ASOCIACION MUTUAL CATALINAS SUR ARTISTIC BACKGORUND PHOTOS AND NGO DOCUMENTATION

ARTISTIC BACKGROUND

With more than 38 years of life, El Galpon de Catalinas, is the cultural space of a group of neighbors who began doing theater in the squares of the neighborhood. The Group originates from a Mutual Association that emerged in the 1970s within a school in the Catalinas neighborhood of La Boca, in the southern area of the City of .

Throughout 38 years of continuous work, we have developed innumerable creative, social and community activities in the La Boca neighborhood. We create shows, organize workshops, participate in events and organizations. We have traveled through different cities in , we have been in different countries of America and in Spain.

We carry out a comprehensive community artistic project where more than 500 neighbors of all ages participate in the different artistic activities that we develop: theater workshops for adults, artistic productions with casts of boys, girls and adolescents, a school orchestra, workshop of puppets, scenography, props, costumes and other activities related to the staging of shows.

We firmly believe that we have grown over the years maintaining some foundational premises. We are still a group of neighbors and although many of us do not live in the neighborhood we are a group from La Boca del Riachuelo. Because we work in the neighborhood and we recognize ourselves as followers of the traditional artistic manifestations of this place that has been the cradle of popular art: puppeteers, musicians, actors, plastic artists who came from the old continent or from our Latin America and who recreated their melting pot. art with the neighborhood. Through the theater we try to remember the value of our individual and collective stories and recover the memory that he believed in and that believes in a better world. We understand the theater that we do as a community theater, for the community, since we are neighbors who work for our neighbors in all neighborhoods.

Our artistic productions combine high artistic quality with the depth of the social issues we address and with the dynamics of collective and community work. For this we have achieved great recognition, not only in Buenos Aires, but also in the rest of Argentina and in other parts of the world.

We make art from the community and for the community ... we think and feel that theater is a form of communication and social transformation. Through art we work to recover the value of our individual and collective stories and recover the memory that he believed in and that believes in a better world.

We are convinced that our utopia is possible and we work every day to make it come true.

Our most significant lines of action are:

The production of artistic shows (plays, puppets, costumes) carried out in conjunction with neighborhood residents as a vehicle for communication, participation and social cohesion. Also as a way to rescue neighborhood history and generate or strengthen a community identity. Since our emergence we have produced and performed various shows. "El Fulgor Argentino Club Social y Deportivo" that covers 100 years of Argentine history (1930-2030) through the danceable evenings of a neighborhood club and which has been on the bill since 1998; “Venimos de Muy Lejos”, a history of immigrants from La Boca, which has been on the bill since 1990; “La Catalina del Riachuelo” in its versions ‘92, ‘93, ‘94, ‘95 / 96, ‘98 and 2001; “The Japanese Park” Operetta circus; “La Niña de la Noche” a puppeteer variety released in 1998; “O sos o no Sos” puppet show released in 2004; “Los Negros de Siempre” a street show by candombe; "Between roosters and midnight" free version of the work of Mercedes Rein and Jorge Curi, released in 1988; "Nightmare of a night in the conventillo" free version of "Dream of a summer night" by W. Shakespeare; "The blacksmith and death" by Jorge Curi and Mercedes Rein released in 1984 and the first work released "The comedians" on texts from the Spanish Golden Age, made in December 1983.

The use of theatrical language to present and work with different audiences, problems that affect the living conditions of groups or people, or institutional problems. For two years we have been coordinating the Los Argerichos theater group, made up of doctors, patients and nurses from the Argerich Hospital. The group works on issues related to health (relationships in health teams, relationships between doctors and patients, addictions, etc.) and their artistic productions have been presented in different areas of study and debate on health issues.

Training for residents of all ages in the different disciplines that make up community theater. We carry out theater, dramaturgy, plastic arts applied to community theater, puppets, community singing, music, circus. Although we carry out specific workshops for children and adolescents, we are concerned with generating interaction spaces and joint intergenerational works, since our experience has shown us that the intergenerational exchange enriches experiences. The projects tend to segment the population, without realizing that the exchange is highly enriching not only for the productions, but for the personal growth of all. It is essential what an adult can transmit to a young person in a situation of parity, that equality places them elsewhere to absorb the experiences of both, producing valuable feedback for all. All workshops are open to the community.

Strengthening community organizations in La Boca through training in different disciplines integrated into community theater, with the aim of leaving tools that facilitate community action: improving capacities for communication between neighbors and the calls made by organizations, improvement of capacities for articulation between organizations, development of organizational management capacities, etc.

The transfer of knowledge and experiences linked to artistic production and organizational and network management to groups from other neighborhoods and cities. Since 2003 and until today we have worked together with the Barracas Cultural Circuit, in the promotion and consolidation of community theater groups, providing training and transfer of knowledge and experiences in the artistic disciplines that make up community theater and in management issues. , organization and sustainability. Currently there are 25 groups formed in different cities of the province of Buenos Aires (Tolosa, Berisso, La Plata, 9 de Julio, Patricios, Vicente López, Ituzaingo, Ramos Mejía), in neighborhoods of the City of Buenos Aires (, Pompeya , Flores, , Floresta, , San Telmo, , La Boca and Barracas) and in the province of Misiones, Catamarca and Santa Fe. These groups are part of a network that works actively and which is promoting community theater in other regions of the country.

On the other hand, we provide various organizations in the community with the use of our workspace, "El Galpón de Catalinas", for holding meetings, solidarity events, holding talks and workshops, etc. As an example, the Liver Transplantation Foundation carried out music cycles for two years to raise funds for its activities, the Kindergartens of School District IV often use “El Galpón” to carry out workshops with children, deliver prizes for literary contests, performing end-of-course events, etc. The Warehouse is also used by the Popular Assemblies of the neighborhoods, community dining rooms and community theater groups in the metropolitan region and the Conurbano to carry out both meetings and artistic presentations. Activities and special events

Over the years, we have participated in various events, National and International Festivals and Meetings, and have been part of different organizations.

• Teatro Abierto • I Festival de Teatro Callejero de Buenos Aires • I Congreso de la Porteñidad organizado por la Municipalidad de la • Ciudad de Buenos Aires. • I Encuentro de Teatro Popular • Encuentro de la EITALC – Concepción del Uruguay – Entre Ríos • I Festival de Teatro Callejero de Villa Dolores • Festival de Teatro de Calle de Río Ceballos, Salsipuedes y Unquillo • Fiesta Nacional de la Raza en el Mar – Villa Gessel – Buenos Aires • VII y VIII Taller de teatro Popular de la EITALC – La Habana – Cuba • VIII y IX Festival de Teatro Amador Brasilerño – Ouro Preto y Brasilia • III y IV Festival de Londrinas – Brasil • I y II Festival Internacional de Buenos Aires • Buenos Aires 1998 y 1999 • Festival Internacional Italoargentino de Teatro y Música “Un puente • dos Culturas” • Festival de Verano, Centro Cultural Parque España – Rosario • Festival Grec – Barcelona – España

• Congreso Internacional Democracia en América latina – Pasado y • Presente - La Plata • World Culture Open, Nueva York. EEUU • Fiesta del Inmigrante – Berisso • Festival de Teatro y Memoria: Escenas del pasado presente – La Plata • I y II Encuentros de Teatro Comunitario – Patricios – Buenos Aires • I y II Encuentros de Teatro Comunitario del Norte-Litoral – Misiones • I Encuentro de Teatro Comunitarios – Montevideo - Uruguay • Festival de Teatro Internacional Andino – Mendoza • Encuentro Hemisférico- - Corpolitica de las Américas • Biblioteca virtual de Nueva York • Encuentro de Teatro Comunitario de Buenos Aires - 2008

As a theater company we have created and premiered the following shows:

• “Los Comediantes” – 1983 • “El Herrero y la Muerte” – 1984 • “Pesadilla de una noche en el conventillo” – 1986 • “Venimos de Muy Lejos” – 1990 / 2008 • “La Catalina del Riachuelo” – 1992 / 2008 • “El Parque Japonés” – 1997 / 2004 • “El Fulgor Argentino” – 1998 / 2008 • “Ubu Rey” - “La venganza de Muquelao” - 2003 • “La Niña de la Noche” – 1998 / 2008 • “Los Negros de Siempre” – 2000 • “Sudestada!” – 2002 • “Argentina año verde – Pastorela porteña” – 2002 • “O sos o no sos” – 2004 • “El Carnaval Veneciano” – 2004 • “Los Payasos Voluntarios” – 2007 / 2008 • “La herencia del Tío Pepe” - 2007 • “El Vengador del Riachuelo” (en producción) • “Carpa Quemada, el circo del centenario” 2013 • “Porque todo tiene que cambiar” 2018 • “Perdon si molestamos” 2019 • “Lorca en las trincheras de Madrid” 2018 • “Decada” 2017 • “Desconcierto” 2019

We have also developed the following projects:

"Popular Music and Community Singing Orchestra" - 2008 An orchestra that comes to the neighborhood, summons the neighborhood and you belong to the neighborhood. The idea is to also be able to summon people who, although they don't know about music, want to make music and thus make it a school orchestra. We think that music is not a "thing for musicians", it is part of the nature and culture of man, such as breathing, dreaming and having fun. This is the basis for this project.

"La Boca Social Circus" - 2006/2008 Circus workshops for children and young people with the aim of stimulating the social and artistic development of the participants by training in circus techniques and promoting their integration into community artistic production groups. A free, magical, playful work space working on the need for organization and teamwork.

National Network of Community Theater Since 2003, we have proposed to multiply our experience of community theater in other neighborhoods and communities, to transmit our experiences, and at the same time share the experiences of other neighbors, who approached us with the desire to recover their identity through of the theater. We began this work offering functions of our show in different neighborhood spaces (squares, schools, etc.) and then inviting the public to chat with us about the possibility of recreating what they had seen, and helping them organize so they could put together their own group theater in your neighborhood. Currently these groups are operating with a minimum of 30 members and perform functions in the squares of their neighborhood and in other communities, sharing experiences, in a field of creation, enjoyment, celebration, commitment and action. http://www.teatrocomunitario.com.ar

Metropolitan Alliance of Art and Social Transformation Its members are: Culebrón Timbal, create Vale la Pena, Barracas Cultural Circuit and Grupo Catalinas Sur. We come together to generate an artistic and cultural mobilization at the metropolitan level, seeking to generate joint actions and exchange knowledge, resources and experiences to expand the field of art as a social transformation. Latin American Network of Art and Social Transformation. We are part of a network of social arts and culture organizations in Latin America that promote social equity through open and professional education in theater, dance, music, circus and visual arts. Art for social transformation. "Artetransformador". Organizations from Chile, Peru, Brazil, Bolivia, etc. participate in this network. http://www.artetransformador.blogspot.com/

La Mestiza - Magazine of Art and Social Transformation. Entrepreneurship of the Metropolitan Alliance of Art and Social Transformation, the magazine has the support of the Avina Foundation. A magazine that combines art with community organization. From organizations that are based on solidarity, cooperative and self-managed action, which communicates to and from those who want to build a transformative culture www.lamestiza.org.ar

Plaza techada

Our radio space, on RadioGráfica, a group that broadcasts within Gráfica Patricios, a company recovered by its workers, from 89.3 FM. A space to chat about art, politics, imagination, collective dreams, utopias ...

Community workshops Every year we hold workshops of different disciplines open to the community. Circus, theater for teenage children and adults, puppets, candombe, music, percussion. All the workshops have the objective that the participants can then join our shows and become part of our Group.

National Meetings of Community Theater Since the Community Theater Network has been formed, we have generated multiple Meetings in different parts of Argentina: in Patricios, province of Buenos Aires, a small town very close to the city of July 9, La Plata, Posadas and Oberá, Misiones. During these meetings, which were massive, groups from all over the country showed their shows to the community, as well as generated community singing activities, theatrical games, talks, etc.

PHOTOS

1 - LEGAL STATUTE OF THE NGO.

2 - APROVAL OF THE INSCRIPTION AT THE NGO PUBLIC REGISTRY OFFICE (INAES)

3 - TAX REGISTRY AT THE NATIONAL TAXES ENTITY (AFIP)

4 - INSCRIPTION AT THE National Center for Community Organizations

5 - REGISTRY AS A COMUNITARY GROUP at MINISTRY OF CULTURE OF BS AS CITY

6 - REGISTRY AS A CULTURAL CENTER at MINISTRY OF CULTURE OF BS AS CITY

7 - REGISTRY AS A COMUNITARY GROUP at NATIONAL MININSTRY OF CULTURE

8 - REGISTRY AS A CULTURAL CENTER at NATIONAL MININSTRY OF CULTURE OF BS AS CITY