Lluqu, lluqu: Two heartbeats to live

"Lluqu, lluqu"
Two heartbeats to live

“Lluqu, lluqu” is a solo physical theater piece that takes the audience on an epic journey through the agrarian celebrations of the Bolivian Altiplano.

Festivities, colors, music, masks, dances, and the landscapes of the South American Andes come together to shape this theatrical experience.

“Lluqu” in the Aymara language translates to heart (the bodily organ).

It is spoken twice so that it begins to beat with life: "Lluqu, lluqu."

Life must be called upon,

the heart must be called twice

so it can start beating,

to give and to receive.

Today, let’s celebrate as if it were the last time!

This is the promise that opens the scene, and throughout the performance, we will build, minute by minute, that longed-for joy of the community.

Inspired by the agricultural calendar and its festive rituals, the play explores the act of giving and receiving through the relationship between human beings, their community, nature, and the cosmos.

The relentless struggle of this Andean warrior to keep traditions alive becomes a contemporary manifesto in favor of celebrating life and reaffirming the right to identity.

Here, life is celebrated in all its forms...

It is celebrated with all forms of life...

It is always celebrated in community and with deep gratitude.

This piece is sung, offered, danced, enjoyed, and festively lived.

CONCEPT, IDEA, PLAY & DIRECTION Ariel Rodrigo Baptista Aranda

COMPOSITION AND MUSIC DESIGN Fidel Lucas Achirico Espinoza

EXTERNAL EYE AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANT Jean Francois Meuwly

ANTHROPOLOGICAL REFLECTION Fabiola Vera Zuñiga

COSMOGONIC REFLECTION Windsor Torrico Carvajal

TRADICIONAL DANCE MENTOR Ronny Anghelo Rojas

CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT MENTOR Carlos Cegarra San Martin

ACTING MENTOR Emma Bonnici

LIGHTING DESIGN Mario Aguirre

AUDIOVISUAL REGISTER Javier Perugachi

GRAPHIC LINE, DESIGN AND ILLUSTRATION Teresa Libertad Baptista Aranda

PRODUCTION IN SOUTH AMERICA Mayra Bautista Paz

PRODUCTION IN SWITZERLAND Ariel Rodrigo Baptista Aranda

Ariel Rodribo Baptista Aranda

Performer, creator, clown, director, theater pedagogue and “Danzante” of life.

Bolivian, from El Alto, founder of Tabla Roja Teather Company (2008). He graduated from the International School of Theatrical Creation and Movement CABUIA, with a specialization in theatrical creation, group work, and movement theater. He is currently pursuing a Master's degree in Physical Theater at the Accademia DIMITRI in Switzerland.

He is also the pedagogical director of the JALLALLA School of Theatrical Creation.

With 16 years of experience, his most important mentors include Natalí Gaskins Rosado (Puerto Rico), Pablo Andrés López (Argentina), Alfredo Iriarte (Uruguay), Emma Bonnici (United Kingdom), Anton Valen (Spain), Carlos Gallegos (Ecuador), Víctor Quiroga (Chile), Naomi Silman, Ricardo Puccetti (Brasil) and Antonio Fava (Italy).

He has been awarded Best Director at the Peter Travesí Canedo National Prize 2017 and Best Actor at the Raúl Salmón de la Barra Prize 2018 in Bolivia.

He has taught seminars, performed, and conducted research and laboratory work in Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Argentina, Chile, Brazil, the Netherlands, Spain, Germany, Belgium, France, Poland, and Portugal.

Currently, he focuses his theatrical research from a multidisciplinary perspective, exploring the intersections between scenic expression and South American rituals. He delves into the ontological values of the human being through theater and movement, rescuing ancestral knowledge, collective narratives, and scenic languages that engage with our history and worldview. He aims to generate proposals that transcend aesthetics, creating spaces for reflection on identity, memory, and the ways we inhabit the world.

...Movement is life...