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La Solidaridad/Unity by the Voices of Now Peru Ensemble: Camilo, Diego, Natalia, Gaby, Christopher, Natalia, Ana Sofia, Anderson, Melina, Maria Carmen, Guisela, Samuel, Dayan, Yaneth, Antonio, Luis, Santiago, Jhulmir, Jhon and Flor Devised by: Ashley Forman and Fareed Mostoufi Translated by: Rony Gonzalez Opening Movement: Two lines. Stage left line crosses and then puts their hands on the shoulders of the stage right line. Stage right line walks to stage left and turns and reaches. Flor and Miguel run and meet in the center. Upstage groups form pairs. Down stage groups form pairs. All drop revealing Yaneth, Dayan, Ana Sofia and Maria Carmen for their movement. Santiago claps and the group rolls to reveal Guisela, Christopher, Natalia, Luis, Samuel and Diego. Natalia claps and the group moves to home base, revealing the final movement piece. NATALIA What pulls us apart? Que es lo que nos aleja? GABY what brings us together? Que es lo que nos acerca? CHRISTOPHER How do we stand up against inequity? Como luchamos contra la desigualdad... GABY abuse ...el abuso NATALIA and violence ...y la violencia? ANA SOFIA How do we make change without putting ourselves in danger? Como generamos el cambio sin ponernos en peligro? MELINA I dream of a Lima that is united Yo sueño con una Lima unida SANTIAGO where the people form a river of hope that traverses the city Donde la gente forma un río de esperanza que corre por la ciudad

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ANDERSON Lima is rich in culture Lima es rica en cultura... NATALIA history ...historia ANTONIO stories ...historias GUISELA and flavors. ...y sabores. YANETH It’s like fruit juice The variety is what makes it delicious. The greater the mix of fruits, the better the flavor Es como el jugo de fruta: la variedad es lo que lo hace delicioso. Cuanto más amplia la mezcla de frutas, mejor el sabor. NATALIA But Lima is also like soda. There are things on the inside that you can’t see Pero Lima también es como una gaseosa. Hay fuerzas que no se ven. MELINA and when you shake it enough Y cuando la sacudes lo suficiente ANDERSON it explodes explota ALL BOOM! CHRISTOPHER in conflict en conflicto

DAYAN in violence en violencia

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MIGUEL like a storm that blows through the neighborhoods and streets, tearing into the schools and the homes Como una tormenta que sopla por los barrios y las calles, entrando por la fuerza a colegios y a hogares FLOR Conflict is like a closed door. There are people locked on either side. people who lock themselves in and don’t want to interact.They become airtight. You can’t talk to them. There’s no communication El conflicto es como una puerta cerrada. Hay gente a ambos lados de un candado. Gente que se encierra y no quiere interactuar. Se vuelven herméticos. No les puedes hablar. No hay comunicación. ANA SOFIA When did we start shutting these doors? Cuando empezamos a cerrar estas puertas? YANETH How did we become isolated from each other? Como nos volvimos tan aislados el uno del otro? NATALIA What happens when a community stops seeing each other? Que pasa cuando una comunidad deja de verse a si misma? MARIA CARMEN One day I saw a very poor child in the street. He was poorly dressed and cleaning a man’s car. When he finished the man refused to pay him. The child protested Un dia vi a un niño muy pobre en la calle, con vestimenta pobre, limpiando el auto de un hombre. Cuando terminó, el hombre se negó a pagarle. El nino protesto MIGUEL I just finished. will you pay me? Come on, 10 cents won’t make you richer or poorer Ya termine. Me va a pagar? No sea malito, que son 10 centimos? MARIA CARMEN The man just yelled at him in a cruel way El hombre simplemente le gritó de manera cruel ANA SOFIA Get away from my car! I’m not you paying anything Alejate de mi carro! No te voy a pagar nada

MIGUEL Please, I need to bring bread home to my family Por favor, necesito llevarle el pan a mi familia

4 MARIA CARMEN He said horrible things. He began to cry forcefully. The car drove off, leaving the boy in the intersection. The boy continued crying as he walked through the traffic and off into the city. Le dijo cosas inmencionables. El niño estalló en llanto. El carro siguió su camino, dejando al niño en el cruce. El niño siguió llorando mientras caminaba entre los autos y se perdía en la ciudad. LUIS I’ve seen this happen before at traffic lights. The kids clean the windows without asking and then they ask for money. The child should have asked, is it all right if I clean your window? Yo ya he visto esto pasar en los semáforos. Los ninos te limpia el parabrisas sin pedir permiso, y luego te piden dinero. El niño debió haber preguntado: “Le puedo limpiar la luna?” MARIA CARMEN It was a boy that had just come from the Andes. I bet this was the first time the child had even started cleaning cars. Era un niño que recién llegaba de los Andes. Te apuesto que era la primera vez que la criatura limpiaba carros. LUIS He was just going to give the money to his parents for drugs. Le iba a dar el dinero a sus padres para drogas. MARIA CARMEN Even so, did the child deserve to be yelled at like that? How could anyone speak that way to a child? Pero igual, el niño merece este castigo? Cómo puede una persona hablar así a un niño? MIGUEL Whose responsibility is it is help children working in the streets? De quien es la responsabilidad de ayudar a los ninos que trabajan en las calles? MARIA CARMEN Should I have said something? Debi haber dicho algo? GUISELA Sometimes you don’t say anything because you think it’s not your business. A veces no dices nada porque crees que no te compete.

YANETH There are other times when nothing happens even when you DO speak up. Hay otras veces que no pasa nada aun cuando SI alzas la voz.

5 (Artists cover the space) MELINA I was walking by a school in my neighborhood when I came upon two guys. (SL child’s pose) When I looked more closely, I realized that there was a girl with them. (SL child’s pose) They were guiding her to the ground. The girl was passed out. Yo iba por mi colegio, en mi barrio, cuando vi a dos tipos. Cuando mire de cerca, no te que estaban con una chica. La estaban colocando sobre el suelo. La chica estaba inconsciente. GUISELA Asleep. Dormida. SANTIAGO Or fainted. O desmayada.

MELINA Probably drugged. I knew very well what was happening. We tried to look for someone to help. We found a man…Help me! There’s a girl in danger. She’s on the ground. Probablemente drogada. Yo sabía muy bien lo que estaba pasando. Tratamos de buscar alguien que nos ayude. Encontramos a un hombre...Ayudame! Hay una chica en peligro. Esta en el piso. LUIS No no no. I don’t want any trouble. I don’t want to get involved. No no no. No quiero problemas. No quiero meterme. MELINA At this point the boys were all over her. (12-beat soundscape with movement by Flor, Miguel and Anderson) They kept touching her so we called the police. But they never came. After a while the boys left with the girl on their shoulders. (Spin Flor and Miguel and Anderson to child’s pose)I can’t help but wonder what happened to her. What had they done to her? I really feel bad about it because I feel like I could have done more. Should I have said something? What would have happened to me if I had intervened? Would someone intervene to help if I were in the same situation? A estas alturas los chicos estaban la tocaban por todas partes. La seguían tocando, así que llamamos a la policía. Pero nunca llegaron.Después de un rato los chicos se la llevaron cargada en hombros. No puedo evitar pensar que le habra pasado. Que le habían hecho? Me sentí muy mal porque sentía que podía haber hecho mas. Debi haber dicho algo? Que me habría pasado si hubiera intervenido? Habria alguien intervenido si yo hubiera estado en la misma situación? FLOR

6 Sometimes you don’t speak up because you don’t want to call attention to yourself A veces no hablas porque no quieres convertirte en el centro de la atención. SAMUEL Sometimes calling attention to yourself puts you in danger. A veces ser el centro de la atención te pone en peligro. When I was 9 years old i was very shy. I never said anything. One day in school (School tableau) someone asked me Cuando tenía 9 anos era muy tímido. Nunca decir nada. Un dia en el colegio alguien mepidióo NATALIA Can I borrow a pen? Me prestas un lapicero? SAMUEL It was nothing important so I responded. My voice was timid, not-yet-changed, and immediately someone said No era nada importante, asi que respondi. Mi voz era tímida; aun no cambiaba, e inmediatamente alguien dijo DAYAN HEY EVERYONE! Listen to him OIGAN TODOS! Escuchenlo (Ensemble circles and stops on Antonio’s line) SANTIAGO He talks like a girl Habla como niña ANTONIO He’s a faggot. Es un maricon. SAMUEL One of the boys slapped me in the face (Santiago claps and group drops) and everybody laughed. I felt the strike. I heard the laughter. I didn’t know what the word meant, but from their actions and laughter, I knew that something was wrong. I thought “Am I wrong? What’s wrong with me?” I eventually asked someone what the word meant (Anderson enters circle and whispers in Samuel’s ear) and when I found out I became quiet for years, trying to never call attention to myself again. Uno de los ninos me dio una bofetada y todo el mundo se rió. Sentí el golpe. Oi las risas. No sabía que quería decir esa palabra; pero por sus acciones y su risa, supe que algo estaba mal. Pense, “Estoy mal? En que estoy mal?” Luego le pregunte a alguien que quería decir esa palabra y, cuando lo supe, me volvi callado por anos, tratando de nunca más ser el centro de la atención.

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(Artists in home base) NATALIA The way you sound Como suenas

FLOR The way you look Como te ves LUIS Your race Tu raza CHRISTOPHER Your social class Tu clase social FLOR Your gender Tu genero GUISELA All of those things can put you in danger. Todas estas cosas te pueden poner en peligro. SAMUEL When do we learn to treat certain people differently? Where did we learn how to treat people in the first place? Cuando es que aprendemos a tratar a ciertas personas diferentes? De donde aprendimos a tratar a las personas para empezar? (Artists move to places for three violence machines) GABY My aunt is the mother of three children. She had a husband, but her husband was assassinated by armed men. When he was alive he abused her verbally and physically. (Gaby claps and machine 1 moves)She moved in with my family and I began to notice that she was aggressive verbally and physically with her kids, just like her husband was with her. (Gaby claps and machine 2 moves) I saw this aggression every night. One day she was trying to explain long division to her daughter. When the girl didn’t understand, she grabbed a shoe and began hitting her. That’s when I got aggressive towards my aunt verbally and physically. (Gaby claps and machine 3 moves. Gaby becomes part of the machine) Just like her husband had been to her and she had been to her kids. I was the same. I realized my error and from that moment I

8 asked forgiveness. Together we learned how to share love and how to live together without violence or conflict . Mi tia es madre de tres hijos. Tenía un esposo, pero lo asesinaron unos hombres armados. Cuando vivía la agredía verbal y físicamente. Estaba triste cuando murió, pero al mismo tiempo sentía paz y alivio. Se mudo con mi familia y comencé a notar que ella era verbal y físicamente agresiva con sus hijos, igual que su esposo lo hacía con ella. Yo veia esta agresión cada noche. Un dia estaba tratando de explicarle como dividir a su hija. Cuando la nin~a no entendió, tomó un zapato y comenzó a golpearla. Fue ahí cuando yo me volví agresiva hacia mi tía, verbal y físicamente. Trataba a sus hijos como su esposo la habia tratado a ella. Y yo hacía lo mismo. Me di cuenta de mi error y desde ese momento le pedi perdon. Juntas aprendimos cómo compartir el amor y como vivir juntas sin violencia o conflicto.

SANTIAGO To stop violence you have to notice the pattern. Para detener la violencia, tienes que ver el patrón. ANA SOFIA You have to be willing to speak up. And sometimes it’s a risk. Tienes que estar dispuesto a hablar. Y a veces es arriesgado. (Artists move to three walls, with a neighbor behind each wall. They peek out on the next three lines. Anderson DR) ANA SOFIA From the neighbor’s house you always heard screams. De la casa del vecino siempre escuchábamos gritos. FLOR Everyone knew that he was hitting her and their children. Todos sabían que él le pegaba a ella. ...y a sus hijos. ANA SOFIA (moving to confront Anderson in tableau) One night we all heard screams. One neighbor couldn’t take it anymore. Una noche oímos gritos. Una vecina ya no pudo soportarlo más. DAYAN She went to the house to defend the kids. Fue a la casa a defender a los ninos. DIEGO (One group joins Ana Sofia) She was alone. It was a risk. Estaba sola. Fue arriesgado.

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CAMILO The husband was furious and said El marido estaba furioso y decía ANDERSON you shouldn’t be involved. Its not your problem. “No te metas. No es tu problema.” ARTISTA (Next group joins Ana Sofia) But then other neighbors came and supported her. Pero luego otros vecinos vinieron a apoyarla. CAMILO The husband got even angrier. He became aggressive. El marido se enfureció aun mas. Se volvio agresivo. ANA SOFIA But they made themselves strong. (rest of group joins Ana Sofia) They threw cold water on him to calm him down and let him know that if he were to hit his wife again they would denounce him and boot him from the barrio. Pero ellos se pusieron fuertes. Le arrojaron agua fría para calmarlo y le advirtieron que si le volvia a pegar a su esposa lo denunciaron y lo echaron del barrio.

ANDERSON From then on he didn’t hit his wife anymore because he saw that people had noticed. Desde ese entonces ya no le pegaba a su esposa porque vio que la gente se habia dado cuenta. GABY Change can happen when the people who care outnumber the aggressors. El cambio puede suceder cuando aquellos a quienes les importa son mas que los agresores. DIEGO But how do we motivate more people to care? To speak up? Pero como motivamos a mas personas para que les importe? Para que hablen? MIGUEL To take the risk and be the first person to say something, we have to know that someone will stand with us when we take a risk Para que una persona se arriesgue y sea la primera en decir algo, tenemos que saber que alguien nos respaldara cuando nos arriesguemos (open door tableau)

10 CHRISTOPHER Because that is how we open the doors that separate us. Porque es asi como se abren las puertas que nos separan. NATALIA That is how we become united. Es asi como nos unimos. CAMILO To change the world. you have to appeal to people’s imaginations. Para cambiar el mundo, tenemos que apelar a la imaginacion de la gente. (Move to two lines. On each line, cross and add to unity tableau. All are set on Natalia’s line) DAYAN It can feel like swimming through the ocean Se puede sentir como nadar en el oceano, LUIS or crawling through mud o arrastrarse sobre el barro CAMILO You know you’re going to get dirty Sabes que te vas a ensuciar, NATALIA but cleaning the world is healing. Bit by bit you start to uncover unity. pero limpiar el mundo sana. Poco a poco comienzas a descubrir la union. SANTIAGO Solidarity sounds like the song of crickets on a starry night La solidaridad suena como los grillos en una noche llena de estrellas. ANTONIO Children laughing and playing at a festival in the Andes. Ninos riendo y jugando en un festival andino. (8-count festival in circle, and then the ensemble drops and reveals Camilo and Natalia in dancing tableau) CAMILO Solidarity is built with risk La solidaridad se construye con el riesgo. (Melina runs, jumps across the group and is caught by Miguel and Christopher)

11 MELINA It’s built also with trust Se construye con la confianza. DIEGO How do we build trust in our community? Como construimos confianza en nuestra comunidad? ANDERSON What is your role in unifying our city? Que papel jugamos en unir a nuestra ciudad?

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