Artes para Respirar, a podcast produced by the Festival for the Dignity of the Peoples Collective.

Text: Víctor Ibarra

Some dreams are fleeting and end when we wake up. But there are others that we dream while awake, that we work toward, and that can become a reality.

Génesis Velasco and Tavo Rodríguez, from the Jalisco-based theater company Maldita Comedia, share in this first 2026 episode of the Artes para Respirar (Arts to Breathe) podcast that their collective dream will soon come to life on the streets and in various cultural spaces throughout the city of Guadalajara, Mexico. This will be the 1st International Encounter of Popular Arts 2026 (EIAP 2026, by its Spanish acronym), “En la Orilla (On the Shore),” which will take place from Wednesday, September 30, to Sunday, October 4, in Guadalajara.

In this episode of the Arts to Breathe podcast, hosted by Carla Barrero of Bolivia and Víctor Ibarra of Mexico, Génesis and Tavo—the director and producer, respectively, of EIAP 2026 “On the Shore”—explain that the encounter was founded in Soacha, Colombia, in 2014. Eleven editions have since been held in that municipality on the outskirts of Bogotá.

“Thanks to the Liderarte Cultural Foundation, we’ve been part of the last two editions. Tavo and I had already been thinking and dreaming about having a festival, an event, but for one reason or another it hadn’t happened yet. However, thanks to our encounter with this festival right there in Colombia, the excitement, the desire, and the inspiration to make it a reality here were reignited, and that’s how this sister project—the EIAP ‘On the Shore’—came about,” explains Génesis.

Regarding how this festival is rooted in the local community, Tavo comments: “One of the most beautiful aspects of this festival is that all the groups—everyone involved in putting on a performance—also share this community-centered perspective. Whether they’re community theater groups or community dance groups, they’ve all emerged from a specific community and, from within that community, engage with the culture that lives there and touches all of us.”

Regarding why they call this festival “On the Shore,” Tavo adds, “The shore we’re talking about is precisely this reference to the bank of a river where everything is fertile, but sometimes the river’s current also creates this apparent chaos, which is only meant to bring more life.”

“So, we see the shore as an act of resistance as well—an act of continuing to raise our voices and remaining present, even though we feel that in many situations there are attempts to keep sidelining or setting aside all of this community culture, all of this neighborhood voice.”

Four theater and social circus companies from Soacha, Colombia, have been invited to this gathering in Guadalajara to share their local initiatives, as will their Guadalajara counterparts from the five neighborhoods where the event will take place and be hosted: Del Fresno, Atlas, Centro, La Penal, and Santa Cecilia—popularly known as “Santa Chila”—with workshops, talks, and performances featuring masks, puppets, theater, circus, cabaret, music, and clowning.

Listen to the full episode of this Artes para Respirar podcast :

Check out the full program, attend, and be part of this collective dream—the International Popular Arts Encounter “On the Shore.” Here’s their Instagram for more information: https://www.instagram.com/eiaporilla/

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