visit www.papayafest.com.
All photos: Courtesy of PAPAYA Fest
Read more: Preview: Papaya Fest 2019
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