The ghost octopus, a dance that highlights the fragility of marine ecosystems

▲ The Ghost Octopus will be presented today and tomorrow at 12 and 2 pm at the Cenart Arts Theater.

Fabiola Palapa Quijas

Photo courtesy of Emmanuel Adamez

La Jornada Newspaper, Saturday, August 16, 2025, p. 2

The multimedia dance show The Ghost Octopus , directed by artist Patricia Marín, seeks to raise awareness about the importance of caring for marine ecosystems and preserving the natural heritage of Mexico's seas.

In an interview with La Jornada , the choreographer spoke about her inspiration and the creative process behind this work, which will premiere with the Danza Visual company today and have one more performance tomorrow at the Teatro de las Artes of the National Arts Center.

"Ever since I became an aunt, or simply an adult surrounded by children, I've understood that caring for the seas and ecosystems isn't just an environmental cause; it's an act of love and responsibility toward children. They won't just inherit our words or our teachings; they'll inherit the planet just as we left it."

“Talking about this topic with children is essential because they are growing up on a planet that urgently needs people who are conscious, empathetic, and connected to nature. The oceans are not just beautiful landscapes; they are sources of life. They generate oxygen, regulate the climate, feed millions of people, and harbor a wonderful biodiversity that we often can't even imagine,” explained the director of the piece.

The Ghost Octopus is a show produced by Danza Visual in collaboration with Mar...es de México and Fundación Santa Lucía, AC, and with the support of Culturalmente Responsable, an organization dedicated to promoting and bringing culture to society. The production combines dance, projections, and a visual atmosphere that highlights the fragility of marine ecosystems.

The creator emphasized that art is a way of speaking from the heart and transforming the invisible into something that can be felt, touched, and seen with different eyes. “When we teach a girl or boy to respect marine life, not to leave trash on the beach, not to damage a reef, or to question where the fish they eat comes from, we are also teaching them to consider the consequences of their actions, to care for what cannot be seen, and to act with a collective conscience. Caring for the seas also means speaking about justice,” she added.

Marín emphasized that the work's main message is the importance of raising awareness about ecosystems, protecting what we consume, and protecting those who cannot afford to do so. "The industry needs to stop and understand that overexploitation can lead to a terrible outcome for humanity."

The creator seeks to raise awareness and engage the audience in environmental preservation, and dance is her tool for understanding her own surroundings.

She explained that Mar... is from Mexico and the Santa Lucia Foundation gave them all the guidelines to create the show, where "the octopus and the characters that appear are suggestions from the founders, Delphine and Eduardo. They are the ones who even came up with the idea of creating this very special dramaturgy between the story of Santi and the Caretaker. There are already many caretakers in the world, many of whom are doing important things for the seas, jungles, forests, and animals. It's important to make them visible; they are heroes without capes, people who stand up and fight against injustice towards the earth," said Patricia Marín.

Regarding the script, the choreographer and director noted that the story is simple but full of beauty, the industry's fury against the fragility of the ecosystem. "The Earth asks for nothing more than to take care of it. There are so many of us and we need so many things that the Earth cannot sustain this devastating industry. These are facts that, if discussed coldly, leave us frozen with helplessness. That's why, through art, we want to lead to reflection. It's not about minimizing the problem but rather beginning to open the door for a Sunday conversation that will perhaps lead us to take action."

The play The Ghost Octopus , with visual design by Ghiju Díaz de León, will be performed by Danza Visual this weekend with double performances at 12 and 2 p.m. at the Teatro de las Artes of the National Arts Center (79 Río Churubusco Avenue, Country Club neighborhood, Coyoacán). Tickets: 150 pesos.

▲ The Instant (1981), one of the pieces that make up Vlady's Trotskyist Triptych . Photo courtesy of researcher Silvia Vázquez Solsona.

Merry MacMasters

La Jornada Newspaper, Saturday, August 16, 2025, p. 3

Researcher Silvia Noemí Vázquez Solsona proposes finding a permanent home for the pictorial collection Trotskyist Triptych by Vladimir Kibalchich Rusakov (1920-2005, better known as Vlady), given its “central relevance to the history of universal and Mexican art.”

She is the author of the book Vlady, Trotskyist Triptych: The Tragic Hero of the 20th Century (Autonomous University of Mexico City/Benemérita Autonomous University of Puebla), which is being presented today at the Museum of Modern Art (MAM), the venue that houses the aforementioned work.

The triptych was originally painted at different times for the Leon Trotsky House Museum (MCLT). It consists of the panels "Bolshevik Magiography" (1967), "Vienna 19" (1973), and "The Instant" (1981). Each panel measures 3.16 by 4 meters.

Apparently, the collection was exhibited at the MCLT for 10 years. According to Vázquez Solsona, Magiografía bolchevique was purchased by the MAM; however, he explained, "I'm not sure about the arrival of the other two. There's a lot of contradictory information. For example, in his book Vlady: From the Revolution to the Renaissance , Jean-Guy Rens writes that the artist donated the works to the MCLT, but the museum has no record of this. "At the MAM, I found the Magiografía bolchevique document, but not the other two. Possibly, these documents may appear in the archive, which is still being classified," he mentions.

It was Fernando Gamboa (1909-1990), then director of the MAM, who promoted the purchase of Magiografía bolchevique, the scholar points out. Triptico trotskiano was included in the exhibition Vlady: La sensualidad y la materia , mounted in 2006 at the Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes. Vázquez Solsona became acquainted with the Russian/Mexican painter's work after a visit some 14 years ago to the Miguel Lerdo de Tejada Library, which houses his mural work La revolución y los elementos , in search of information on "the dissidences of the 20th century."

Vlady hooked her. She decided to work on the figure for her history thesis. “At the time, I was taking classes with Renato González Mello. One was being held at the MAM, which later transformed into a project cataloging works in conjunction with the Institute of Aesthetic Research and the museum. “Trotskian Triptych ,” given its size, was rolled up in storage. Once I was able to review the piece, González Mello told me: the only way to rescue this work will be through thorough research. I accepted the assignment.”

This book is a reworking of her thesis. It was written before the exhibition Vlady: Revolution and Dissidence at the Colegio de San Ildefonso, in 2022/2023, when, after 16 years, Trotskyist Triptych was released from the MAM's storage and restored. This is why, throughout the pages of the researcher's new book, calls for its rescue are raised: "The condition of the work is very painful. Each of the panels lacks a frame, and due to their proportions, the pieces are rolled up in the museum's storage."

Vázquez Solsona regrets that for the exhibition, the panels were not displayed chronologically, but rather with a different interpretation. After the exhibition at the Colegio de San Ildefonso ended, the piece returned to the MAM "in perfect condition."

The project is currently on temporary loan from the Attorney General's Office. At the end of the loan period, it will return to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Aquaculture (MAM), the office reported.

–Why is it a central work for the history of art?

Vlady's work, in general, is like the last gasp of the Russian Revolution, and it's right here. It's important because it not only allows us to understand a historical process, but also the sensibility of the era. It's an excellent portrait of the 20th century, as well as a warning of the things that will happen after the defeat of this revolution by the counterrevolution. The Trotsky Triptych is an epic narrative of the life and death of Leon Trotsky, not illustrative or biographical, but rather a myth.

For the researcher, Vlady's family and revolutionary heritage are linked to an aesthetic and political project developed through paint and brushes. Therefore, the very material of his works takes center stage. While Magografía Bolchevique is still painted in oils using ordinary commercial tubes, Viena 19 uses a mixed media, partly industrial paint and partly what Vlady calls the "Venetian technique," and El instante is painted entirely with this technique.

According to the author, Vlady is a misunderstood, rather than uncomfortable, figure: “There is a political discourse that is intensely personal, not intimate, so to understand all this, as you can see in the book, you have to delve deeply into the painter's notebooks and other works, and have a wealth of historical data at hand.

"Sometimes, when the viewer comes to look at these pieces, they say, 'Wow, I'm not understanding anything.' However, this type of historical dissemination helps raise awareness and, at the same time, allows Vlady to enter into the collective consciousness, because what he's discussing isn't a minor issue for historical memory in general."

Vlady, Trotskyist Triptych: The Tragic Hero of the 20th Century will be presented this Saturday, August 16th at 12 noon at the Museum of Modern Art, as well as on August 19th at 6 pm, as part of the UACM Book Fair, at the Del Valle campus.

▲ Framed skeleton on display at the Natural History Museum of Ethiopia in Addis Ababa. Photo Ap

Ap

La Jornada Newspaper, Saturday, August 16, 2025, p. 4

Ethiopia. The fossil of the human ancestor known as Lucy has left Ethiopia to be displayed in a European museum, Ethiopian national media reported Friday, citing Tourism Minister Selamawit Kassa.

Lucy 's skeleton, which is 40 percent complete, left Ethiopia on Friday and will be on display at Prague's National Museum for about two months.

Lucy was recovered in Ethiopia in 1974, in what was once an ancient lake, near fossilized crocodile remains, turtle eggs, and crab claws. She belonged to Australopithecus afarensis , an early human species that lived in Africa approximately 4 to 3 million years ago.

This is Lucy 's second trip outside Ethiopia. The first was in 2013, when she toured the United States.

Lucy 's fragmented bones will be displayed alongside Selam , the fossil of an Australopithecus infant that is about 100,000 years older than Lucy and was discovered in the same region 25 years later.

“As an iconic specimen, it belongs to everyone, so sharing it with the rest of humanity is something everyone would love to see,” said Yohannes Haile-Selassie, director of the Institute of Human Origins at Arizona State University.

Although many experts believe Lucy 's trip to Europe represents a unique opportunity for Europeans and visitors from other parts of the world, there are safety concerns about the transport of her fragile bones.

“ Lucy ’s fragmented bones are truly unique and require the utmost care. Traveling to Europe has its own risks,” noted Gidey Gebreegziabher, an archaeologist and doctoral candidate at the University of Warsaw, Poland. “She will also be exposed to different climatic conditions, which could negatively impact her preservation.”

▲ Representation of the hominid Lucy on display at the Natural History Museum of Ethiopia in Addis Ababa. Photo AP

Even in Ethiopia, the public has rarely seen the real Lucy fossil. A replica is on display at the National Museum of Ethiopia, while the real remains are kept in a secure vault.

“I’ve seen how she was packaged, so I no longer have any concerns about anything happening to Lucy ,” Yohannes said.

The fossil's discreet release on Thursday night also raises questions about transparency, as many Ethiopians—who are proud of it—were unaware it would be traveling to Europe.

“It’s unbelievable! The government seems to be deliberately excluding its own people from the narrative of its own heritage,” said Gidey Gebreegziabher.

Bekele Reta, 43, a resident who lives just 50 meters from the museum that houses Lucy , was unaware of her departure until he saw it on social media. “I found out this morning on Facebook that she left for Prague. It's unfortunate that most Ethiopians only get the chance to see her displayed elsewhere,” he said.

Earlier this year, Michal Lukeš, director general of the National Museum of the Czech Republic, issued a statement announcing the exhibition of Lucy and Selam , expressing his gratitude to the Ethiopians for agreeing to “lend” the remains.

Lukeš said: “These invaluable exhibits give us a unique insight into the past and deepen our understanding of the roots of humanity.”

Eirinet Gómez

La Jornada Newspaper, Saturday, August 16, 2025, p. 4

The fourth edition of the "Ex-Céntricas: Feminine Cultural Capitals in the Mexican Stage" event, organized by the Rodolfo Usigli National Center for Theater Research, Documentation, and Information (Citru), is dedicated to presenting the archives of various female stage creators. This year, the figure of María Luisa Ocampo, a Guerrero playwright and cultural promoter who spearheaded the theatrical movement La Comedia Mexicana, stands out.

"The androcentric tendency has made it seem as if men are the only producers of culture in the country. The goal is to highlight women creators and their contributions," said Edith Ibarra, a researcher at Citru and curator of the Ex-Céntricas event.

The event will take place on Wednesday, August 20, starting at 10:00 a.m., in the Aula Magna of the National Center for the Arts (Cenart). It will feature three roundtable discussions: the presentation of the book "Stories that Elaborate Memory: Archives of Creative Women in the Theater Scene in Mexico" ; a discussion about María Luisa Ocampo; and a presentation of a methodology for rescuing and "activating" archives.

The book, the result of research by Citru, brings together the collections of five artists: Esperanza Iris, Graciela Castillo, Félida Medina, Aída Guevara, and María Luisa Ocampo. It includes a description of each archive and the testimony of the researchers who worked on them.

"The idea is to show how a woman observes another creator, what she tells her, what her archive tells her," Ibarra said. The work will be available for free consultation in the INBAL repository.

The second panel will present the findings from the archive of María Luisa Ocampo, "the only playwright who wrote about euthanasia and who articulated a national theater in the post-revolutionary era. From an androcentric perspective, we talk about a father of Mexican theater, but not about the women who participated," the curator emphasized.

The third panel will address strategies for disseminating and bringing archives to life through social media and artificial intelligence, so they can be consulted and studied.

Ex-Céntricas, which began in 2021, dedicated its first broadcast to reflecting on the strategies adopted by female stage creators to produce text and performance. Subsequent editions recognized the careers of Olga Martha Peña Doria, a researcher at the University of Guadalajara, and Jacqueline Bixler, a researcher at Virginia Tech and a scholar of theater in Mexico.

The event will be broadcast live on the CENART Interface website. "We call on young women and students to come and learn about the work of other women, and invite more people to join us," she concluded.

▲ The Pasatono Orchestra and the Tierra Mestiza Ensemble (right) will perform at the Nezahualcóyotl Hall on September 6 and at the Simón Bolívar Amphitheater on September 21, respectively. Photo: Annete Pérez and Eduardo Baltezer

Angel Vargas

La Jornada Newspaper, Saturday, August 16, 2025, p. 5

Music is an instrument of peace and social cohesion, said Mixtec musician Rubén Luengas, director of Pasatono Orchestra, when describing how in the Sierra de Oaxaca, people seal alliances through the gozona , a musical exchange where “I bring a band to your party and then you return the gift.”

This is the philosophy that guides the participation of this Oaxacan musical project in World Music , a series organized by the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) that will bring together six groups from Mexico, Argentina, and Poland from September 6 to October 5.

Behind this initiative is the intention to build bridges between roots and modernity, but also to open institutional spaces and concert halls dedicated to academic or classical music to traditional music or works inspired by those territories.

"It's very important to establish a dialogue between concert music and music rooted in the roots," emphasized composer José Julio Díaz Infante, head of the UNAM Music Department, when announcing the program for the series at a press conference yesterday. This program is part of the First National Week of a Culture of Peace at the country's leading educational institution.

In addition to Pasatono Orchestra, which will inaugurate this concert series with its debut at the Nezahualcóyotl Hall on September 6, the lineup includes the Tierra Mestiza Ensemble, also from Mexico, which will celebrate its 20th anniversary on September 13 at the Carlos Chávez Hall. On September 14, the Coral Meridies studio from Argentina will perform at the Simón Bolívar Amphitheater, a venue that will host the Polish children's choir Don-Diri-Don on the 21st.

With a proposal that blends Celtic, Scandinavian, Balkan, son jarocho, and jazz music, the Mexican ensemble Basasa will offer a free concert at Las Islas de CU, while Los Viudos de Piazzolla, a quartet led by bandoneon player César Olguín, will bring their classic and contemporary tango to the Simón Bolívar Amphitheater on October 5.

Díaz Infante emphasized that all these groups, in their respective fields and through their repertoires, have done significant work in raising awareness of tradition to the public, as well as how it evolves and interacts with modernity.

“The fact that all the concerts in the series feature newly created music is an essential message, because ultimately, that's what keeps any expression alive. Of course, the entire field of research from every angle is very important: musicological, ethnomusicological, anthropological, but ultimately, these musics aren't museum expressions: they're living music,” he emphasized.

“It's music of our time, contemporary, but rooted in its roots. That's very important: that the public can experience all these new creations and make them their own, request more of them, and seek to ensure that institutional spaces, festivals, and other venues become increasingly open to these proposals. That's what will keep our music alive and evolving.”

The fact that this series is part of UNAM's First National Week of a Culture of Peace has a profound significance for composer Gerardo Tamez, director of the Tierra Mestiza Ensemble and recent recipient of the 2024 National Prize for Arts and Literature.

"It's very important because we're past those times when it was necessary to search for an identity to see where we came from. I'm referring specifically to the era of nationalism, which was certainly justified, but is no longer appropriate for our times," he reflected.

Invitation to shake hands

Today, he added, we understand that seemingly alien cultures also belong to us: “It's part of a global understanding. We don't need to create nationalisms, be gregarious societies, isolate ourselves, or be chauvinistic. It's a time when the world has to catch up with itself.”

In this regard, Rubén Luengas emphasized that Pasatono Orchestra's proposal is an invitation to reflection, analysis, and, "above all, to extend a hand" through a musical invitation.

"Beyond the official projects, which can help, we see, from the perspective of the community and the reality of the people, how music is a peacemaker and a method of social cohesion," he stated, citing the example of the "gozona" (a type of dance).

After celebrating the opening of UNAM and the Nezahualcóyotl Hall to this type of musical proposal, the composer and researcher also agreed with Díaz Infante on the importance of dialogue as a factor in promoting rapprochement, not only between genres, eras, and musical proposals, but also in human and social terms to build peace.

“For the cultures of Oaxaca, words are very important, and they are found in many languages, which we interpret as music. In fact, we have a work for orchestra and tonal language, Palabra Sagrada , in which language is used as the main material for the music,” he added.

"In the villages, and as our elders used to say, the only thing we have and the most important thing is the word we speak. It establishes dialogue, and through it, we can build peace, communion, and social cohesion."

Regarding his group's proposal, which will celebrate its 27th anniversary on September 4, the Mixtec musician defined it as "a kind of musical grammar," given that its members come from different indigenous communities in Oaxaca.

This grammar "is expressed through Triqui, Zapotec, and Mixe thought, with distinct ways of understanding the world and the musical universe of each of these cultures. Oaxaca is one of the most musically diverse places in Mexico, and that is expressed in this musical language that we are going to share now."

Regarding her debut concert at the Nezahualcóyotl Hall, she indicated that it will be titled Migrante 27: Music of Migration, Exile and Transhumance , "because we are going to engage in a series of stories through music that have to do with these themes, in addition to including a repertoire about peace, something so important and necessary for our country, our region and our entity."

He added: “We are suddenly very surprised by the genocides and wars in other countries, but we rarely reflect on what is happening in our own territory. I'm talking about my region, Oaxaca, the Mixteca region, the Triqui region, where violence is a daily occurrence. One of our members, a traditional singer, had to flee his homeland because social movements can be very strong and violent.”

More information about the concerts can be found at https://musica.unam.mx.