Andrés Pérez Araya (1951-2002)

Andrés Perez was a actor, playwright, and chilean theater director, of great importance in his legacy of street and popular theater. Andres along with his university classmates resisted against the Pinochet dictatorship making political art, prohibited at that time, in the street with very very short works because they could not gather many people and then they had to disperse so as not to suffer repression. Today the national day of the Chilean theater is celebrated thanks to the legacy left by this important artist, of whom not much is taught in schools, but which owes so much, because he established a popular and spectacular aesthetic, opened the possibility to new theatrical experimentations stripped of the "politically correct" and resignifying the marginal, with a language and message that reached the masses in the neighborhoods, which can clearly be seen in his masterpiece "La Negra Ester". He fought for an artistic space in Matucana 100, a space that was stolen by the Chilean state, which plunged him into a deep depression until the day of his death when he became a kind of popular saint for all those who knew him since his work, artistic and political.

CONSCIOUS FOOD

Since I began to become aware of my body eating has become fundamental for me, because I understood that everything I eat turns into the gasoline of my motor, for that, I have always tried to eat knowing what I consume. Five years ago this awareness was extrapolated to other areas that are concerned with food, such as extractivism and the indiscriminate exploitation of non-human animal species, these conflicts have led to an increase in the destruction of the ñuke mapu throughout the planet, so it reaches veganism and today I have reconnected even more with the rite of cooking, given that this daily action has been displaced by modern life and it is important to resign it as fundamental to our existence. Today my diet is based on plants, grains, seeds, fruit and nuts, I have never lacked protein, it is definitely a myth that we need to sacrifice animals for that, for me food is also about learning to live with respect for our territory, discover what is good for us and what not, what we like and discover new ways to nourish ourselves.

Remember to drink water and eat your vegetables 🌿

A LOVE PHOTOGRAPH

How difficult to choose a favorite photo when I am fond of photography! However, I chose this that is very very special to me, because it captured a moment of reunion between my sister, the newen (energy) from the native forest of Chilwe (Chiloé) big island, specifically on the island of Lemuy, and me on February 21, 2019. This Reunion was very important for me, because I had just finished a love relationship that left a lot of damage in me and in which I suffered a lot of violence for several years, during that time I was very far from my sister, because I was locked in this toxic relationship, and for her this period had been very painful, because she knew that what she was experiencing was not good, in addition we have always been very companions and our brotherly relationship has been fundamental to cope with many things throughout our lives, so that our moments together are always important. Chilwe is a territory that we have visited together since we were children, with which we have an almost inexplicable connection, there we find calm, serenity, love, community and reconnection with the ñuke mapu, for this reason, having traveled this native forest, full of cheken (myrtle) filled us with the heart, mind and body of the newen necessary to heal together and grow with our experiences. The photograph was taken by my camera with a timer programmed by me, because, that summer we traveled alone and we were alone in the forest too, so there was no one to capture us. This moment was something very intimate and comforting, today thanks to that I can clearly see many things that I had abandoned and are of great emotional, spiritual and political support for me.

Thanks for reading, see you! 💚