Video from Performance at the 13th Havana Biennial in Matanzas, Cuba

A collaboration between Jana Harper, Cuban dancer Liliam Padrón and her company Danza Espiral, and singer Moksha Sommer, Cargas is an hour-long performance that addresses the burdens we carry and how through empathy and community we might eventually transform them. During preparational workshops, performers came up with a list of 100 words that describe the weights they experience as Cubans. These ranged from everyday local concerns such as food shortages or caring for one’s family to global issues like migration and climate change. The words were painted on ration bags and carried through the city of Matanzas, from the sacred Ceiba Tree to the Palace of Justice. 

Cargas was performed on May 12, 2019 as the concluding performance for Ríos Intermitentes, a project for the 13th Havana Biennial in Matanzas, Cuba.