In collaboration with Susan Kleinman, commissioned by Renfrew Foundation for Eating Disorders, and interpreted by Jorge Luis Morejon, The Healing Power of Expression: A Journey of Trauma, Pain and Transformation narrates the transitions in the life of an immigrant and the intersections of his multiple life experiences. Childhood in his country of origin, migration to a new country and adaptation to another system are narrated as traumatic life experiences.
Sociopolitical unrest makes him and his family the subject of official and
public repudiation. The arrival to a new country faces him with new and
seemingly insurmountable challenges: a new identity, a new language, a new
reality and the trauma caused by all of these circumstances.
The intensity of the piece speaks to those who in the face
of unbearable circumstances are forced to leave to another country as
immigrants with no option to return. The uncertainties of having to start a new
life, the challenges and adaptations needed to fit in and the otherness
implicit in being an immigrant may cause physical, psychological and emotional
pain, a reality with which many audience members may identify.
However, the
piece does not dwell in the difficulties of such experience, quite the
opposite; it underlines the transformative power human beings have,
specifically immigrants, to overcome all kinds of adversities.
Despite the intensity of the piece, pain and trauma are
presented as rites of passage into a more meaningful and fulfilling life. The
transformation makes him stronger, more powerful and capable. Despite the
narrated experiences, the immigrant wins in the end when he realizes he is
closer than ever to achieving his full potential as a human being.
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