Interview with Soledad Falabella, conducted by Diana Taylor, founding director of the Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics. This interview is a part of a series curated by the Hemispheric Institute, articulated around the question 'What is Performance Studies?' The series aims to provide a multifaceted approach to the often difficult task of defining the coordinates of both a field of academic study as well as a lens through which to assess and document cultural practice and embodied behavior. The contingent definitions documented in this series are based on the groundbreaking experiences and the scholarly endeavors of renowned figures in contemporary performance studies and practice. 

Soledad Falabella Luco (Universidad de Chile, Universidad Diego Portales) received her Ph.D. in Hispanic Languages and Literatures from UC Berkeley in 2001. She is the director of ESE:O, a Non-profit Organization that promotes collaborative writing projects, in order to strengthen communities’ local and global participation. Falabella Luco has taught and researched internationally. As a ‘scholar and cultural activist’, her commitment is to develop creative ways to promote social change, combining pedagogy, scholarship, activism, and arts. Some of her books are ¿Qué será de Chile en el cielo? Poema de Chile de Gabriela Mistral (LOM Santiago, Chile, 2003); Hilando en la memoria: Curriao, Huinao, Millapan, Manquepillan, Panchillo, Pinda, Rupailaf (co-editor), the first anthology of Mapuche women poets (Cuarto Propio, Santiago, Chile, 2006), and Hilando en la Memoria, Epu Rupa (Cuarto Propio, Santiago, 2009); Cantando la infancia, Chile y la tierra Americana (Ministerio de Educación, Santiago, Chile,2007); Competencias para el México que queremos. Evaluación PISA (SEP: Mexico City, Mexico, 2009), a manual for literacy and critical thinking for teachers and students working in Mexico’s public education system.