Shouting with the body. Performance, art and politics in Latin America

Abstract

This text argues that public demonstrations can be understood as political performances since they possess a political and an aesthetic dimension. By appearing in public space, these actions make historically marginalized bodies and voices visible. Thus, performance is presented as a tool that not only challenges social norms, but also transforms the way we perceive the body, gender and public space. To demonstrate this, some Latin American political performances will be analyzed, such as those of the Madres de Plaza de Mayo, LASTESIS’s Un violador en tu camino and the action of the Antigrita in Mexico. It will also be shown that these manifestations have a ritual and therapeutic component that affects both the performer and the audience. In this way, the text claims that performance challenges the boundaries between art and life, representation and reality, artist and audience.