Victus : la reconciliación como acto performativo

Abstract

This article aims to analyze the contribution of the performed arts to the reconciliation process between the victims, former rebels and retired soldiers who had a dynamic role during Colombia's armed conflict. For this purpose, this article uses Victus' case study, a project of the theatrical company Casa E that was conceived as an artistic laboratory of 19 members amongst whom there are victims of the internal war, both demobilized rebels and paramilitaries, and Colombian's veterans army members. The stance it seeks to uphold is that the process of reconciliation is built from not necessarily formal perspectives, such as the traditional mechanisms of transitional justice, but from "down", through everyday artistic expressions. Despite the lack of visibility of alternative pathways in the construction of the reconciliation process, the article suggests that performative art eliminates stigmatizing labels that characterized the roles of actors in conflict. Therefore, Victus' performance helps to understand that a person's identity is not reduced to social labels; reason why, that performance promotes self-acknowledgement and others as well, through certain reflective exercises that redefine each member without only taking into consideration their role in the conflict. Not only does this article analyses, but also interprets the archive information about Victus' artistic project and the observation process of the play's final sample.