Ephemeral art, photography, debate, film, performing arts and music will bring the importance of culture as a tool against discrimination to La Gomera, Tenerife and Gran Canaria.
2024 marks the twentieth anniversary of the Festival Encuentros en el Mar:Trans*culturalidades, an initiative that revolves around culture as a tool for diversity, equality, tolerance and education. In this special edition, ephemeral art, photography, debate, cinema, performing arts and music will give visibility to the LGBTIQ+ collective and claim the right to freedom of expression. The first of the activities takes place this Friday, 18 October, when a large sculpture, made from recycled materials by the artist Luigi Stinga, will be on display in the Parque Marítimo de Vallehermoso. It is an ephemeral work of art that creates a unique moment for residents and tourists of La Gomera.
Produced by Cauproges, it is funded by the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, integrated in the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism (≪Next Generation EU≫ Funds). It is also supported by the Government of the Canary Islands, Promotur Turismo de Canarias S.A. and Instituto Canario de Desarrollo Cultura S.A.; Cabildo Insular de Tenerife; the town councils of Vallehermoso, Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Icod de los Vinos; and the collaboration of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Communication of the University of La Laguna.
The pain of discrimination and harassment based on sexual identity
Since 2003, this Festival (www.encuentrosenelmar.com) has been establishing cultural dialogues on different shores of the sea and expressing the heterogeneity that exists both in the Canary Islands and outside the islands. It is in this spirit that Marco Mira's photographs have been made available to the public in the exhibition PAIN/Dolor de Alejandro Mutis, which can be seen at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Communication of the University of La Laguna (from 28 October to 8 November) and at the Municipal Library (Exconvento de San Francisco) in Icod de los Vinos (from 15 to 30 November). This moving exhibition tells the story of the Venezuelan actor and multidisciplinary artist Alejandro Mutis, son and granddaughter of Canarian migrants, who suffered harassment at work and physical aggression because of his sexual condition. The Provincial Court of Santa Cruz de Tenerife handed down a groundbreaking conviction for a double hate crime. The suffering endured by Mutis is transformed into art through these photographs.
In the dressing rooms of drag
Encounters by the Sea will also showcase the work of two essential figures in the art of drag and the defence of LGBTIQ+ rights in the history of the Canary Islands. Through the exhibition En carne diva: Braulio and Lolo Marrero, with photographs by Stefan Vilches, visibility will be given to these two people linked to sex-gender dissidence and who have witnessed the evolution of society in recent decades. This is a unique opportunity to discover the ins and outs of a fascinating profession, carried out by Braulio and Lolo Marrero, full of fantasy and glamour in their dressing room, during the most cabaret nights on the islands. The photographic exhibition can be seen in the Faculty of Social Sciences and Communication at the University of La Laguna from 11 to 22 November.
Cycle of dissident monologues
The Teatro Cine Fajardo, in Icod de los Vinos, will be the setting for a cycle of dissident monologues, in which humour and irreverence are tools to fight racism and discrimination against the LGBTIQ+ community. On 8 November, the Festival proposes a double session, with the Canarian comedian David García, with the provocative and irreverent show Vagos, maleantes, homosexuales (at 8 pm); and the comedian and actor Gabriel Córdoba, with Nacido al revés (at 9 pm), the story of the journey of a young man from a village in Murcia to Barcelona, in which he discovers that he will never be able to be a great actress.
The following day, on 9 November, it will be the turn of Joel Hernández, with a show inspired by one of the Italian divas: What would Raffaella do? (8pm); while the comedian, influencer and radio and television collaborator Elsa Ruiz will perform her monologue Trans-Fobia (9pm), in which, with critical humour, she dismantles prejudices about the trans and LGBTIQ+ community.
Finally, the actress and monologuist Patricia Galván, known for her anti-gypsy and pro-LGBTIQ+ struggle, will close this cycle of dissident monologues on 23 November, at 8 p.m., with a show entitled Hardcore, un monólogo fuertecito (Hardcore, a strong monologue).
Freedom of expression
The so-called lawfare (judicial persecution) so present in the media in recent months, as well as freedom of expression will be the focus of a conference, which will take place on Friday, 15 November, in the Faculty of Social Sciences and Communication of the University of La Laguna. At six o'clock in the afternoon, with the participation of journalists such as Tomás Galván, Félix Díaz and Saro Prieto, as well as the professor and lecturer in Communication Sciences, Carmen Rodríguez Wanguemert, the debate will begin with the title Silence is an option? Freedom of expression and lawfare.
Ageism and geek cinema
The Encounters by the Sea 2024 festival offers a film series, which will also include a space for the meeting-debate, in which films will be shown that deal with different themes such as ageism and geek cinema, from the point of view of dissidence. The evolution of the LGTBIQ+ collective and its representation in the performing arts will be one of the topics to be addressed by journalists Benjamín Santana and Vanesa Bocanegra, in the introduction and discussion that will take place at the beginning of the screenings of Twilight of the Gods (19 November), Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (21 November) and The Rocky Horror Picture Show (22 November). The films, which deal with areas such as ageism, geek cinema and transformism, will be shown at 6 p.m. in the Faculty of Social Sciences and Communication at the University of La Laguna.
Diverse musical identity
The artist Ninf.A creates her creative identity based on the fusion of music and performance art, through the exploration of disciplines such as photography and fashion. With the frequent collaboration of artist Sam Am, Ninf.A experiments with contemporary sounds and elements of styles as disparate as electronica, the LGBTIQ+ ballroom subculture scene and folklore. The show he will offer, as part of this Festival, on 23 November, at Café Teatro Rayuela, at 9 p.m., will be a preview of his next work, The Brand New Classic.
Double discrimination
The Encuentros en el Mar Festival also has, among its objectives, the fight against racism and sexism. In this sense, in many of the compositions of the artist Acantha Lang, one of the most in-demand soul artists today, she refers to the pride of being black and a woman. With more than twelve million views on social networks of her series Standing On The Shoulders of...Soul Legends, in which she covers classics of this genre, her first album, Beautiful Dreams, has reached number three in the UK jazz and soul charts. It is precisely this work that can be enjoyed, with his powerful band, at the Teatro Leal in La Laguna, on 12 December (21:00 h.) in Tenerife, and on 13 December (21:00 h.), at the Teatro Municipal Juan Ramón Jiménez, in Gran Canaria.
Programming
LA GOMERA
18th October
Wood sculpture, by Luigi Stinga
Vallehermoso Maritime Park
TENERIFE
From 28 October to 8 November
Exhibition PAIN/Pain by Alejandro Mutis, photos by Marco Mira
Faculty of Social Sciences and Communication of the University of La Laguna
San Cristóbal de La Laguna
8 November
Monologue Vagos, maleantes y homosexuales (Vagrants, thugs and homosexuals), by David García
8 p.m. Fajardo Theatre-Cinema
Icod de los Vinos
Monologue Nacido al revés (Born backwards), by Gabriel Córdoba
21:00. Theatre-Cinema Fajardo
Icod de los Vinos
9th November
Monologue What would Raffaella do?, by Joel Hernández
8 p.m. Theatre-Cinema Fajardo
Icod de los Vinos
Monologue Trans-Phobia, by Elsa Ruiz
21:00. Theatre-Cinema Fajardo
Icod de los Vinos
23rd November
Monologue Hardcore, a strong monologue, by Patricia Galván
20:00. Theatre-Cinema Fajardo
Icod de los Vinos
From 15 to 30 November
Exhibition PAIN/Dolor by Alejandro Mutis, photos by Marco Mira
Municipal Library (Former convent of San Francisco)
Icod de los Vinos
From 11 to 22 November
Exhibition En carne diva: Braulio and Lolo Marrero, photos by Stefan Vilches
Faculty of Social Sciences and Communication of the University of La Laguna
San Cristóbal de La Laguna
15th November
Silence is an option? Freedom of expression and lawfare
Faculty of Social Sciences and Communication, University of La Laguna.
6 p.m. San Cristóbal de La Laguna
19th November
Cinema: Twilight of the Gods (Sunset Boulevard)
Faculty of Social Sciences and Communication, University of La Laguna.
18:00. San Cristóbal de La Laguna
21st November
Cinema: Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
Faculty of Social Sciences and Communication, University of La Laguna
6 p.m. San Cristóbal de La Laguna
22nd November
Cinema: The Rocky Horror Picture Show
Faculty of Social Sciences and Communication, University of La Laguna
6 p.m. San Cristóbal de La Laguna
23rd of November
Concert by Ninf.A
Café Teatro Rayuela (9 p.m.)
Santa Cruz de Tenerife
12th December
Concert by Acantha Lang
Leal Theatre (9 p.m.)
San Cristóbal de La Laguna
GRAN CANARIA
13 December
Concert by Acantha Lang
Juan Ramón Jiménez Municipal Theatre (9 p.m.)
Telde
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