Let the River In (October 2024)
Andrés Senra & Nicolás Dumit Estévez Raful Espejo Ovalles Morel
This gathering engages camouflaging and mimicry as a survival strategy commonly used by non-human animals and plants to blend in with their surroundings. By emulating the predominant colors, shapes and patterns within their ecologies, these wise beings observe without being observed, ensuring their survival while also– sometimes–attracting other beings. Inspired by this phenomenon, participants in Let the River In are invited to inhabit a limited square footage around us along the banks of the Bronx River. The idea is to become deeply familiar with all elements we are in contact with, and from there to transform ourselves by way of fabric and makeup into the place one is embedded in. This embodiment can become an exercise in oneness with all. It is also a movement into the sensuality of the living world and a celebration of bodies, including that of the Bronx River.
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Let the River In is an action which is part of Bodies of Water / Fluid Improvisations Along the Bronx River, a program conceived and produced by Nicolás Dumit Estévez Raful, with individual actions co-created with Arantxa Araujo, Andrés Senra, Luis A. Lara Malvacías, and Priscilla Marrero & Ferran Martin.
About Bodies of Water/Fluid Improvisations Along the Bronx River points to the connections between bodies, as in human and non-human ones–such as Rivers–, as well as to concepts of interbeing, interconnectedness, and interdependence with all beings. Similarly, it brings to light ecological and social justice issues regarding colonial histories, environmental racism, and extractive capitalism while issuing a call for individual and collective stewardship and care for all bodies of Water. During four gatherings in different points along the Bronx River, improvisations centered on flow, water, compassion and deep listening are meant to unfold for invited participants, or perhaps unsuspecting audiences and wanderers attracted by a sight inspiring wonder and contemplation.