Wuñelfe: Morning Star

When the light of Venus—the Wuñelfe or morning star—appears on the horizon, Mapuche cosmology understands that a cycle closes to give way to the renewal of the spirit. That same force of rebirth is what guides the new creation of the outstanding choreographer Ricardo Curaqueo Curiche. Wuñelfe: Lucero del Amanecer is the first piece of the trilogy Bodies of Return, a deep investigation that uses contemporary dance to unearth the body as an archive of memory, spirituality and resistance.

Wuñelfe is not just a celestial body; It is a relational entity that synchronizes human life with the cycles of the earth. Historically represented as an eight-pointed star (guñelve), its presence on stage evokes the interconnection between the terrestrial and the divine. Curaqueo's proposal does not simply seek to "tell a story", but rather to embody Mapuche astronomy through skin and bone. It is an invitation to see how the synodic cycle of Venus—its 584-day dance between the Sun and Earth—translates into bodily vibration and ritual presence.

Twelve female performers display a gesture that the work defines as amukan rüpü mew (traveler of the road), moving between expansion and mineral vibration.

What makes this montage unique is its interaction with the raw material: stones, volcanic sands and rocks act as scenic agents. The bodies rub, load and inhabit a tectonic landscape that transforms the stage into a geological territory.

The soundscape is led by five Mapuche women bearers of "oralitura" (the fusion between orality and literature). Their songs in mapudungun, their stories (epew) and their rhythms generate the emotional matrix that guides the dancers, creating a dialogue between the ancient voice and the contemporary body.

The sensory experience is completed with state-of-the-art light architecture. Through 360° projection technologies, the scene becomes a dynamic celestial vault. The constellations and light paths of Wuñelfe are not fixed; Thanks to a real-time programming system (DMX), the lighting responds directly to the intensities of live vocals and percussion. The result is a living scenic organism where light, sound and movement breathe at the same time.

Wuñelfe: Morning Star is an invitation to humanize our gaze, to reconnect with the mineral nature of our existence and to imagine a possible future guided by the light of dawn. An unmissable montage for those who seek in art not only beauty, but a deep truth that shakes the senses.

General management: Ricardo Curaqueo Curiche | Sound design: Francisco Moreira Herrera | Sound performers: Danitza Segura Licanqueo, Yasmín Millán Castro, Sonia Orobia Retamales and Karina Diaz Osorio | Dancers: Vania Pascualetti Reyes, Agata Espinoza Fontana, Nathalie Moris Caniulef, Melissa Briones Iturriaga, Lya Miranda Fuentes, Fernanda Montoya de la Fuente, Priscila Seguel Munita and Francisca Diaz Poblete | Art direction: Deysi Cruz Vásquez | Audiovisual: Enrique Farías Barguena | Lighting design: Francisco Herrera Estay | Executive production: Katherine Curaqueo Curiche | Production assistant: Mariana Clericus Vásquez | Rehearsal assistant: Mayra Eltit Fuentes | Lighting technician: Natalia Morales Tapia