Edgar Rúa

Edgar Rúa, an Afro-descendant performance artist and activist from the Colombian organisation Fundación Cultural 'Juan Guillermo Rúa' and theatre group La Maloka del Sol spoke to Chizom Ekeh.

 

"I would describe my ethnicity as one that has been allowed to remain vulnerable in development terms and has remained culturally alienated in all senses. Afro-Colombians have been isolated socially, culturally and politically and prevented from advancing and forming part of a multi-ethnic and multicultural nation."

"The Fundación Cultural 'Juan Guillermo Rúa' is our way of taking control of our own destinies and not waiting for others to do something about our situation. It is a civil society organisation that seeks to work towards fulfilling the demands of not only the Afro-descendant community, but the wider community, which may also include indigenous and mestizo peoples."

"As an Afro-Colombian man the first thing I understood at a young age was that the light could come shining in through my door. All that I needed to do was to unbolt the lock, open the door and allow the light to illuminate my spirit. It's like the desire for justice: it burns like a fire within and gives us the conviction to carry on and bring about change."

'As an Afro-Colombian man I consider the challenge has been to reconcile my identity and its contradictions'

"As an Afro-Colombian man I consider the challenge has been to reconcile my identity and its contradictions. These are sometimes so opposite, so out of place, but play an important part in what I do."

"I hope to be able to find the words that allow me to intertwine with others... their hopes, dreams and realities. For this reason I keep my work within the realm of art and culture, it gives me the possibility in every place, in every look that I observe, of reconstructing my life and dignity together with others, as well as with myself."

Interview by Chizom Ekeh, former intern for MRG's Communications Department