A new performance by Ecuadorean dance company Frente de Danza Independiente is exposing the institutionalized violence faced by women across Latin America.
The work, "Habitando Memorias" or "Inhabiting Memories," choreographed by Terry Araujo, follows the stories of six female protagonists and their struggle with both the visible violence of femicide and the hidden trauma of everyday oppression.
The show, set to be performed Friday, June 2 in Quito's Casa de la Cultura, comes amid spiralling femicide figures across Latin America. Of the 25 nations with the highest rate of violence against women, 14 are in Latin America. According to the United Nations, 98 percent of femicides go unprosecuted in the region.
In Ecuador, more than 33 women have been murdered since the beginning of 2017.
teleSUR spoke with the dancers about their personal experience with machismo and the power of art to change social consciousness.