Selected Film
“The Origin of the Shadow” is an audiovisual poem that explores the traces of racism and colonial heritage within the body, memory, and Andean landscape. Through music, voice, image, and silence, the work delves into the symbolic birth of the shadow — the moment when the light of empire drew a boundary between what was visible and what was denied, between those who could name and those who were named. In this universe, the shadow is not mere darkness, but the place where repressed memories dwell — the silent languages and bodies that history measured, classified, and ranked. The shadow is inheritance, but also resistance; the other half of light, the space where remembrance still breathes. The song unfolds in four movements: Colonial heritage, where the cross takes root in the chest of the sun. The racialized body and the skin as frontier, where we learn to see ourselves through the eyes of the other. Everyday and invisible racism, where silence itself becomes inheritance. Resistance and re-existence, where the condor — sacred Andean symbol — opens its black wings once more. The Ritual and the Wound: Yawar Fiesta The piece draws inspiration from Yawar Fiesta, a traditional Andean ritual that embodies the complex fusion — and tension — between the Indigenous and the Spanish worlds. In this ceremony, the condor, a sacred bird of the Andes, is tied to the back of a bull, an animal brought by the conquerors. Their struggle becomes a profound symbol: The bull represents colonial power, violence, and domination. The condor embodies the Andean spirit, freedom that refuses to surrender, the soul of a land that resists from above. When the condor, wounded but alive, finally spreads its wings and escapes, the people celebrate: it is the victory of spirit over domination, of memory over oblivion. In “The Origin of the Shadow,” this mythical struggle is reinterpreted as a dialogue between history and the body. The shadow is born in the instant the bull — the empire, the imposed light — raises dust over the earth. But within that shadow, the condor still beats its wings, never ceasing to look at the sky.
Duration: 00:03:34
Country of Origin: Peru
Language: Spanish
Director(s): Maria Ines Quevedo Stuva
Writer(s): Maria Ines Quevedo Stuva
Producer(s): Maria Ines Quevedo Stuva
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