Xuárez

First staged in 2015, Xuárez, written by Luis Barrales and directed by Manuela Infante, is set in 1541, a few months after the founding of Santiago – now Chile’s capital city. Xuárez revisits the nation’s colonial past through the tale of Inés de Suárez – here removed from the romantic prism in which she is all too often presented. Suárez, a Spanish conquistadora, played a key role in halting Mapuche advancement on Santiago when Michimalonco, a Mapuche leader, sent troops in to rescue a group of cacique (native chief) prisoners held by the Spanish. A way of understanding some of the faultlines and dynamics that underpin contemporary Chile, Xuárez is a complex, richly rewarding piece that revisits a problematic past in ways that illustrate the complex intersections of race, gender, and class in nation-building. Myth, history, and fiction intersect in intricate ways in an acclaimed work – winner of the 2015 best play and best director awards of the Chilean Critics Circle— beautifully performed by Claudia Celedón and Patricia Rivadeneira.

Produced by Patricia Rivadeneira and Francisca Babul and funded by Fondo Nacional de Desarrollo Cultural y las Artes, Fondart 2015, with collaboration from the Centro Gabriela Mistral, GAM; Consejo Nacional de la Cultura y las Artes del Gobierno de Chile; Instituto Profesional ARCOS; Oxiluz Iluminación and Perrera Arte. Xuárez is presented in association with Escenix.