Ep. 73: Merendiando with Victoria Mata
May 25, 2022
[This show] is an extension of the Venezuela that I have in my heart and in my mind… I don’t think I would be able to put on this show if I hadn’t received the blessing of my elders and my masters in Venezuela.
– Victoria Mata.
In this episode, we chat with dance artist, choreographer, movement coach, activist and part of the Aluna Family, Victoria Mata!
Victoria Mata is a Toronto-based Canadian-Venezuelan artist who combines an evolving feminism with her passion for expressive arts therapy. Mata’s choreography and her personal dance expression generate a dialogue between performance and embodied cultural memory.
The world premiere production of Victoria Mata’s Cacao | A Venezuelan Lament will be presented in September 2022 with Aluna Theatre and the RUTAS 2022 International Festival, in partnership with TO Live. Cacao | A Venezuelan Lament is a new live dance theatre outdoor performance work taking us on an intimate journey into the radiance and resilience of Venezuela’s cacao farming communities.
We chat with Victoria about how art can bring healing, how she collaborates across borders, and she shares with us some things she’s learned over Cacao’s 10 year development.
All Radio Aluna Theatre episodes are in Spanglish, English, or Spanish. New episodes are released on Wednesdays. Follow and subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, and wherever else you get your podcasts.
Radio Aluna Teatro is produced by Aluna Theatre with support from the Toronto Arts Council, The Ontario Arts Council, the Canada Council for the Arts, the Department of Canadian Heritage, and TD Bank.
Aluna Theatre is Beatriz Pizano & Trevor Schwellnus; Radio Aluna Theatre is produced by Monica Garrido and Camila Diaz-Varela.
For more about Aluna Theatre, visit us at alunatheatre.ca, follow @alunatheatre on twitter or instagram, or ‘like’ us on facebook.