On February 22, 2019, the Supreme Court ruled the absolute prohibition of marihuana in Mexico unconstitutional. A bill permitting the regularization of cannabis is currently up for debate in Congress. While legislative changes are well underway, there are still a number of challenges in terms of cultural awareness, particularly the stigmatization facing both marihuana users and cultivators. Together with the Hemispheric Institute, a group of Mexican artists are developing a campaign that uses humor and art to change perceptions and stigmatizing attitudes. Cartoons and animations will be distributed in Mexico City and throughout the country with the help of publicity on public transportation and in the various State Secretariats.
We invite you to this forum in order to learn about the current status of this campaign, to exchange ideas on this important legislative initiative, and to reflect on the role of artists in this process.
Biographies
Jesusa Rodríguez (Mexico, 1955) is a scenic creator. From 1980 to 2018, she directed and performed in opera, theater, and political farces. Since December 2018, she has been a Senator in Mexico. Her greatest achievement was, and still is, to accumulate disgrace. She was awarded Best Actress at the Festival of the Americas in Montreal, 1989, and is a recipient of a 2000 Obie Award, with Liliana Felipe.
Julio Glockner is an anthropologist and graduate of the Escuela Nacional de Antropología e Historia. He is a researcher with the Institute of Social Sciences and Humanities at the Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla and co-founder of the School of Social Anthropology.
Zara Snapp holds a Master’s in Public Policy from Harvard University, and a Bachelor’s in Political Science from the University of Colorado, Denver. She is the co-founder of the RIA Institute and a consultant for the ReverdeSer Colectivo (Mexico). Snapp is the author of Diccionario de Drogas (Drug Dictionary), published in 2015 by Ediciones B. .
Jorge Hernández Tinajero is a political scientist and internationalist specializing in drug policy. Cannabis and poppy are among his interests and are the subject of his recent publications. He is a founding member of the Asociación Mexicana de Estudios de Cannabis (Mexican Association of Cannabis Studies) (AMEXA) and the Colectivo por una Política Integral hacia las Drogas A.C. (Alliance for a Comprehensive Drug Policy), where he served as President from 2009-2015.
Rafael Pineda (Monero Rapé) is a political cartoonist and animator from Veracruz. He holds a degree in Social Communication from UAM-X, and studied drawing at the National School of Fine Arts in Paris. He is Director of El Chamuco magazine and host of Chamuco TV.
Diana Taylor is University Professor and Professor of Performance Studies and Spanish at New York University. She is the award winning author of multiple books, among them: Theatre of Crisis (1991), Disappearing Acts (1997), The Archive and the Repertoire (2003), and Performance (2016). Her new book, ¡Presente! The Politics of Presence, is forthcoming with Duke University Press. Taylor is director of the Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics which she helped found in 1998.
Marlène Ramírez-Cancio (Moderator) is Associate Director, Arts & Media, at the Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics. In her role, she heads up the curation and production of Hemi’s large-scale, biannual Encuentros; curates HIDVL, a growing digital video library that archives and circulates the work of politically engaged artists; directs EMERGENYC, Hemi’s emerging artist program focused on art and activism; initiated and runs Hemi’s Artist Residencies for local NYC artists; and has co-created initiatives like the Helix Queer Performance Network, supporting queer artists of color and fostering intergenerational mentorship.
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