Diaz, Hector (Extra Credit - Armed Manifesto)

        I was able to attend the virtual performance and chat about “Armed Manifesto” which was created by “La Revuelta”. At first, I had no idea what to expect, and when the performance began, I was intrigued to see women holding knives with their faces covered. My initial thoughts were that women were expressing how they are confined to the space at home and were challenging gender roles with their multifaceted use of the knife. Also, they were at times cutting “nothing” or air, which I thought was symbolizing them cutting away all their personal grievances they have personally experienced or anything that came to mind. However, I realized it was much more than that. They were representing the “armed women” which is part of revolutionary feminism. They were cutting many things and interestingly, they started cutting negative adjectives used on women, such as “silenced”. I sensed a feeling of empowerment and reclaiming space. They had a powerful presence and could feel their message. 

After the performance, they provided a brief presentation and I learned how their goal is to create art and stop centering art on men because that’s the current standard. “La Revuelta” is composed of 5 Central American women and they are aiming to uplift women's spaces in art. The knife was representative of a weapon and a weapon has been historically considered as a man’s tool that gives him dominance. Thus, they are actively challenging this narrative by arming themselves with a weapon. They mentioned how the art world is homophobic and machismo exists so resistance is not always easy. In art, it matters who writes the history, so this is another way of reclaiming their stories and telling them from their perspective. I really enjoyed the performance and how well-adapted it was to zoom. They mentioned they plan to perform it live in the near future which will be interesting!