Barrio

Barrio is an itinerant Latinx variety night  first curated by Mary Ann Vargas on March 3rd 2019 at Southwark Playhouse, in collaboration with Eliane Correa, Pepa Duarte, Cinthia Lilen, Ana Torre, Sonia Quintero, Almiro Andrade, Chusi Amorós, Bettine Solf, Claudia Bernal, Anna Alvarez, Saint Gabriel’s Dance Group, and the support of David Workman (Southwark Playhouse). A second Barrio took place on the 3rd November 2019, also at Southwark Playhouse. Barrio III was scheduled for 2020 but was cancelled due to COVID-19. The variety nights were developed collaboratively to celebrate the communities living and working in Elephant & Castle through  dance, song art, spoken word, comedy, and drag. On 10 December 2018, the Mayor of London approved the Elephant & Castle  shopping centre’s demolition, causing great concern and uncertainty amongst many of the traders working there.  On the 24th of September 2020, the Elephant & Castle shopping centre closed its doors permanently.  The impact of demolition coupled with the effects of the pandemic, Brexit,  and current the cost of living crisis, continues to affect the livelihoods of many migrant and ethnic minorities still working in the area. 

Barrio I and II as well as all the info contained on this site are integral components of  Mary Ann Vargas' practice-based PhD, made possible thanks to the Language Acts and Worldmaking project (King's College London).


Video and Photos of Artwork (right and left) courtesy of Marian Medic, unless otherwise stated.
Music in video courtesy of René Alvarez's Quartet