Las Poderosas Teatro. Identity Transformations to confront Contexts of Violence.

Abstract

Gender violence in Guatemala has left wounds that require collective strategies for healing. This article addresses the perception of the women of the group Las Poderosas Teatro regarding the role of this artistic expression in constructing routes for the healing of different types and modalities of violence they have experienced. The article has a phenomenological and qualitative approach. It is based on life stories collected through interviews. The data collected identifies the collective strategies that Las Poderosas have discovered throughout their trajectory and that have mobilized their identities to re-signify what they have experienced for themselves and for others. Theater, as a communicative and healing tool, allowed Las Poderosas to move from assuming themselves as victims of violence experienced individually to recognizing themselves as survivors of structural violence, and finally to become advocates for rights of women, collectives, and communities affected by various manifestations of violence.