Arts & International Affairs: Volume 2, Number 2 | Page 139

The Art of Resilience
Consuelo Hidalgo
Consuelo Hidalgo is currently working as the Cultural Director at the Ecuador – United States
Binational Center in Guayaquil, Ecuador. In 2012 founded “Arts Leap” which developed communitybased
partnerships, as a means of building the audience required to ensure high-quality arts
learning for young people. Before that, she worked for 4 years as cultural promoter at the Guayaquil
Symphony Orchestra, in charge of educational and audience development programs. She developed
multiple cultural projects that pursued the integration of people with fewer resources in to the arts
scene. In 2008, she participated in the U.S Department of State’s Bureau of Education and Cultural
Affairs and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts International Cultural Exchange
Program. In 2012 finished her Arts Management Summer International Fellowship at the DeVos
Institute of Arts Management at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. In March
2016 participated in the Executive Program in Fundraising for the Performing Arts, held at the
“Accademia Teatro alla Scala” in Milan, Italy. Also awarded as one of the 12 global fellows in the
International Society for the Performing Arts (ISPA) Congress held in New York City in January
2017.
On April ��, ����, Ecuador suffered a devastating �.� magnitude earthquake
that changed lives forever. This was a time where we, as Ecuadorians, most
profoundly felt the collateral damage produced by our status as a poor
country, many people were killed, wounded or transferred to live in shelters.
It came as no surprise that the artistic community reacted in a display of
empathy and solidarity, knowing how it is to live with uncertainty every day.
Like the shifting tectonic plates below the Earth’s crust, our hearts were
searching for an opportunity to liberate all the anger and anxiety produced
by this catastrophe. I worked with many actors who decided to offer free
shows for the most affected areas as a way to facilitate expressions of fear and
confusion. It was difficult to find undamaged venues
that could be used because regulations prohibited
large gatherings as a safeguard against aftershocks.
Consequently, the spaces to perform had to be
reinvented. Using open areas that surrounded refugee
tents, we crafted ��-min plays for young children that
helped them redirect feelings of despair into more
optimistic attitudes. Following this program, we added
in a second element for adults to participate in the
cathartic exercise.
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