UN PAÍS OLVIDADO:
RELIQUIAS DE VIGENCIA
(Forgotten Country : Relics of Agency)
May 27 – June 27, 2021
Weaving real stories of Venezuelan migrants and animated fiction together with film footage, flora, fauna and food from the land, Abad creates a magical realist mythology that critiques the neocolonial systems exploiting South America and embodies collective memories about immigrant survival.
The shared and unique experiences of Venezuelan migrants are expressed through non-linear animations of mythological structures born from the trauma, memories, and nostalgia that have resulted from being forced to leave one’s country in search of a better life.
Music Score & Performances by
Welsh American Fulbright Scholar, and musician from Black Moon Howl, Dr. Stephen Jones created the music score for Un Pais Olvidado, Reliquias de Vigencia (2021) and performed at the opening with Venezuelan cuatro.
Keyboard performance by assistant Teaching Professor of Jazz Studies at CU Boulder, Victor Mestas, born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela, and studied at the “J. A. Lamas” School of Music with Carmen Moleiro. Mestas has performed as a pianist, keyboardist and arranger for renowned bands in Latin America and Venezuela including Guaco and Trabuco Venezolano.
People continue to leave Venezuela to escape violence, insecurity and threats as well as lack of food, medicine and essential services. With over 5 million Venezuelans now living abroad, the vast majority in countries within Latin America and the Caribbean, this has become one of the largest displacement crisis in the world.
— United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)