Arena y Esteras (Villa El Salvador, Peru)
"Arena y Esteras" combines social and artistic aspects with political commitment in its circus theatre productions. The participants come from "Villa El Salvador", a suburb of Lima, the capital of Peru, marked by poverty and violence. Today, Arena y Esteras is an association of young artists, pedagogues and teachers who are involved in local politics and who strive for social change, guided by human rights, cultural identity, gender equality and respect for creation. The motto of the group is therefore: "For the right to a smile".
For several years, "Arena y Esteras" has also been very active in the areas of sustainable development. Many of the young people from the project work in self-determined groups and are active in "Fridays for Future" in Lima.
Most recently, Arena y Esteras was honoured by the independent theatre blog "OFICIO CRITICO" as a "theatre collective" for its committed artistic and social work
AMARU
The circus theatre play AMARU is a "creaciòn colectiva" of the group. It is based on the legend of the Amaru and is the vision of a pre-Inca world view, which represents the struggle for water and the origin of life through rain.
"Amaru" is not only the guardian of water, but also the guarantor of life. He watches over the fact that the "force that generates violence" does not determine the world, and It seems that nature gets a voice in these times.
As always, the group stages this production with just a few words but colourful images on stage.