Pure art, visuals and poetry come to a self-managing festival in the city of Mendoza to share verses on a summer day with a pool, food, music, drinks and camping. Organized by women artists from Mendoza, the first edition of the Rosa Pérez, comes to stomp, comes to stay.
But what and who are behind the “Rosa Pérez”? In conversation with Télam, the six organizers of the event, united by the visual arts, reflected on the objectives and behind the scenes of this summer event that arrives with its first edition in Mendoza, with the intention of taking place, from now on, every year.
They are Clara Ponce, Mariel Matoz, Lorena Jorge, Victoria Díaz, Lorena Mont and Ely Jofré. They all have a long history in the world of arts, teaching and in recent years they have been dabbling in literature.
“It is an important event for the culture of Mendoza –Lorena Jorge explained. It is no coincidence that this festival emerges in a pandemic. Art has always been and will always be an instrument for artists and those who are not, a way to channel and sublimate anguish in times of as much uncertainty as the one installed by the pandemic. Then, art becomes a necessary space for meeting after so many months of isolation and changes.
For the artist Clara Ponce “Writing has been a refuge in these pandemic times. Many people began to write from different points, from places that have nothing to do with the intellectual, or with technicalities, but from places that are closer and more identifiable, enabling something new ”.
The organizers agree and believe that “art is a great tool for social and cultural transformation” (Lorena Jorge) and that an event with these characteristics comes to “erase the borders and lines that divide the arts” (Clara Ponce), as different artistic branches converge such as poetry, visuals, music, among others. Mariel Matoz explained that in Mendoza “there is not much exchange between scenes from different disciplines. This megalomaniac idea of the festival is a great excuse to meet, share and exchange between the arts ”.
Ely Jofré told how the idea of holding this festival came up: “We were in contact with events that were organized in Rosario and in Buenos Aires. We realized that many provinces have poetry and visual festivals and Mendoza does not. The idea was to make an integration, invite everyone and make it federal. It is a mega dream that has just begun but we want it to be THE annual Rosa Pérez festival of poetry, visuals, fanzines, independent publishers, we want it to grow ”.
Poetry under the stars
It starts at 5:00 p.m. this Saturday, January 15 until 12 o’clock the next day, inviting those who attend to take their tents to camp and spend the night.
The “Rosa Pérez” will take place at outside the city of Mendoza, in the beautiful area of Pedriel Oeste, Calle Terrada 4405. To guarantee a level of quality and with the intention of covering expenses, as it is a self-managed project, a fee will be charged entry of just $ 200.
Victoria Díaz told how they came up with the idea of including camping in the festival: “At first it was thought in case people came from other cities, so that they could have that experience and provide them with where to sleep. COVID also complicated things. The physical space and the schedule also took us to the camp because the festival starts at 5 pm ”.
The Rosa Pérez is different, it brings a new seasoning to the scene: “the festival is not very solemn and that interests us: picnic, swimming pool, being able to camp, everything is a position in front of art, generating bonds and sharing the daily life. I love that he has that relaxed profile because at some point it is also a political position “, Ponce said.
Who are Mariel Matoz, Victoria Díaz and Clara Ponce
Mariel Matoz (1991- Mendoza): she is a visual artist and writer. She is a professor of Visual Arts, graduated from the National University of Cuyo. He participated in different local exhibitions, both collective and individual, for example, “The end of the permanent” (2015) and “Everything I lost” (2016). She did several works as a curator among them, “Unquenchable Purity Fictions” (2018) by Victoria Diaz in Imagen Galería. He has published his texts with Laboratorio Oscuro (Mendoza) and Ediciones Microcentro (Buenos Aires). She is the director of the Mendoza magazine of artistic literature, “The dedication” with Amira Yurie.
Victoria Diaz (1987- Mendoza):
She was selected for the 2022/2023 Artists Program of the Universidad Torcuato Di Tella. In 2021 he participated in the First Prize 8M Depatriarchalize the Heritage at the Kirchner Cultural Center and held his first individual exhibition at the Municipal Museum of Modern Art of Mendoza “Romantic as a Romantic Love Poem” and in 2020 at the First National Hall of Possible Jamaica in Gallery Jamaica, Rosario. In 2019 he presented “Portrait of a Heart” in Victoria Corazón Gallery and Shelter, a space that he directs and in 2018 “Unshakable Fictions of Purity” at Imagen Galería in the city of Mendoza. He has participated in various group exhibitions (Munar Bs As, MAMM, ECA, Sangelo Gallery of the City of Mdza) and fairs in Argentina (La Imagen Accesible, Arte BA, MAC). He has received scholarships from the National Endowment for the Arts and his work is part of the private Calvaresi and public collection at the MMAMM Mendoza.
Clara Ponce (1984-Mendoza): she is an artist, teacher, poet and cultural manager. She works in the field of mental health, childhood and community spaces. He likes to write, paint, perform, and garden. He has made various individual and group shows. More information about his work can be found on his website https://claraponce.com.ar/
Why is the festival called ‘Rosa Pérez’?
The artist and writer Clara Ponce narrated how Rosa was born, which in addition to the title of the event, is the name of the fictional character that she uses for her texts, as an alter ego:
“’Rosa Pérez,’ I replied, as clumsy as it was defiant to the police when she asked me to identify myself one summer night, during a party that was taking place at home while the neighbor was insistently wetting us with the hose so that we could turn off the music. Rosa Pérez became a nickname that traveled through time in the form of an anecdote and it became a festival of poetry and visuals to share with friends. Rosa Pérez is also a fictional character who writes a notepad, who tries to write poetry while drying her tears and snot with those hard napkins that don’t absorb anything. I think Rosa’s strength is that she can sustain a lie, no matter how ineffective it may be, and her weakness is that her lies always hide something of the truth ”.
Poetry comes to dress the heat wave in Mendoza, to enjoy an artistic weekend, to federalize the national cultural agenda and understand that through words we can meet and merge various disciplines.
Who are Lorena Mont, Ely Jofré and Lorena Jorge
Lorraine Mont: She has a degree in Social Communication. In 2016 his works were published by the main graphic media in the province. He performed clinics with Silvana Gutiérrez, Mariano García, Migo Welsh, A Labaké. He ventures into video – installation, the appropriation of photographs and intervention. In 2020 she participated in Arte Ba Panorama with Imagen Galería and in 2021 she was selected as an ELEF resident at ArtexArte. Today he is curating an exhibition of Under 20 Photographers to be held at the CCK.
Ely Jofré An artist from Mendoza, she works as a social worker in the Family jurisdiction of the Judiciary. She is an amateur writer. She has been carrying out different reading and writing workshops for several years.
Lorraine Jorge (1984-Mendoza). For 10 years he has been teaching artistic areas in the field of “non-formal” education, in a Center for Educational Activities “and in Secondary Education. She graduated as Professor of Artistic Ceramics from the National University of Cuyo. He is currently pursuing a Specialization in “Teaching and learning of Visual Arts in current contexts” and participates in collective art spaces, such as “Victoria Corazón Gallery and Refuge”.
