‘Frontera I Border – a Living Monument’

Frontera I Border – a Living Monument by the Mexican-Chilean choreographer Amanda Piña has its roots in a dance that emerged from the neighbourhood of El Ejido Veinte of Matamoros, Tamaulipas, on the border between Mexico and the United States, and is performed by young people at risk from the extremely violent environment associated with this liminal space, a place where drug trafficking, militarisation and an industry around cheap labour prosper. The dance that inspired Amanda Piña was originally devised by the Spanish and depicts the Christian victory over the Moors. During Latin America’s colonisation it became a racist propaganda tool. The difference between white and non-white was then exported, with “the Indian” obviously personifying the “Moor” to be dominated and the Christian representing Spain. The dance continued to evolve and became seen as a form of resistance to colonial and, later, neoliberal forces. By exploring a choreography of borders in which hip-hop culture, colonial tales, native practices and mysticism intertwine, Amanda Piña also reminds us that the border is not only a place but is also inscribed in the bodies, contributing to their process of racialisation. Thus the bodies themselves carry these frontiers with them – some more than others.