Under
the half-moon evenings of Friday 22nd and Saturday
23rd of March, a waiting crowd of around a thousand
people saw a curious, if not fantastic sight.
Accompanied by a driving drumbeat, conch shell
and electronic rhythms, the torsos of four people
could be seen approaching from the adjacent
Plaza de la Paz. The visitors wore bizarre makeup
and carried lances, and, across the heads of
the assembled onlookers, they appeared to be
riding horses. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
had arrived.
Only when the actors got closer did the illusion
of horses melt away to reveal the horsemen -
actually two men and two women - were galloping
on stilts. They were accompanied by a woman
clashing cymbals. A gateway was opened and the
quintet entered the designated space. Then the
real show began. The music, which never stopped,
changed in tempo. Onlookers were treated to
a performance of modern theatre combining original
poetry, music, dancing and out-of-this-world
costumes.
The horsemen danced ballroom waltzes, marched,
galloped and rolled acrobatically, stilts and
all, around on the ground. They simulated horse
battles, pestilences and lovemaking. They whispered
dialogues in English in some parts, in other
parts passages in Spanish from the Book of Revelations.
Their free show lasted about an hour, and the
audience grew appreciably over that time. When
it finally finished, the crowd clapped and cheered
for a good 5 minutes, children and parents mobbing
the actors.
The name of the group is Stalker, and
this was only their second ever performance
of their new work, Four Riders, an interpretation
of the Biblical Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
I got talking to David Clarkson, the group's
director. Hailing from Sydney, Stalker Theatre
Company has been around for 15 years or so,
and had parts in the opening and closing ceremonies
of the 2000 Olympic Games. They are now regarded
as the best in the world in their particular
genre, and work their way through a full calendar
of 8 months international touring every year.
All the members of Stalker said that they were
amazed at the friendliness of the people of
Cartagena, and impressed by its historic sights.
Dave told me that they almost hadn't made it
to Colombia, since the Australian Department
of Foreign Affairs had faxed them an urgent
notice not to come to Colombia two days earlier
due to the security risk. But they had already
accepted an invitation to attend the Cartagena
Cultural Week Festival, and decided to come
anyway.
Like
so many before them, they discovered that Cartagena
rewards those who do come with an unforgettable
and friendly ambience unlike any other city
in the world.
Photo
and story copyright of Glen David Short, a freelance
writer based in Cartagena. His new adventure
travelogue, `An Odd Odyssey: California to Colombia
by bus and boat' has just been published
by Trafford Publishing. Posted 24 March 2002
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B A C K -
Text
and Photos Copyright 2005 Glen David Short
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