The most important independent theater collective in Peru, Grupo Cultural Yuyachkani has sustained an exploration of political performance, theatrical experimentation and indigenous performing culture for more than three decades. Named after the Quechua word that means “I am thinking/I am remembering,” the company is among the foremost proponents of Latin America’s “New Popular Theater,” and actively participates in education, community issues and advocacy. Yuyachkani is the recipient of Peru’s National Human Rights Award in 2000.

Santiago deals with Peru’s truth and reconciliation hearings following two decades of internal armed conflict in which grave human rights violations and abuses were committed by the state and by the armed opposition. Santiago was an acclaimed hit at the International Latino Theatre Festival of Los Angeles (FITLA), prompting the LA Times to state “Folkloric and sophisticated, the Yuyachkani troupe reaches out to Peruvians reeling from a brutal civil war. In productions such as Santiago, which plaintively yearns for peace, the group ministers to a people for whom theatre serves as CNN, town hall and prayer meeting all at once.”