Art and Identity
It ' s Not A Matraka of Mine( Please, read it as a children’ s story.)
Aminta D ' Cárdenas Production Manager Havana, Cuba
L
et off steam was the phrase that marked my intention to write these lines. Where do I begin? The beginning is always unique; it is usually the past and it often conditions the end. I will tell you about something that has identified my life, what I have tried to do with and for a group. Something that, at times, has been quite great and has forged my identity. One of the wisest decisions I ' ve made in my life was to join MatraKa Producciones( MTK), a group devoted to produce and to promote Young Art( ists). We were responsible for managing funds to create and organize cultural events. I think that above all it was intended to offer— to the youth enjoyed by me and surrounding me at that time— a space for entertainment with a contemporary vision, renewed and in tune with the developments in the international cultural life. This desire-need was driven by the emptiness experienced by the few followers of avant-garde art: electronic music, hip hop, contemporary dance, performance, audiovisual... At night parties and public spaces, we wanted to be seen and to have a place for breathing oxygen and freedom, to be ourselves, to be there and to contribute to society from areas that had been vacated. In our youthful pretensions, we also thought to change the cultural context and we even felt it could be possible, but it was a secondary intention, precisely arising from the refusal to our sincere proposal. The event with greatest impact was Rotilla. Every year, this electronic music festival attracted more and more young people seeking " Aire Libre " 1
90