Popular and Community Theatre in Colombia (1960-1980)
Researchers: Dr. Janneth Aldana – Dr. Sarah Hart
Grant for research in the Arts – Theatre National Stimulus Program 2024 – Ministry of Cultures, arts and knowledges (Colombia)
Summary:
Community theater has a long history in Colombia. Although today some of its contours are visible thanks to regional networks such as the Colombian Network of Theatre in Community or the Cultura Viva Comunitaria platform, some community theatre groups began long before these networks existed and have been part of the performing arts movements in the country for more than five decades.
As a theater form that occupies a marginal place in the history of Colombian performing arts, community work has nevertheless had a profound social impact. Our inquiry connects the development of community theater with its presence in different territories that, together with their inhabitants, have shaped the path that this work has taken in Colombia. Some of the collectives with the longest trajectories are detailed below:
Main groups
ESQUINA LATINA
This group was founded in 1973 in the city of Cali (Valle del Cauca). Although it began at a university (Universidad del Valle), as was common for the theatre collectives formed during this period, the group soon extended its training and facilitation work into the neighborhoods of eastern Cali. Since then, community theater has been one of the central axes strengthening Esquina Latina’s artistic and social impact.
In the city of Medellín, this cultural corporation was formally created in 1986. However, it consolidated the experience of a youth movement that, with a presence in Barrio Santa Cruz, commune 2, consistently promoted cultural and social activities until it became one of the most important creative resistance centers in the capital of Antioquia. Nuestra Gente has created a network that sustains peace initiatives in a country, and especially in a region, that has suffered different types of violence in its recent history. It is enough to note their motto is “forming artists for life”.
Kerigma was founded in 1979 in the La Despensa neighborhood of Bosa, in southern Bogotá. On the outskirts of the city, a group of young high school students found in theater, and other artistic and educational activities, a way to work together with the community. Although the group no longer exists today, those who were trained in artistic practice and social activism with Kerigma have germinated many other projects in Bogota.
TEF’s first production, Diles que no me maten, based on a story by Juan Rulfo, began the groups activities in 1979. In the Bogotá neighborhood of Fontibón, TEF has been able to articulate diverse community processes via cultural and social projects. By gathering the festive experiences of Fontibon’s first inhabitants, they have expanded community initiatives through the creation of a popular theater. Their presence in the territory continues, especially with the training of young people.
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Sarah Ashford Hart 