The Estudio Busqueda de Pantomima Teatro A. C. began working with the Tohono O'odham in spring of 2006 during a residency funded by the International Sonoran Desert Alliance, of Ajo Arizona.
Our project was, through movement theater and circus skills, to integrate a disintegrating community comprised of Mexican, Anglo and Native Americans. While our ultimate goal was to unite the three factions of the Ajo community in cultural activities, last year's preliminary phase was focused on working with each group separately.
Our interaction with the Tohono O'odham included three phases:
~ Performances by the Estudio Busqueda de Pantomima Teatro
~ Classes of basic movement techniques and juggling
~ Mask work and transformation face painting using images
from the desert landscape and tribal symbols
from the desert landscape and tribal symbols
We worked with the Tohono O'odham within their schools and community centers.
Our second residency took place in March and
April of 2007 and was partially funded by The
Nalac Foundation for the Arts and The Ford
Foundation's Shifting Sands Initiative. We
focused on Tohono tribal stories expressed
through Movement Theater techniques in order
to create individual and group pieces.
April of 2007 and was partially funded by The
Nalac Foundation for the Arts and The Ford
Foundation's Shifting Sands Initiative. We
focused on Tohono tribal stories expressed
through Movement Theater techniques in order
to create individual and group pieces.
The Tohono O'odham Nation, located in the Sonoran Desert, spans the US/Mexican Border from Southern Arizona into Northern Sonora. Once known as Papago, the Tohono O'odham (Desert People) inhabit the second largest reservation in the US, comprising close to three million acres. One third of the ancestral land of the Tohono O'odham is separated by the international border, as established by the Gadsden Purchase of 1854. As a result, the Tohono O'odham were divided into two groups and considered either Mexican or American citizens.
