With tradition, puppets and ingenuity, Ars-Vita generates interest in indigenous languages

A traditional legend from the public domain narrated either in Mixtec, Totonac, Tének, Hñähñú, Náhuatl or Tepehua and with subtitles in Spanish is what children and adults will hear, personally, in the show that the Ars-Vita Títeres company will offer tomorrow in the Plaza Legorreta of the National Center for the Arts (Cenart).

The stage experience 6 languages ​​6 worlds It seeks for the viewer to know, appreciate and be interested in indigenous stories and languages ​​through small theaters where admirable work in the management of puppetry is revealed.

Regarding this show that is presented in the context of International Mother Language Day, the cultural manager and member of Ars-Vita, Emmanuel Vega, detailed in an interview with The Day that “there are three modules, each one with two small mystery boxes, lambe-lambe or teatrino. In each one, different forms of indigenous literature are told in an illustrated way.

“Today, six languages ​​are spoken in Hidalgo; not all of them are original to the entity, but they are among the most spoken, except in two cases, which is Tének, of which native speakers of the state are no longer found, because they migrated to San Luis Potosí. So, it is practically extinct in Hidalgo; it is the language originally spoken by the founders of the Huasteca. There is another one that is in high danger of extinction: Tepehua.”

According to the cultural manager, in each box an individual presentation is made to whoever approaches. “Narratives allow us to talk about our languages, our origins, our roots, beyond listening to a language recorded by a native speaker of this language.”

In this work of valuing and rescuing languages ​​native to Hidalgo, for Ars-Vita it is important that people know their roots well so that they speak their language without fear of being discriminated against. “The intention of this project is to give visibility and representation to these people, their language, because you cannot love what you do not know,” Vega added.

To carry out the show, a spectator and an operator are required. While the first puts on headphones and watches the tiny presentation inside the box, the second listens to instructions that ask him to move levers or turn cranks to bring the puppets to life.

The experience between two spectators, without the help of a member of the company, explores in a playful and ingenious way one of the aspects of postmodernism, in which the audience becomes the creator.

The proposal uses stick, magnetic, key puppets, phantasmagoria, shadows and automatons. In one of the boxes you hear a poem, in another a riddle, the third is about the legend of how the corn arrived, there are two more of fables and the last box is a story from the Mixtec Sierra.

Founded 30 years ago, the Ars-Vita Títeres performance collective, based in Cuautepec, Hidalgo, with its installations and performance devices with puppets, has performed in communities, schools, national and international festivals, museums and unconventional spaces in Mexico, Spain, Guatemala and Colombia.

Regarding these three decades of work, Emmanuel Vega comments that it has been “complicated” to maintain, that is why, after starting in Pachuca, they moved to Cuautepec. “We realized that in the peripheries there are no artistic presentations, nothing is taken away, and one of our principles has been to offer professional quality shows, and that is why we have moved a lot outside of Hidalgo

“Another thing that has always mattered to us is not to generate poor or scarce cultural products, but to do research in new technologies or techniques.”

Throughout these years, Ars-Vita has built its own language that articulates puppetry tradition, technical experimentation and contemporary tools, and the result has been scenic formats capable of dialogue with cultural and spatial contexts without modifying their meaning.

As part of the program The colors of the voice, the show 6 languages ​​6 worlds, by Ars-Vita Títertes, will be presented tomorrow from 2 to 5 p.m. at Plaza Legorreta, Cenart (79 Río Churubusco Avenue, Churubusco Country Club neighborhood, Coyoacán).