Aesthetics of the irruption. Activism and performance in Las Yeguas del Apocalipsis

Abstract

This paper examines the aesthetic and political mechanisms of one of the first artistic groups that politicized the HIV/ AIDS crisis in Latin America: Las Yeguas del Apocalipsis, formed in 1987 by Pedro Lemebel and Francisco Casas. I will focus on the way in which their interventions dialogue with cultural activism, a term raised by Douglas Crimp in order to end the epidemic. Based on some of the most significant works of the colllective, this paper explores the way in which activism assumes a radical form thorugh corporality, which likewise raises a debate about health, diversity, and a vindication of marginal subjects. Through the particular use of performance this politicization puts in check the way in which sexuality is spoken in public, and at the same time, integrates a sharp reflection on dictatorship, post-dictatorship, neoliberalism, and the control of these forces over non-heteronormative bodies.