Tania Candiani

Chinelo is one of the works selected by the Spanish Cooperation to form part of the traveling exhibition ‘Paréntesis. Stories from uncertainty ‘.

The audiovisual work reflects on the popular traditions that were paralyzed by the closure of spaces for socialization, and how this paralysis can lead to the disappearance of rites from local communities”.

A dance that is traditionally danced in a group and in a festive way, becomes a solitary evocation. The Dance of the Chinelos is one of the most recognized in Mexico and is original from the state of Morelos, specifically from the city of Tlayacapan. Folk dance refers to the quarrels that always existed between the Spanish and the indigenous.

The piece proposes a dialogue at a distance between the musicians and the dancer. The bars of the original sounds of this dance were played by the musicians, but with time lethargic. Just like our time in the confinement. The chinelo, alone at one end of the building, dances until the sun sets over the city.