The performances “Brujas Putas Santas” and “Pilón” offer a distinct yet complementary perspective on the struggles and triumphs of women. While “Brujas Putas Santas” delves into the reclaiming of ancestral wisdom and the ongoing battle for liberation, “Pilón” celebrates the resilience and empowerment of women through traditional labor chants. Together, they offer a multifaceted narrative of female empowerment, resistance, and communal healing.
Bruja Putas Santas – Sofie Douda
Cantos de pilón (pilón chants) are work chants performed traditionally by women in rural areas in Venezuela. They are sung while grinding corn in big mortars, normally between two people. It is an extremely arduous task and the chants are executed to make the task easier and to express joy and/or sorrow. They reveal the strength of the woman and her hope for redemption.
This is only one of many traditional labor chants in Venezuelan folklore, which unfortunately are disappearing due to industrialization. In the areas where it still survives, it is a symbol of female empowerment. It is an equally quiet and loud protest that involves the whole being: body, voice, sweat, blood, and spirit. It is labor, it is dance, it is song, it is a coping mechanism.
Performer: Daniela Hernandez
Performer: Andrea Vezga
Singer, Musician: Thamires Tannous
Performer, Singer: Sofie Douda