On the Edge: 2nd International Latinx Performance Art Festival

On the Edge: 2nd International Latinx Performance Art Festival

October 5, 2023 - October 7, 2023

Reception: October 5, 2023

On the Edge is the second LatinX performance art festival in Seattle, showcasing a wide range of experimental performance with themes of inclusion, identity and intersectionality.

Featuring a wide range of pan-Latine/x artists and supporters, these performances will range from intimate, single-person storytelling, to medium-length, mixed-media group performances, as well as durational, non-traditional, conceptual and video performances.

The event is headlined by visiting artist, Katherine Adamenko, a Cuban-raised, New York-based performance artist and Butoh writer, who will be presenting an iconic third-wave feminist piece from the 90s, Beauty Borg. Accompanying the live performances will be video showcasing further work by the performers as well as major historical pieces in Latine/x performance art history.

This festival is supported by the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture/King Street Station and 4Culture, with further support from La Sala, Centro Cultural de Mexico, CoCA and others. Admission is FREE with donations accepted. A photographer/videographer will be documenting the event.

What to Expect

Live performances, experimental film, and lectures.

The festival contains partial nudity; exploration of identity, of political and racial persecution and violence, and of death; simulated self-mutilation; religious and spiritual themes; and may contain flashing imagery.

Program

The following performances are subject to change. All performances are held in the afternoon or evening. 

Thursday, October 5

4:15-4:20      Director's Welcome
4:20-4:30      Marvin Colson
4:30-5:00      Tatiana Garmendia
5:00-5:30      Dhyana Garcia
5:30-6:00      Xavier and Katherine
6:00-6:30      Vicente Montanez
6:30-7:00      Katherine Adamenko
7:00-7:30      Sonia Aguilar (formerly Sony Voodoo)
7:30-8:00      Santiago

Friday, October 6

1:00-1:20    Loren Hererra Video
1:20-1:40    Xavier Lopez
1:40-2:00    Vicente Montanez
2:00-2:20    Santiago
2:20-2:40    Sonia Aguilar (formerly Sony Voodoo)
2:40-3:00    Katherine Adamenko
3:00-3:20    Tatiana Garmendia
3:20-3:40    Dhyana Garcia

Saturday, October 7

12:00-12:30    Vicente Montanez
12:30-1:00   Tatiana Garmendia
1:00-1:30     Katherine Adamenko
1:30-2:00     Xavier Lopez solo
2:00-3:30     Antonio Rodriguez (deejay)

Artist Bios

Xavier Lopez, Curator/Director/Performer at OtE: 2nd International Latinx Performance Art Festival

Xavier Lopez is a conceptual, mixed-media Latinx performance artist with an MFA from the University of California-Davis. Inspired by his father’s politically charged murals in the Los Angeles Chicano Art Movement and artists like Warhol and Duchamp, Lopez creates work that explores identity, culture, and liberation. Using everyday materials like candy and tin foil, his performances challenge expectations placed on artists of color. His innovative concepts, such as The Soft Cyborg and Putoh, blend queer and feminist theory to redefine marginalized performance. Lopez co-curated the groundbreaking On the Edge festival, spotlighting Latinx artists and earning academic recognition worldwide.

Katherine Adamenko, Headliner/Lead Performer/New York City

Katherine Adamenko is a feminist performance artist, actress, butoh dancer, choreographer, and writer specializing in boundary-pushing, interactive performances that explore gender roles, emotions, and the satire of female beauty. Her work, influenced by her Cuban/Hispanic heritage and post-punk sensibility, has been presented across the US and Europe in theaters, galleries, and festivals, including the LatinX Performance Art Festival in Seattle, where she will perform two putoh-inspired pieces co-created with Xavier Lopez. Known for her innovative "cabaret performance art" blending humor, gender politics, music, and dance, Katherine also creates immersive, site-specific experiences in nontraditional venues. A graduate of Rutgers University and the University of Essex, she has collaborated with renowned artists, performed at major festivals, and published academic articles on butoh performance.

Dhyana García, Performer/ Daipan Butoh/Seattle

Dhyana is an internationally recognized Mexican Butoh performer and movement specialist based in Seattle, dedicated to exploring dance and movement as healing and transformative practices. Co-founder of DAIPANbutoh Collective and faculty at the University of Washington, she has over 30 years of performing and teaching experience across Mexico, Ecuador, Japan, South Korea, Canada, the US, and more. Formerly a professional ballet and modern dancer, Dhyana’s Butoh work is deeply inspired by mentors like Diego Piñon, and icons such as Natsu Nakajima and Kazuo Ohno. Her teaching and creative work are influenced by pioneers like Pina Bausch and Anna Halprin, and she also teaches yoga, Pilates, and Ayurveda, emphasizing holistic movement for empowerment.

Tatiana Garmandia, Performer/Seattle

Tatiana Garmendia, born in Cuba during the Cold War, draws on her early experiences, including internment in a political dissidents' camp, to create interdisciplinary works exploring history and mythology. Resettled in the US in 1969 via the International Rescue Committee, she has lived in Seattle since 1993, teaching painting, drawing, and printmaking at Seattle Central College. Her art, exhibited across the US and internationally in England, Italy, and India, resides in public collections worldwide. A recipient of accolades such as Artist Trust Fellowships and the Pollock Krasner Grant, Garmendia’s work merges personal narrative with broader cultural and historical reflections.

Loren Herrera, Video performance/Seattle

Loren Mathew Walker Herrera, originally from Tacoma, Washington, is an interdisciplinary artist and researcher with a BA in Science, Technology, & Society from the University of Washington Bothell, where he also served as a Study Abroad Ambassador in Japan. Growing up on the Key Peninsula, he developed a deep connection with nature, literature, and creative expression. With a heritage rooted in his Mexican-American mother’s lineage and a pioneer ancestry through his father, Loren’s work is shaped by a rich tapestry of cultural and personal history. Currently pursuing a Master’s in Humanities at the University of Chicago with a focus on Cinema & Media Studies, Loren continues to explore storytelling through multiple disciplines, including writing and music.

Vicente Montañez, Performer/Special Guest/Mexico

Vicente, born in Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico in 1964, is a multidisciplinary artist with over 30 years in the Pacific Northwest. He began his career at 13, performing in theater and mime companies, including "Compañia de Pantomima Yesterday," touring Mexico for six years. Influenced by esteemed mentors Sigfrido Aguilar and Rodrigo Villamil, Vicente co-founded TIET, an innovative theater group that gained national and international acclaim, while pioneering theatrical research and education in Mexico. He was also part of "Colectivo Artistico Morelia A C," promoting art and culture through major events and festivals. A painter, musician, and designer, Vicente’s work spans mime, performance, visual art, and arts advocacy.

Sony Voodoo, Performer/Special Guest/Seattle

Sony Voodoo, born and raised in Monterrey, Mexico, is a multidisciplinary artist known for blending martial arts, dance, and theater into dark, improvisational performances. From an early age, she connected with the unconventional, drawn to nature, animals, and the macabre. Her evolving work is influenced by the occult, raw emotions, and ritualistic elements, reflecting her deep fascination with the obscure and the extraordinary. Now based in Lynnwood, WA, Sony continues to create and draw inspiration from the natural and artistic richness of the Pacific Northwest.