Contemporary Mapuche performing arts practices: the voice of Miriam Álvarez. From family narrative to the stage: fragmentations, dreams and resistance

Abstract

The interview with Miriam Álvarez, Mapuche actress, playwright, and theatre educator, reconstructs her artistic and political trajectory from the creation of the Mapuche Theatre Group El Katango to the consolidation of the concept Contemporary Mapuche Scenic Practices. Álvarez describes the writing and staging process of Pewma (Dreams), a play that intertwines family narratives, oral memory, and the forced displacements of the Mapuche people, articulating a hybrid poetics between Western theatrical resources and ritual elements. The conversation explores her theatrical training, the influence of indigenous activism, and the challenge of building a decolonial scenic language within academic frameworks.