Overview
‘Tropical Reflections’ is the first chapter of Poetic Reasons, a name inspired by the work of Spanish philosopher, María Zambrano. This first chapter will serve as a pilot project, developing the structure and establishing the quality criteria for the main project.
Starting point
In August 2010, a story about the murder of a child appeared in the newspapers of El Salvador: she had been sexually abused and decapitated, her head thrown down a well. Her name was Marlene Alejandra Galdámez and she was six years old.
In 2006, the bodies of girls and young women who had been raped and decapitated started to appear. In 2010, the shock increased when one case involved a child. In this country alone, in 2009, 15% of the cases concerning sexual aggression against women involved girls under 10 years old. (Bernarda. Observatorio de violencia de género contra las mujeres, Informe 2009, Organización de Mujeres Salvadoreñas por la Paz, Ormusa, p. 12)
This disturbing story inspired the poem ‘Tropical Reflections’ (Tania Pleitez Vela), a series of reflections through an imaginary dialogue with the girl. Is it possible to convert pain and a feeling of impotence into something other than anger or disillusion? Is it possible to transform pain into something intelligible? How?
Objectives
1) Produce ‘Tropical Reflections’, the first chapter of the collection, as an interactive visual poem (sound, image, text) with versions in Spanish, English and French.
2) Elicit feedback on the project immediately after the launch of the first chapter for a period of three months. The work will be made available online and shown at free screenings aimed at cultural and community groups.
3) Give community members the opportunity to be part of a project that encourages reflection, constructive and critical thinking and dialogue.