The Indian Queens
Photograph taken at a lagoon in the Cajamarca paramo (Peru), which has now been fenced off without prior consultation by a mining company. The photograph was taken with María Amalia Cuyado, a leader in the defense of Cajamarca's lagoons. | © Julio Gonzales
Bear and Jaguar: The photograph was taken on Catequilla Hill in the city of Quito. This hill is considered anciently sacred as it is located at the equator, in the middle of the world. The Bear and the Jaguar are characters in the play; each represents animals at risk due to the destruction of their ecosystems and also represents symbols of the current struggles to defend nature, water, and territories. | © Matias Canales
Bear and Jaguar in the trash: It was taken near the summit of Catequilla Hill. It highlights the current pollution of ecosystems. | © Matias Canales
Jaguar Head: Photograph taken in Mindo (Chocó Andean forest). One of the most biodiverse areas in the region. | © Matias Canales
Queen, the semi-opera written by John Dryden and Sir Robert Howard in 1695, during the height of European colonization. This project proposes a co-production between Theater
Aachen (Germany), Sucre National Theater Foundation, and Yama Collective (Ecuador). Through docufiction, contemporary realities are interwoven with fictional elements from the original opera, posing critical questions: Who are the "Indian queens", really? And what does colonization sound like? These questions lead us to the histories of Latin American women who defend forests and water, women who are neither “queens” nor “Indians” in the colonial sense. Musically, there is an exploration of Henry Purcell’s original compositions, which are brought into dialogue with Latin American baroque music and new music by the Yama Collective.
