CHA CHA CHA
Cha Cha Cha is a book-poem composed of anagrams harvested from the verses of “El Bodeguero” (composed by Richard Egües and originally recorded by Orquesta Aragón, 1956).
"Toma chocolate, paga lo que debes" — This simple and brutal logic, delivered in a chirpy endearing melody, gains new connotations in this publication. My interest in those words turned to their meaning, sound, and graphic form. Along with the syncopated and convulsive pace of the poem, words are dismantled from an initial text grid and reassembled throughout the spreads. On each page, the reader is invited to excavate and rearrange language to unveil the marks of colonial violence that has shaped most of the Latin American experience over the centuries.
The overlays and transparencies of the printed publication were translated into a video piece as a choir of juxtaposed voices. Over the layered sound tracks, archival footage is rapidly intercut, creating indexical illustrations of each spoken word. These images vertiginously depict the planting and harvesting of cocoa and sugar cane, the industrial processing and distribution of chocolate, and its consumption in various forms. Alongside these images, a man gracefully dances the Cha-Cha.
Self-published edition of 18 signed and numbered copies. Printed in risograph in black and metallic gold, at Aalto's Printmaking Studio. 32 pages, format: 20 x 28cm.
Workshop master: Pia Parjanen
Photography: Jo Hislop
Voice over (video): Paulo André
Finland, 2021.