DONATE

You are here:Special Collections»HIDVL Artist Profiles»El Hábito»El Hábito: Works»Matar o no matar (2002)
Matar o no matar (2002) Photo/Foto: HIDVL
  • Title: Matar o no matar (espectáculo porno-militar)
  • Alternate Title: To Kill or not to Kill
  • Holdings: video (HIDVL)
  • Duration: 00:59:33
  • Language: Spanish
  • Date: Oct 2002
  • Location: Teatro Bar El Hábito, Mexico City, Mexico
  • Type-Format: performance
  • Cast: Regina Orozco, protagonist ; Susana Zabaleta, protagonist ; Jesusa Rodríguez, cast ; Liliana Felipe, musician.
  • Credits: Jesusa Rodríguez, producer, director ; Liliana Felipe, producer, music ; Georgy Konrad, writer ; Malú Huacuja, writer ; Dimitri Dudin, music ; Daniel Gruener, videographer.

Matar o no matar (2002)

"To kill, or not to kill? That is the question." This farcical cabaret performance, featuring Susana Zabaleta and Regina Orozco, poses the "question" of violence in the context of current Mexican urban society. In a sort of 'film noir' ambiance, the detective/cheerleader characters mix bel canto, circus music, marches, flamenco, rancheras, and pop ballads (musical score by Liliana Felipe) to connect the diverse skits on social violence. The tension between technology and nature (the cult of technology, here called the "Faith of the Great Father, King Toshiba," versus an esoteric, macrobiotic approach to natural forces), the relationship between the Church and the Army as violent power instances (with "obscenity" as a useful label to control and manipulate society), the notion of public surveillance, as well as police brutality, government bureaucracy and political corruption are here juxtaposed to road violence, passion crimes, fashion "rituals" and star/fan twisted relationships, testing and rethinking the limits of power, discipline and violence. Improvisation and the manipulation of diverse props (guns, masks, wigs) connect the music and the skits to the presence of the audience, aided by the onstage support of director Jesusa Rodríguez as prop assistant.


Video