Body, memory, and collective creation: A community theater experience in Báguanos, Cuba

Authors

Keywords:

Cuba, popular memory , collective creation, body, community theatre, critical pedagogy

Abstract

A theatrical experience developed in Báguanos (Holguín, Cuba) brought together community theater, popular memory, and collective creation through the collaborative work of amateur artists, teachers, cultural workers, and local residents. From a workshop based on improvisation and group composition emerged the performance "Life, Crucifixion, and Rebirth of a Sugar Mill: The History of Báguanos." The history of the López-Peña sugar mill became dramatic material and fostered a collective construction of meaning. The performance analyzes the body as a living archive, precarity as a poetics of resistance, and theater as a pedagogical, political, and community practice.

Author Biography

Gonzalo German Aranda, National University of Cuyo

A graduate in dramatic arts from the Faculty of Art and Design at UNCuyo. Since 2002, he has been a member of Teatro El Taller Centro Cultural in Mendoza (Regional Theater Collective Lifetime Achievement Award 2017 - INT), and of the El Taller theater company, directed by Ernesto Suárez, where he trained as an actor, teacher, playwright, and theater director. He has participated in more than 30 plays as an actor and set designer. He was a member of the improvisational show "Humor de miércoles" (Escenario Awards, Best Comedy Show 2009 and 2015) with the El Taller company from 2004 to 2016. He is a tenured professor of "Stage Practice I" at the Faculty of Arts and Design (FAD) – UNCuyo, and teaches theater in open spaces. He is also a professor at the Faculty of Arts (FE) of UNCuyo.

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Published

2026-07-02 — Updated on 2026-07-20

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How to Cite

Aranda, G. G. (2026). Body, memory, and collective creation: A community theater experience in Báguanos, Cuba. The Step. Notebook of Theatre Studies, 1(26), 66–78. Retrieved from https://www.ojs.arte.unicen.edu.ar/index.php/elpeldano/article/view/1592 (Original work published July 2, 2026)

Issue

Vol. 1 No. 26 (2026): The Step. Notebook of Theatre Studies

Section

Artículos

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