Josep Caballero García / Queerpraxis

Who’s Afraid of Raimunda / Film in three episodes: Berlin

  • Film
  • Music
  • Performance
  • Dance
German /  English /  Spanish / 
Eine Person in grünem Pailletten-Umhang sitzt mit Wollknäuel am Boden.

“Who is Raimunda?” – “First of all, Raimunda is my great-grandmother. She is a woman who, at the end of the 19th century, against the expectations of a rural Spanish society, made business deals with men, could write and read the newspaper. She is a person from my family and she is the allegorical characters of our production. There have been numerous Raimundas from the Middle Ages until today and, in creating our production, we have encountered numerous other historical figures who correspond to her.”

The new production by Josep Caballero García, “Who’s Afraid of Raimunda”, received its world premiere at Kampnagel Hamburg on 22 October 2020 and sets off on the trail of queer iconographies. The work toward the world premiere of “Who’s Afraid of Raimunda” began a year ago with research into a chapter of the medieval history of the Iberian peninsula, a time in which the plurality of cultures and genders was tolerated before the Christians reconquered the peninsula in 1492 and drove the Jews out of Granada. Prior to this, for many centuries, three different cultures and religions lived together: Al-Andalus, Jews and Christians, who formed an extraordinary cultural hybrid together. It was not only cultures that mixed, but sexual practices as well. Numerous texts and poems from the period describe a queer, hedonistic Iberian peninsula as well as the war against the Andalusian and Jewish homosexuality from the time of the Christian reconquering.

At the beginning of the research period for the project, the texts from the Jewish, Arabic and Christian literature from this read like a possible utopia, but it ultimately emerges as relationship concept that, while homosexual, is no less patriarchal and does not include women.

This is why García’s new project is dedicated to “Raimunda” - whoever Raimunda is.  As an allegorical figure, she stands for the hidden, invisible identities placed in the shadows by the patriarchy or other figures in power and embodies the lusty resistance to repressive power and exclusion mechanisms.

“Who’s Afraid of Raimunda” is the second work by Josep Caballero García to be presented as part of the two-year cooperation funded by Fonds Doppelpass, “Queer Crusades”, at Kampnagel Hamburg as well as HAU Hebbel am Ufer and Theater Lüneburg.

Josep Caballero García and his team have now decided to document the numerous Raimundas in art history and cultural history that they have encountered and to share them with their audience in film form.

This film is dedicated to all of the bodies that will encounter and touch each other again!

Cast

Concept, skript, choreography Film: Josep Caballero García / Performance Film: Göksu Kunak aka Gucci Chunk, Lea Martini, Enis Turan, Josep Caballero García / Dramaturgy Film: Anne Kersting / Camera, editing Film: Christopher Hewitt / Costume Film: Claudia Hill / Sound design Film: Alexandre J. Maurer / Setdokumentation: Ethan Folk / Project management Film: Barbara Greiner / /// “Who’s Afraid of Raimunda” (stage play): /// / Concept, Choreography, Performance: Josep Caballero García / Performance: Göksu Kunak aka Gucci Chunk, Lea Martini, Enis Turan / Musicians: Lüneburger Symphoniker / Violin Solo: Markus Menke / 1. Violin: Maike Schmersahl / 2. Violin: Mari Sakai (22.+ 24.10.), Fan Wang (23.10.) / Viola: Wolfgang Söllner / Cello: Daniel Munck (23.10.), Julia Schumann (22.+ 24.10.) / Double bass: Christoph Schmitz (22.+ 24.10.), Ulrike Setz (23.10.) / Flute: Manfred Seer / Oboe: Asako Sugihara / Trumpet: Dirk Jeß / Horn: Tomasz Walentek / Trombone: Steffen Happel / Percussion: Clemens Bütje / Composition, musical direction: Thomas Dorsch / Composition, sound: Alexandre J. Maurer / Text: Josep Caballero García, Leyla Jagliella, Göksu Kunak aka Gucci Chunk, Lea Martini / Dramaturgy: Anne Kersting / Costume, props: Claudia Hill / Costumes assistance: Diane Esnault, Emilia Patrignani / Lighting design: Elliott Cennetoglu / Technical direction: Jan Krause / Voice coaching: Jule Flierl / Photo documentation: Simone Scardovelli / Video documentation: Christopher Hewitt / Press, social media: Julia Kretschmer, Michael Tsouloukidse / Cooperation production: Lena Astarte Posch / Project management: Barbara Greiner / Thanks to: Aslan, Markus Cherouny, Barbara Ghersi, Leyla Jagliella, Claude Jansen, Silke Löhmann (Costume Company), Pepetual Mforte Chiangong, Caroline Packenius, Sarah Schatzl, Stefan Valdes Tittel, Paula-Irene Villa Braslavsky

Dates

Past
Fri 22.1.2021, 19:00 / HAU4
Notes:

Watch the film

After this date still available at the HAUthek until 4 July

Credits

Production: Queerpraxis GbR/ Josep Caballero García, Kampnagel Hamburg, Theater Lüneburg. Co-production: HAU Hebbel am Ufer. Funded by: Fonds Doppelpass der Kulturstiftung des Bundes, Elbkulturfonds der Freien und Hansestadt Hamburg.

Location

HAU4
Digital Stage

HAU’s digital stage

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