A Treat to the Senses

Yanelys Nuñez Leyva

HAVANA TIMES — Very few performance pieces interest me at the moment. Repetition, a lack of content, scant creativity in terms of visuals and performance undermine most of the works I’ve seen for some time now.

With Colombian director Alex Morales’ Dos dias alquilados en E-14 Lam (“Two Days in E-14 Lam”), however, one cannot help but feel the exact opposite.

On August 27 and 28, using the three-apartment building that Cuban artist Candelario installed during the recent 12th Havana Biennale, Morales organized a performance involving video projections, music, transparencies, colored lights and different installations – an environment of notable magnitude.

The protagonist, a Colombian actor, shook the foundations of the building with a spectacular stage performance and the power of the texts he spoke.

Accompanied by a tiny group of Cuban dancers, musicians and visual artists, the young artists taught everyone a lesson in dedication and passion for the theater.

To speak about the issue that cut through the performance would be to limit the experience arbitrarily, but perhaps we could say that it reflected human becoming: race, emigration, dreams, hopes and the energies that surround us.

The performers of E-14 Lam cleverly made use of the physical characteristics of the Contemporary Art Center courtyard, a difficult task if we bear in mind the fierce competition offered by the nearby legendary Bodeguita del Medio.

The two distinctly different performances were a treat to the senses, a defense of spontaneity and the freshness of improvisation.