Abstract
This puppet and musical piece revisits the atmosphere of underground shows once staged in Buenos Aires clubs before nightclubs opened in venues such as Ave Porco, El Morocco, or El Dorado. It also draws on the tradition of puppet theater in the San Telmo neighborhood, particularly El Sótano de San Telmo, a clandestine lesbian space during Argentina’s civic-military dictatorship. The performance centers on a playful dialogue between three characters: a black pencil, a pink paint tube, and a drag brush. They recount the anecdotes of a night of revelry. Set within a fictional lesbian dive called La Paleta, the work intertwines memory, nightlife, and queer imagination, situating the puppet stage as a space where subculture, resistance, and humor converge. By reanimating forgotten sites and practices, the piece honors histories of marginal spaces while opening them to contemporary performance.
It is a puppet and musical piece that recalls the shows once performed in certain clubs before the disco hours began, such as Ave Porco, El Morocco, or El Dorado. It is also a reference to the puppet theater works staged in the San Telmo neighborhood, specifically at El Sótano de San Telmo, located on Pasaje San Lorenzo, a clandestine lesbian space during the civic-military dictatorship.
The story unfolds as a dialogue between a black pencil, a pink paint tube, and a drag brush, who share anecdotes from a wild night out. Everything takes place in a lesbian dive called La Paleta.
Citation
Rose, Daiana. 'Chic Material [Material Chic]'. Dispossessions in the Americas. https://staging.dia.upenn.edu/en/art/AARG020/

