Mauricio Ushiña

THE MYTH OF THE DANCE

(What the images and the choreography of the dancers explore)

 

To think and to question oneself and one's surrounding world seems to be an inherent human quality. Ushiña does it through photography. To me, it appears that the vantage point of art from the street has permitted him to be close to people, to speak of himself through the things that happen, to suggest whether he is for or against something, but in a clear, agreeable and conversational tone. All themes are important and vital to him. He brings them into focus with a sharpness and skill that is both accurate and passionate. Photography - his photography - becomes a reflective antidote, full of warmth, battling pedantry and dogmatic intimidation.
— Fabián Guerrero Obando

“My roots come from the indigenous village of Kita Kara. I wish to capture, to recover our historical memory through photography. My real work is to record in images the identity of nationalities and the traditions of the indigenous peoples of Ecuador.”

This is a (non folkloric) dance ritual in existence for thousands of years in which one sees the relationship that the indigenous Kañari communities of the kichwa nationality (seated in el Chinchaysuyu or wrongly named Ecuador) live in harmony with la Pachamama (mother earth) and the cosmos.

It is a way of expressing el "AYNI" or Reciprocity, a law in existence for thousands of years and still accepted presently in the Andean world and in many indigenous communities of the continent.

In this dance the wisdom of the grandparents has been passed down from generation to generation. It is a traditional, magical and religious celebration in which the "Tayta Carnaval" (or the father spirit of the land) participates: a character that wears a dressing of various Andean symbols, among them the Condor, the most representative.

This father spirit goes with another spirit "Jarkay" that represents Hunger. This combination of spirits travels from community to community, house to house, singing together with the traditional instruments like el Pingüino (a kind of flute) and drums.  They sing songs that show their appreciation for the agricultural cycle and other vital cycles in nature.
 

Those who have received the carnival spirit with a table full of foods from their area will have a good harvest and those who don't do it, will be visited by hunger.

The dancer that concentrates the most energy in his song and his dance will be best attended to.

Mauricio Ushiña A. is an indigenous KITA KARA self-taught photographer. He began photographing in 1995 and since then has had various individual and collective exhibitions in his country and abroad (Cuzco - Peru / New York - USA / Madrid - Spain).