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Our weekly focus on the moving image and art in the streets. And other oddities.

Now screening:
1. Ñatinta Festival Comforts the Grieving and Brings “Ajayu” in Bolivia

BSA Special Feature: Ñatinta Festival Comforts the Grieving and Brings “Ajayu” in Bolivia

It’s only August, so you have time to prepare for Ñatinta.

Its fascinating to see this outpouring; of public performance and art created during this festival in the General Cemetery in La Paz, Bolivia. Reaching through the depths of sorrow and despair, the living are here to pay tribute to the dead and our memories of them. The artists interact with the place, in some way facilitating the living.

A festival organized by artists and cultural workers with ties to urban art, the group named Perros Sueltos pulls together the talents and encourages collaboration. The results are outstanding. Participants share creatively, define personal and public space, and create dialogue and interconnectivity.

According to some Andean beliefs, the “ajayu” is the spirit of the deceased – which returns to earth during the festivity of all saints and may communicate with the living. It is a beautiful and comforting story that says the spirit doesn’t disappear but stays in communication, becoming a complement to life.