La Ribot & Asier Puga. Juana ficción

Choreographer La Ribot returns to Bozar with Juana ficción, that premiered at the 2023 Festival d'Avignon. Inspired by Juana I of Castilla—stripped of power and imprisoned for 46 years by her own family—this piece explores the queen's descent into isolation under patriarchal control.

Through her marriage to Philip of Habsburg, Juana I of Castilla (1479–1555) became queen not only of Spain but also of Austria and the Low Countries, making her a key force in the establishment of enduring Belgo-Spanish ties. However, after her husband's death, she was imprisoned—first by her father and later by her son, both power-hungry —on disputable charges of insanity.

Rather than telling her story directly, La Ribot and performer Juan Loriente evoke Juana’s inner world through dance, theatre, and music, blurring time and reality. Composer Iñaki Estrada’s score, performed by the Zaragoza Chamber Orchestra and polyphonic choir under Asier Puga, fuses Renaissance melodies from the Cancionero with contemporary electronic sound. Part of EUROPALIA ESPAÑA, Juana ficción reclaims a forgotten figure of Spanish history with poetic force, merging history, movement, and sound into a haunting, immersive experience.

Distribution:

With La Ribot, Juan Loriente

and Emilio Ferrando (clarinet), Fernando Gómez (flute), Xavier Olivar (viola), Joan Germán Oliveros (saxophone), Víctor Parra (violin), Juan Carlos Segura (synthesizer), Zsolt G. Tottzer (cello), the Schola Cantorum Paradisi Portae polyphonic choir: Marcos Castrillo Sampedro (tenor), Alberto Cebolla Royo (baritone), Rubén Larrea Perálvarez (alto), Alberto Palacios Guardia (tenor)

Design La Ribot, Asier Puga

Choreography and staging La Ribot

Dramaturgy Jaime Conde Salazar

Musical direction Asier Puga

Arrangements, original composition and electronic music Iñaki Estrada

Sound space and electronic music Álvaro Martín

Musique Álvaro Martín Alexander Agricola, Álvaro Martín, Johannes Ockeghem, Josquin des Prés, Pierre de la Rue

Lighting Eric Wurtz

Costume design Elvira Grau

Costume making Elvira Grau, Marion Schmid

Musicological consultation Alberto Cebolla

Technical direction Marie Prédour

Production and diffusion Aude Martino

Production Pepa García (Grupo Enigma)

Administration Gonzague Bochud

Communication Iris Obadia (La Ribot Ensemble)

Production

Production La Ribot Ensemble, Grupo Enigma

Coproduction La Bâtie Festival de Genève, Centro de cultura contemporánea Condeduque (Madrid), Festival d'Avignon

With the support of the City of Geneva, the Canton of Geneva, and for the 78th edition of the Festival d'Avignon: Pro Helvetia Swiss Arts Council, Gobierno de Aragón (Spain), La Corodis, Loterie Romande, Service Industriel de Genève

Résidencies L’Animal à l’esquena (Celrà)