Como Saltar la Cuerda de la Manera Correcta - Antiguo Molino de Caña de Azúcar de Canóvanas. Puerto Rico (2021)

Documentation by Yelaine Rodriguez 

This performance was originally performed in Canovanas Old Sugar Mill, Puerto Rico. The original performance comes from Vasquez La Roche’s interest in the caribbean sugar production collapse. Throughout the region (Trinidad and Tobago, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, to name a few) the ruins of these old sugar factories still stand. Sugar through the region used to be one of it’s main product of export. 

Vasquez La Roche utilizes a whip reconfigured into a jumping rope and rum in their performance.The endurance performance consists of 3 steps: Jump the rope, crack the whip, drink some rum and repeat, until the liquor is completely consumed. The repetitive action of jumping the rope comes from the artist’s memories of their grandfather boxing workout routine. Another crucial memory of their grandfather was what use to be his place of work, The Domino Sugar Factory in Brooklyn, NY. Roy Greaves came from the caribbean to NY in the 1960’s to work in the refinery in midtown Brooklyn, at the time called Amstar.