M.F.A - educator -researcher - choreographer - performer
Gabriel Mata Movement
pronounced: gah-bryehl mah-tah
Joteria: Our Untold Stories... expands the voices, bodies, and notions of the Mexican American identity with movement and storytelling centered around queerness.
Premiered to a sold-out performance as part of the Atlas INTERSECTIONS Festival in March 2022 in Washington, DC.
Funded by the DCCAH Fellowship Grant and the DL14 Commissioned Social Justice Program.
In their first ever collaboration, Gabriel and Adrian combine their passion for movement and storytelling to explore the intersections and complexities of their experiences as queer Latinx men. Drawing from their real life, they expose, contemplate, and challenge the notions of homophobia, racism, and colorism that they have and continue to experience. Their art explores their journey of Latinidad, processes cultural norms and traditions, and prioritizes authenticity and vulnerability.
Through a series of both scripted and unscripted scenes, Gabriel and Adrian invite the audience on an intimate adventure where they recreate their vision of theater as an experience more accessible to brown and queer people. They replace traditional formalities and opt for a more improvised engagement approach with audience members, producing unique art in real time.
Collaborators:
Lighting Design by
Juan Juarez
Illustrations by
Kyle Marcus Bryant
Photography by
Rob Klug
About the Artists
Gabriel Mata
(pronounced: gah-bryehl mah-tah) is a Mexican American dance choreographer, educator, film maker, and performer. He navigates the world as queer, Latinx, immigrant, and as of recently a permanent resident to the United States. He received his MFA in dance from the University of Maryland - College Park.
The Minnesota StarTribune has called him “Sly, subtle and totally virtuosic, theatrical dancer-choreographer Gabriel Mata holds the stage with expressive movement and witty words.”
Mata's 7-years of research and performance of motion memoirs is what allows him to traverse the space of dance and theater. Motion as guiding movement from the present while being propelled into the future while the term memoir draws in the narrative that is the make-up of storytelling. While training has been predominantly concert dance, as an act of decentering and with a humanistic approach, Mata sees performance as a space for learning, connecting, and elevating the narratives of underrepresented communities and narratives.
Adrian Gaston Garcia hails from the Windy City and has been in the district for the past ten years. He is passionate about social justice and currently serves as the State Power Senior Program Manager at the Service Employees International Union. A natural storyteller, Adrian fuels his creativity via the performing arts, specifically theater and spoken word poetry. His work is largely based on his experiences and the intersectionality of his identities. Adrian’s poetry has been featured at a variety of venues, including the DC Center for LGBT Community, Busboys and Poets, The Nail Salon, Homo Stanzas: A Spoken Word Extravaganza, and the Nuyorican Poets Cafe. He is a founding member and performer with iMarica Brrrup!, D.C.’s first all queer Latinx improv troupe. Adrian serves as the Vice Chairman of Operations for Sigma Lambda Beta International Fraternity Incorporated Mid-Atlantic Alumni Network and is a proud member of Los Bookis, a DC based gay Latinx book club. He is currently a student at the Studio Acting Conservatory and a graduate from the Washington Improv Theater.
