Antropomystika: Rise Again!

Casarão da Barra (R. Anhanguera, 933)
November 17, 2017

RESSURREINSURRECTION!
FROM THE INSIDE OUT.
FROM THE OUTSIDE IN.
THE INNER DESIRE
WITH THE OUTER CROWD
THE TIME IS NOW
IN ALL AGORAS
BEFORE THERE'S
NOT EVEN
THE SLIGHTEST
POSSIBILITY

In 2016 we held Antropomystika, a joyful celebration to raise Antropofrei, the manifest-playpiece essential to the here and now. By year’s end, the group—without sponsorship or funding—was exhausted. In 2017 we decided to stop presenting Antropofrei and instead equip ourselves. But diving into ideas without action plunged us into a deep crisis. We spent eight months immersed in it.

The coup was brutal. It is brutal! Our artistic practice increasingly pushed to the margins. And with each passing day, a new devastating surprise: shattered ministries, frozen culture; science, education, health, and all that pertains to life, forgotten; the pre-salt oil sold off; the Amazon liquidated; streets turned into spaces of transit and dehumanization; LGBTs once again pathologized; violence against women ever growing and going unpunished; “Dória Premium” ration feed; the dismantling of public universities; the collapse of dialogue; the real estate speculation vertically land-grabbing the city, crushing all chance for breath and life (!); the Teat(r)o Oficina increasingly threatened – #StayOficina –; the total dismantling of culture; the extinct Symphonic Band; God taking the lead with his monocultural, blind, deaf morality that goes beyond what it should; and so many other things that drained our strength and set us adrift.

We struggled deeply in our personal and collective lives. The group shrank from 20 to 12 in January. By August, we were 5: Careaux Calsone, Juliana Gotz, Rafael Abrahão, Rafael Pinto, and Vitor Marques.

Faced with increasing pressure, we, artists, decided to stage the ressurreinsurrection of this collective. It is time to rise and not be silent—with our voice and our body. As Zé (Celso) says, only a cultural revolution can solve this. We reignited our inner flame, and now we declare we are back—joining the crowds, the collectives, and all artisans. A general cultural movement to ward off uptight diseases, awaken sleepwalkers, and shake off any gloom. Let subjectivities bloom and expand, and let us be human—dismantling the holy unified trinity: money.

We cannot remain silent in the face of daily extermination.

In September 2017, after retreating and writing the research Oswald Devoured: How and Why Anthropophagy from Aesthetic and Historical Perspectives in Oswald de Andrade, Rafael Abrahão rewrote Antropofrei, birthing Cora Primavera.

It was a difficult time. We had no prospects. But what happened then was a movement of ressurreinsurrection. With the new text complete, the five who remained decided to resurrect rather than bury. The collective reformed. We invited Theo Moraes to join the company and summoned 39 other artists to forge Cora Primavera.

This is where the company begins its transition from amateur to professional.

Thinking about how to spread our fire in today’s world, in the aftermath of the coup, we shall counterattack with the creation of a new performance in 2018. Still without funding, headquarters, sponsorship, or money.

To poeticize our spirits and foster, from the community, a street show that will travel through multiple plazas next year, we now announce the celebration of this new movement: ANTROPOMYSTIKA – RISE AGAIN!

While searching for her daughter Cora,
Earth-Goddess Demeter
ran so much,
traveled the world,
that she saddened and tired the land itself,
drying it out.

Baubo was at the bar
with Dionysus
and Hermetic Hermes – Desusdoscorres.
Seeing Demeter’s state,
they decided to throw a party to rekindle
the fire in Demeter’s heart,
feed the warrior joy,
nourish the immortal Homeric libido,
and go after Cora,
Goddess of Spring!

Three gifts were given to Demeter:
1st – Baubo’s lust (in an Afro-Dionysian form, cachaça-based)
2nd – Dionysus’ wine
3rd – the Hermetic breeze

From the bar we moved in procession
to the Casarão
on the way,
Hades came with a summer offer:
Cora’s release from Tartarus
every six months.
The old Christian scheme—
Interweaving winterfall
with springsummer.

At the door,
the welcoming twins:
Apollo and Artemis,
Lighting the night with their spotlights
and guiding Demeter’s path.

Inside the party,
to lift the dismay
and unite revolts into the only possible direction:
Spring.
Rafael Abrahão

Credits

Gods: Camila Spinola (Deméter), Careaux Calsone (Baubo), Juliana Gotz (Ártemis), Rafael Abrahão (Dionyso), Rafael Pinheiro (Hades), Theo Moraes (Hermes), Vitor Marques (Apolo)
Photography and festive architecture: Ana Perez
Art: Vitor Marques
Procession percussionists: Bruna Lopes, Fabiana Ribeiro, George Ferreira, Isadora Bertolini y Heri Brandino
Dj’s: Tatiana Araujo e William Raphael, Mabel & Carina y PãN