ABSTRACT
This entry describes the contemporary Cuban group El Ciervo Encantado and their innovative approach to explore and critique Cuban identity. Founded by Nelda Castillo in 1996, the group investigates cultural memory and Cuban citizens’ struggle to survive, and is inspired by a variety of historical, canonical, and banned or censored textual sources. Their theatrical practice involves a combination of intensive research and physically demanding rehearsals and is influenced by practitioners and theorists such as Growtowski, Artaud, and Brecht. Their expressionist performances eschew narrative and categorization, and examine themes such as independence, capitalism, slavery, colonialism, censorship, pain, and crisis.
