La Fanesca is one of the very first plays created by Ecuadorian theater group Malayerba. Collectively created in 1984 under the direction of founding member Susana Pautasso, the play is based on texts by María Escudero. A "fanesca" is a traditional Ecuadorian dish, a rich soup made of a variety of ingredients, typically prepared and served only in the week before Easter; this play is inspired on this traditional dish, bringing together carnivalesque characters from the diversity of cultures and ethnicities present in Ecuadorian society. The performance portrays, by means of the masked voices of society's underdogs, the fractured, unofficial history of Ecuador and its rich cultural heritage as a "mezcla de todo" (a "mixture of everything"): the diverse worldviews, cultures, and backgrounds, not only of native Ecuadorians but also of the migrants and exiles assimilated -- or not -- to Ecuadorian society. This video documents the performance of La Fanesca as presented in the Festival Iberoamericano de Teatro (FIT) de Cádiz, held in Spain in 1987.

Video holdings

La fanesca
La fanesca interview