The Travel Chica

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Seeing Nothing and Experiencing More

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Have you ever experienced a theater performance while wearing a blindfold?

Photo from Flickr user stars alive.

Ted and Bethany from TwoOregonians suggested I attend Ojos Cerrados.

And I am glad I took their suggestion.

I went with my friend and former housemate Susanna.  The main reason to go with a friend is to have someone to talk to about the experience afterwards.  During the show, you will not talk or see each other, or even know where the other person is sitting.

 

Before you even take your seat, someone gives you a blindfold.

Reluctantly, you put it on, wondering how you will actually get into the theater from the lobby.

 

Then a stranger gently takes both of your hands and leads you slowly to a chair.

You sit and wait, listening to shuffling feet and the sound of people getting comfortable in their seats.

 

You see nothing but black.

You sense that there is about 2 feet of space between you and the next person on all sides.

 

Then it begins.

And you experience theater with all of your senses.

 

You hear the sounds of birds, crickets, and other creatures.  The sounds echo around you as if they are moving around and filling the distance for many miles.  There is a slight misting rain.

 

You feel the warmth and see the brightness of a sunrise.

 

You are in the middle of a parade as musicians rush past playing their instruments.

 

Someone hands you a lollipop.  Should you eat it?  Sure, why not.  The sound of children playing and laughing.  They scurry past on both sides, lightly brushing against you.  A child touches your hand and starts to play with their toy on your lap, like curious little people do.

 

You are in a dance hall playing old-fashioned music.  Someone takes your hand, lifts you from your chair, and you are swaying back and forth, dancing with a stranger.  You’ve been spun around, and the chairs must all be gone.  You are handed off to another partner, and from the hesitation in their grip, you can tell that he or she is also wearing a blindfold.

 

At the end of the show, the blindfolds are removed.

You sit for a minute getting re-oriented.  You are shocked to see that the show lasted 1.5 hours.  Time flew by as you exercised all of your senses, taking in this strange, yet comforting experience.

 

Then you hop on a crowded bus and go back to reality.

 

Have you ever had an experience similar to this?

 

Check out Ojos Cerrados!

Ojos Cerrados is in its 9th season.  Put on by the popular Avitantes theater group, you can catch a performance Thursday through Saturday at La Comedia in Recoleta.  This is a must-do if you have any interested in performance art.

Comments

  1. I’m so glad you loved it, Stephanie! You’re right about making sure to take a friend so you’ll have someone to share thoughts with after the performance. When Ted and our visiting friend Kaylea and I went, we must’ve talked for an hour about all of the different imaginary scenes we’d been in during the show… So cool. I hope these types of performances pop up in other cities around the world so even more audiences can enjoy the unusual art.
    Bethany ~ twoOregonians recently posted..Art and Dance in Buenos Aires

  3. This sounds incredible! I want to go to “a restaurant in the dark” in Israel this summer. It was created with the intention of experiencing some of what blind people experience, and I heard they also have some sort of a show, yet I doubt if it involves the audience this much. Ojos Cerrados sounds fantastic! I hope they’re still performing whenever it is I get to return to Argentina. Thanks for the tip!
    Ayelet – All Colores recently posted..Video of the Week: 5 Minutes of Buenos Aires Sights

  4. Very interesting, Stephanie. This is something I’d like to try. In Zurich, there’s a restaurant called Blinde Kuh (Blind Cow) where you eat in complete darkness. A similar experience, perhaps…
    Sophie recently posted..Postcard from the Grenadines

  7. You should definitely go to “Teatro Ciego”. They have shows where your eyes are opened, but everything is in complete darkness. Awesome experience. Some of the actors are actually blind. They also have this eating in the dark experience called “A Ciegas con Luz”. I’m sure you’ll love it, great food and lots of wine.

  9. How very interesting! I hope something like that comes here! I definitely would love that experience! I just watched that CSI episode of the murder in the restaurant too! I wouldn’t be surprised to find one of those restaurants around here. I’m going to have to check out what there is to offer around here. There is a lot of arts & theater downtown, at the colleges, Yellow Springs… There’s Murder Mystery Dinner at the Spaghetti Warehouse I think once a month.
    Love Mom

  10. This is an interesting idea. I once went to an Opera in Vienna. I had no idea what they were saying because of the language and had to try to understand it by how they were acting. I know this is not the same as not seeing but you still have to use your senses to understand it.
    Jeff B recently posted..Sundays in Retiro Park – Madrid

  12. That sounds like a great experience! I was hoping to get to Buenos Aires before I head to the Baltic States and eventually Greece and Thailand but times goes so fast I will have to look at it for another year.
    Jonathan Look, Jr. recently posted..Photos for ADAY.org

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