Performing Against the Backdrop of the War on Terror

Abstract

In the late 1980s Richard Schechner asked me to write a text from a Chicano/Mexicano perspective for the pages of TDR. With this piece I began my longterm association with the TDR intellectual community. Through the journal I was able to connect with thinkers and practitioners from all over the world. For over 20 years, TDR has published an eclectic array of my performance work including essays, chronicles of projects, conversations, and many performance scripts. And never has Richard or his collaborators rejected or censored any of my writings. Even the most racy and controversial texts (which other magazines would have a problem with) appeared in TDR. Throughout these years, Richard has become my padrino (godfather in Spanish), which is to say something more than just a mentor; someone who advises me when I lose my political compass, and who politely scolds me when I don’t exercise enough rigor or when I am repeating myself. And he has performed this role for many artists and thinkers. I definitely can say that without his wisdom, openness and madness, I wouldn’t be where I am, doing what I do. With this in mind, I wish to dedicate the following performance texts to him. These pieces I wrote while touring a United States under the cloud of war and censorship created by the Bush administration. Hopefully, the spirit of these texts reflects what I have learned from Ricardo: to always be bold, critical, committed, and connected to the pulse of the times; to speak up and talk back. This is precisely how I got to become a full citizen.