The Process Series at UNC closes its 2014-15 season with a performance featuring Pierce Freelon, co-founder of Beat Making Lab, and an array of collaborators from the U.S. and Panama. Based on the rhythms and culture of Panama and informed by two weeks in residency (one in Panama in February 2015 and one in Chapel Hill immediately preceding the performance), the multimedia work Cristo Negro | Diablo Blanco will premiere March 20 and 21 at 8 p.m. in Studio 6 of Swain Hall.
“When I was young, my grandmother — Queen Mother Frances Pierce — always told me I was African, affirming me as a black man and reminding me of my obligations to the black community,” Freelon says. “Her home in Cambridge was the first place I ever saw a portrait of Jesus depicted as black man. Now I find myself in Portobelo, Panama, in a community where Cristo Negro has always been the symbol of God. Cristo Negro | Diablo Blanco explores Pan-African identity and resistance through the mediums of poetry, photography and music. I feel like Queen Mother’s spirit is guiding me in this work.”
The Chapel Hill residency week — which includes master classes at UNC, community classes and open rehearsals/jam sessions — creates, Freelon says, “a rich opportunity for communities of shared struggle to engage in cultural exchange.”
This cultural exchange includes two artists from Portobelo, Panama (brothers Gustavo and Jairo Esquina, who together are trained in music, visual art, and dance) and two U.S.-based artists (Herrison Chicas and Saul Flores) who will participate alongside Freelon in classes and jam sessions and perform in Cristo Negro | Diablo Blanco.
“I’m looking forward to hosting Jairo and Gustavo Esquina in North Carolina,” Freelon says. “In Portobelo, they’ve taught me Spanish, introduced me to their family and kept my belly full of cerveza. Now it’s time to return the favor. I’m also looking forward to co-creating with them, alongside Saul Flores and Herrison Chicas. I think of each of our mediums as sections of a quilt I’m excited to stitch together.”
“This year we’ve encouraged and supported more innovative collaborations than ever, especially among artists from various disciplines, cultures and backgrounds,” says Joseph Megel, artistic director of the Process Series. “With the support of my UNC colleague Renee Alexander Craft and her ongoing work in Portobelo, Panama, through the organization Creative Currents, Beat Maker Pierce Freelon, along with his collaborators Flores and Chicas, has been able to work with Panamanian artists Jairo and Gustavo Esquina to create something new about music, about beat making, crossing cultures, and making critical connections. The Process Series was founded to make these types of collaborations and interactions possible.”
This performance and residency are also supported by grants from UNC’s Performing Arts Special Activities Fund and the city of Chapel Hill.
