Lemi Ponifasio: Love to Death (Amor a la muerte) 

The voices, language, and bodies of Chilean artists—native Mapuche singer and composer Elisa Avendaño Curaqueo, and contemporary flamenco dancer Natalia García-Huidobro—weave together in a ceremony revealing their own stories—two lives that reflect Chile’s history and the search for its future. The work was sparked by the events that were detonated after the murder of Camilo Catrillanca, a Mapuche former student activist and farmer. Touching on questions of identity and destiny, people and nature, the “female being,” and the balance of power—the work transcends conventional ideas of theater, dance, and activism. Conceived and directed by internationally renowned Samoan artist Lemi Ponifasio, a champion of both the avant-garde and indigenous people.

“His pieces, in which light and dark fight against each other and black challenges white, engulf the audience in something ceremonial; a reflection on cosmogony” —Festival de Avignon 

Related Links

Festival d’Avignon – Lemi Ponifasio

YouTube Channel – Elisa Avendaño Curaqueo

Instagram Profile – Natalia Garcia-Huidobro

New York Times – Killing of Indigenous Man in Chile Spurs Criticism of Security Forces

Walker Art Center – Performance venue – website 

Walker Art Center - A Prayer Form of Performance: Lemi Ponifasio on Love to Death (Amor a la muerte)

This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.