Art and social transformation in Buenos Aires. Analysis of a cultural perfomance in Community Theatre

The history of Buenos Aires theatrical production shows different experiences of political and popular theatre that developed ways of intervention in public space. One of these experiences is Community Theatre, a “theatre of the community, for the community” that appears in the 80s with the return of democracy. Since then, Community Theatre has expanded its practice throughout the city of Buenos Aires. This article analyzes, from an anthropological perspective, the “cultural performance” of one of these groups called Matemurga de Villa Crespo. It looks into the ways this group appropriates public space, the expressive and communicative resources used in their performances and the representations that the actors build. Thus, it also examines political dimensions in these artistic expressions.