Podcast
¡El Arte no Calla! x Caminero - Episode 4: Escaping the clutches of power
¡El Arte no Calla! x Caminero - Episode 4: Escaping the clutches of power
In this fourth episode, part of a collaboration between Rialta’s “Caminero” and ARC’s “El Arte No Calla” podcasts, we explore the depths of memory and power through the voices of two contemporary artists, Hamlet Lavastida from Cuba and Renacho Melgar from El Salvador. Both share a common interest: the revival and reinterpretation of historical processes – long hidden by political parties – in order to construct distorted imaginaries that legitimize their totalizing projects.
Lavastida and Melgar, each from seemingly disparate realities, address creative autonomy as a space of resistance before the discourses of co-optation and coercion which seek to mold arts and culture in the image of state-promoted narratives.
In Cuba, the construction of a collective revolutionary desire has served as a facade that conceals a hidden repressive and “penitentiary” reality. Meanwhile, in El Salvador, the carceral regime is the jumping-off point for a supposed “social healing,” as a solution to the gang wars that have torn apart Salvadoran society in recent decades. Both contexts underline how art can become a key tool for questioning and deconstructing myths that sustain authoritarian regimes, creating spaces that use creativity and memory to inform critique and reflection.
Renacho Melgar describes his work as a “sordid portrait” of contemporary reality in a context of constant flux, where dissident voices are silenced or co-opted by the new state bureaucracy. His primary necessity is to “generate thoughts,” reflecting a vision of art as a catalyst of historical memory and the silence imposed upon the Salvadorian people. Melgar sees his work as a tool for confronting the political tensions that cut through El Salvador, not just to be consumed but also to foment critical thought that challenges new hegemonic narratives.
For his part, Hamlet Lavastida addresses the role of art in Cuba as a fight against a dual sense of “othering” that Cuban creatives face in and outside of the island. This sentiment implies that, on one hand, the Cuban government itself imposes stereotypes that distort the reality of the country. On the other hand, the international community perpetuates a superficial, romanticized, and misunderstood image of Cuba. Hamlet signals that those in power “have tried to delegitimize us with stereotypes that are not what they [say] they are.” Through his work, the Cuban artist challenges the construction of a myth that has disguised Cuban history, highlighting that “the act of naming, of enunciating, is fundamental for any creator committed to their time.”
Art, as evidenced by Lavastida and Melgar in this episode, cannot be domesticated, restricted, or controlled by political powers that seek to impose their own narrative. Art's essence radiates from dismantling illusions constructed by restrictive political and hegemonic projects, exposing the contradictions and uncomfortable truths these projects constantly try to silence.
Art reveals ruptures in state-led discourses, uncovering what remains hidden and offering new perspectives on complex realities. Through creativity, one opens spaces of reflection and critique that not only resist the clutches of power but empower new possibilities, envisioning more free and dignified futures for all.
Published on November 8, 2024