Cultural activism and social commitment: the street theatre in Buenos Aires

Abstract

Theatre in the street interrupts the evolution of everyday practices and re - means the public space, at the time that more flexible relationships between reality and fiction by modifying deeply the viewer’s perception. We propose to analyze t he principles of aesthetic and ideological of the street performances of Los Calandracas - paradigmatic grouping of street theatre after de dictatorship -, insofar as they allow to understand the artistic and philosophical conceptions of street theatre mov ement. In an era of globalized and emptied of ideology, and after the institutional, political and economic crisis that shook the Argentine society in 2001, these groups encourage a greater articulation with social movements to recover the political sense, cultural and identity from the conception of art as a transforming action. The theatre then appears as a tool of awareness, resistance and strengthening community ties .