«Simbiosis Helena Alegría Gallardo»: New Play by Carla Zúñiga Explores Discrimination Against Women Living with HIV

Original article: «Simbiosis Helena Alegría Gallardo»: Nueva obra de dramaturga Carla Zúñiga explora la discriminación a las mujeres que viven con VIH 

«I am obsessed with you. Since you started working here, I can’t stop thinking about you,» is one of the confessions made by a worker to another, who bears a special name: «Simbiosis».

She appears unfazed; she’s used to being harassed and assaulted. In this dialogue, which takes place in what looks like a break room of any office in the country, prejudices and discrimination will unfold in a way characteristic of Carla Zúñiga’s theatrical style.

«Simbiosis Helena Alegría Gallardo» is the title of this play—funded by the Performing Arts Fund, call 2025—premiering on Wednesday, May 27, and featuring only four performances at Teatro Sidarte.

Directed by Gustavo Carrasco and featuring a cast that includes Francisca Márquez and Sofía Fajardo, the play follows two women who, under the guise of workplace formality, delve into their prejudices, fears, and eventual aggression toward another individual living a different reality.

As director Gustavo Carrasco points out, the arrival of this play on stage aligns with the multifaceted themes of the proposal.

«Carla’s text raises questions not only about HIV but also regarding the intolerance that masquerades as reasonableness, genuine concern, or a favor being done. I am interested in the mechanism of her dramaturgy, where what is said and what is left unsaid hold equal weight in a work environment. Directing this play is an exercise in listening, creating the scenic conditions to allow this escalation to unfold without emphasizing it,» said the director.

Women Living with HIV and «Serophobia»

Carla Zúñiga’s work originated from a dramaturgical creation session developed during 2020 at M100. This was part of the Ciclo Sidario, where a group of artists was invited to reflect on the experiences of people living with HIV/AIDS from various perspectives.

This cycle, as the director mentioned, emerged during the pandemic «questioning the impact of HIV on contemporary Chilean and Latin American dramaturgy.» Its staging today, Carrasco adds, «takes on even more significance at a time when HIV prevention programs are being cut and protections against workplace harassment are regressing.»

In this context, as Carla Zúñiga explains, she chose to focus on women living with the virus «because until that moment, I had seen some Chilean plays addressing HIV, but not many, and almost all approached it from the same perspective, which was from homosexuality. So I thought it could be interesting to talk about it from women’s viewpoints, and how women discuss this issue.»

Ultimately, the play addresses the theme of «serophobia,» or fear and aversion towards those living with HIV.

«While the play speaks about HIV, it predominantly addresses the theme of freedom, being able to name things as they are, and how that can be a problem, even a pain for someone who desires the opposite,» the playwright pointed out.

In this way, the production aims to position itself within the landscape of Latin American seropositive dramaturgy, paving the way for new approaches to tackling these discriminations.

Performance Details

«Simbiosis Helena Alegría Gallardo» will be presented from Wednesday, May 27, to Saturday, May 30, at 7:30 PM in the María Elena Duvauchelle room at Teatro Sidarte, located at Ernesto Pinto Lagarrigue 131, Recoleta.

Tickets are available on a «pay what you can» basis: $4,000, $6,000, and $8,000 and can be purchased on Ticketplus.

El Ciudadano