FLAGSTAFF — NAU Latin American Studies will present the documentary, Zurita: Verás no ver (Zurita: You will See not to See) at Tuesday, Nov 9. at 7 pm in LA 120.
Chilean poet, Raúl Zurita, has brazenly challenged the conventions of poetry, art and politics over the course of his career. In 1982, for example, Zurita had his poems written in the sky of New York with advertising planes. Subsequently, in 1993 Zurita had an enormous engraving of a poem excavated into the Atacama desert—this poem can only be read from the sky. In 1980 He has read his poetry with rock bands. For his poem/installation about migrant deaths in the Mediterranean, “Sea of Pain” (at the Kochi-Muzirris bienalle in India), Zurita flooded a warehouse and obligated reader/viewers to trudge through shin-deep water. He has been recognized with some of the most prestigious literary awards of the Spanish speaking world, including the Chilean National Prize, the Pablo Neruda Prize, and the Premio Reina Sofía.
Zurita began his career as a founding member of the Collective of Art Actions (CADA), a fascinating group of artists and writers that carried out neo avant-garde art actions in the streets of Santiago during the dictatorship. I have published a book about CADA and interviewed Zurita, so before the film I will give a presentation about the poet, the historical/political context that shaped his career, and his work with CADA (which I believe shaped the trajectory of his career). The presentation will be in English, the film is in Spanish with English subtitles.
If you’ve read this far it probably won’t surprise you that the documentary is rendered artistically. You can see the trailer of the film here: https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Zurita+trailer&docid=608039791568320212&mid=9C09680053C87EFEA0A99C09680053C87EFEA0A9&view=detail&FORM=VIRE