Megalopolis#Messico

2012-2017

Concept and direction Anna Dora Dorno – Nicola Pianzola
With the participation of the performers: Anna Dora Dorno, Nicola Pianzola Paulina Alvarez, Helmar Alvarez, Omar Armella Romero, Roberto Carlos Gongora Luque, Tanya Medina.
Visual artists/photographers Luana Filippi, Giulia Iacolutti

In collaboration with
2012-2016 : UNAM – National University of Mexico | Centro Cultural Universitario Tlatelolco | 
UVA Unidad de vinculacion artistica | ENAT – Escuela national de Arte Teatral | Festival Internacional Cerro de Arena – Mexico
European project CONTACT ZONES performing Arts in Urban Spaces | Festival Attraversamenti multipli – Italy
Spectrum Festival – Austria

The Open Project MEGALOPOLIS#Mexico is a specific step of Megalopolis research project, based on the established connection between the Company and a country so culturally rich and fascinating like Mexico, in order to investigate both its artistic and anthropological aspects and deepen the social problems caused by globalization and geographic proximity to U.S.A.
The project was born in 2012, in Mexico City through an urban perfromance created with the UNAM – National University of Mexico’s students in the Square of the Three Cultures in Mexico City. The Open Project included working sessions in Mexico, Italy, Austria and Uruguay. 

The research was originated by an historic and sociological investigation about “Fear”, that fear caused by the government and by the drug trade, who use always the same terror strategy: forced disappearances, murders and enforced detentions, due to the examination of “collective reaction” manifested through public demonstrations and mass communication.

Since the Tlatelolco’s massacre, happened in 1968 on the Olympics’ eve, when the Army opened fire on demonstrating students and killed more than 300 persons, the story kept repeating and replicating in the tragedy of 26th September 2014, when 43 students of the Normal Rural School of Ayotzinapa disappeared while they were going on Tlatelolco’s night celebration. The following mass demonstrations and artistic reactions became worldwide-known through social networks. The fears that we were investigating materialized in the 43 faces become contemporary icons of this tragedy. Since that moment our research work focused on that specific event and on its symbolic power.
The project became a political act of rebellion and social participation in order to react through art and new medias to these events happening in Mexico, to fight together with those who are still believing in justice and truth.
In this project’s framework was created a first work in progress entitled Megalopolis#43, that turned soon in Desaparecidos#43, a performance representing our “Acciòn Global” and our artistic reaction to Ayotzinapa’s tragedy. The performance included Mexican actors, dancers and students in its structure, who joined “Todos Somos Ayotzinapa!” message’s spread.
We have created the hashtag #Megalopolisproject43 in order to generate an active participation’s tool for our project and its circulation.