THE GATE OF HOPE

Part One - EPIC BORDERS TRILOGY

PREMIERE 22 September 2019 - Guadalajara (Mexico)

Muestra Estatal de Teatro de Jalisco - FORO LARVA

DIRECTED AND WRITTEN BY

Carlos García Estévez & Paige Allerton

The Epic Borders Trilogy is a series of productions taking place in Mexico, Northern Ireland and Canada. The Trilogy deals with themes and stories of people from areas with a long history of being torn politically and geographically by borders. The Epic Borders Trilogy aims to tell every-day personal stories from these different locations, woven together to expose the epic proportions of our collective story.

Photos

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Synopsis

The Gate of Hope tells us intertwining stories reflecting different experiences of migration. One of the stories introduces us to Julia, a little girl in Mexico who suffers from her father’s departure, and how he embarks on his journey to cross the border illegally into the United States, without realizing abandonment and circumstances force the child to leave in search of him.

Simultaneously, we are introduced to Julia but 20 years later as a young student. She experiences discrimination and is subjected to the bureaucratic procedures that are necessary to legally pass by the United States for a connecting flight to England where she will be going to school at Oxford.

“Manifesto Poetico presents refined work, with a clear discourse about migration, alluding to abandonment, oppression, loss and hope. There are many elements to digest… not everything is presented literally but abstractly.”

Alejandro López @voyalteatro - Guadalajara (MX)

“A metaphor and a visual poem, of those who decided one day, to go to the other side of the border to find a better life for themselves, but especially for their family.”

Alejandro López @voyalteatro - Guadalajara (MX)

REHEARSAL PERIOd

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Contributing Artists:

Miguel Angel Gurrola Carlos, Héctor Guillermo López Ruvalcaba, Esteban Ernesto Méndez Velasco, Beatriz Wendolin Martínez Ruíz, Jennifer Ruíz Velasco Cerda, Karla Patricia Ramos Espinoza, Christian Zatarain Torres, Juan Antonio Martínez Anguiano, Rosa Grisel Gómez Murueta, Ana Jazmín Castillo Torres, Cinthya Mendoza, Gerald Aio, David Gavaldón, Adrian Romero, Edith García, Alejandro Wipache.

Film Work Adrián Romero

Puppets Rosa Grisel Gómez Murueta

Music David Gavaldón and Gerald Aio

Light Design Manifesto Poetico

Stage Management Edith García and Alejandro Wipache

Executive Production Javier Rodríguez

Cast Coordination Luisa Guzmán

Technical Coordination David Martínez

Photography Felipe Morán and Coordinación General de Desarrollo Social

Special Thanks: ODEART Collective,Christian Zatarain Torres, María José Lascano, FM4, Sebastián Silva Cruz, Centro Cultural LA FERRO, Fernando García, ESTUDIO TEOREMA and Daniela López Ramos.

THE GATE OF HOPE was a collaborative-creation, devised show created with local professional artists from Guadalajara, Mexico, under the direction of Carlos García Estévez and Paige Allerton.

With this group Manifesto Poetico used its fundamental research, and living pedagogic language to make a new theatrical language on the spot for and with the group and their audience.

The show nourished by current news, local knowledge, and information from the streets with a close collaboration with researchers from different disciplines and local experiences.

With participating artists we embarked on a journey of research, exploring the elements that are the reality of their surroundings: the social, the patterns, the waves, the hopes, the dreams and the consequences. We looked at the daily stories of different local communities and transposed them into a poetic language.

RESEARCH & FIELD WORK

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THE GATE OF HOPE. ORIGINS

The Gate of Hope research was started by Manifesto Poetico in February 2018 at the University of San Diego in California, when Manifesto Poetico’s Founder and Artistic Director, Carlos García Estévez was nominated to be an Honorary Chair of the University.

In February 2018 Carlos worked with graduate students and professionals to research the current context in and around San Diego and the border areas, investigating topics such as: social conflicts, diversity of ethnic groups, immigration, economic disparity, militarization and world environmental impact.

During his time in San Diego, Carlos started his investigation in collaboration with researchers from different departments at The University of San Diego, including the department of Ethnic studies, Environmental and Ocean Studies (Climate Science), and Change-Making - School of Peace and Justice.

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THE EPIC BORDERS TRILOGY

The Gate of Hope - Belfast 1919 - In The Name Of Humanity

THE TRILOGY

[LARVA] Laboratorio de Arte Variedades

This cultural space was once the Varieties Cinema, an Art Deco building that began its construction in 1938, in the place where the College of San Juan Bautista was built in 1688.

With a room with a capacity of 3296 people, the Cinema Varieties opened its doors on July 4, 1940 and worked like this until 1996. At the beginning of the 21st century it was acquired by the City Council of Guadalajara for its rehabilitation and in 2006 it was baptized as LARVA, Varieties Art Laboratory although it was not until 2010 that it was fully equipped and it was fully opened to the public.

It is currently "the black box" of the city, a cultural centre whose infrastructure allows to present shows in different ways. Recently it has been characterized by greatly promoting alternative art, digital arts, festivals, workshops, conferences, concerts, circus, music clinics, talks and exhibitions.