PERSONAL

English translations in order of the presentation

Ana Sanchez (Intro)

It’s Friday afternoon. We are the cleaners of this building.
The dusty clock marks the passage of time for us.
We begin our shift, cleaning the offices.
We move one by one, aligned in a silent routine.
We are constant, we work hard, we are invisible to everyone else.
Our hands push rags and brooms with the precision of those who know the craft.
Our mark is order and cleanliness in every corner, every surface, every sector of this vast building.
We celebrate each other when we achieve something. We return home at night.

Today is Friday, and in my heart, it’s always Friday. Today we celebrate a birthday.
Today, the building’s lights seem warmer. Tonight, we’ll have a party.
But there’s something in the air today—something more. Today, we’re nervous.
A whisper spreads through the hallways. News circulates about us.
They’re going to tell us something at the end of our shift.
The seconds feel endless.

We’ll see what it is. We’ll see what it is. We’ll see what it is.

Ana Varon, Colombia

I belong to the city with all it displays
With its noise, with its people, it devours old age
And I can't escape the smoke creeping in today
Yet I keep growing - just another lump of coal

I won't imagine the sorrow in others' eyes
I buy air, and if it's pure, I'll pay the highest price
I won't accept their lost faith as justified
Their surrendered arms, their vanished inner light

I found people who know true worth when it's found
Who wandered the capital as tourists unbound
Never facing the harsh truth that pounds:
Breathing soot, crying tar - that choking sound

Now I start aging, sweating my truth aloud
Raised to cough, with variety proud
Where to rest while carrying my scent around?
We should walk naked to feel truly unbound

Martina Kindsvater, Argentina

It’s cold all day, x3
Winter wants to hurt me again.

But by sweeping away the time of sorrows,
I made it to where I always wanted,
where I always dreamed.

People who focus on other people,
yet wish them harm—that’s wrong.
The bubble that protects me lights up,
and I want to help them all.

No need to say anything more,
no more words needed.
I don’t need anything else.

I know I called you that afternoon
when I returned from New York.
I know I begged the one above
for a truce, please.

I don’t want to clean anymore, Naya—
I’m tired, and I don’t want this anymore.
They accuse me of stirring up trouble,
of being part of Rock & Roll.
So what? x3

I was born under a star,
and when I sing, when I dance,
it shines again.
Don’t you see it, Naya?

I know I called you that afternoon
when I came back from New York.

Belen Pojaghi - Argentina

I’m grateful to be alive one more day on this earth.
For all the moments we shared beneath the sun,
under the moon, in the rain, and by the sea.

I’m so happy I can still hold you
and tell you I love you.
That music exists, and wind,
and that’s why I can sing.

You have to understand—I too have
a heart that beats, air in my lungs,
and a thousand dreams.
I know your love, your lips, your eyes,
and your smile will wait for me.

I’m grateful my health still stands by me,
that I carry our songs everywhere I go.
You know everything I’ve survived,
and yet I’m still learning, still dreaming.

But I have no home, no true north.
My parents cry for me too.
Understand—I have no time,
because I’m always flying,
always moving, here to there.
I’m like a ghost who’s never close.
You know I have no anchor,
no ground to land on.

I’m grateful I don’t know
what the future holds,
but that we still meet here and now.
I can recognize some of my flaws.
And above all, I’m thankful
for my friends, and that I can change.

Thank you.

Clara Torrijos, Spain

No one understands it, not even you.
It’s a battle of giants that turns the air into gas and chokes me.
This duel warns how close I am to entering a colossal world,
and I feel my fragility.
I can’t take it! What a nightmare!
Running with a beast behind me, all day long.
Please, tell me it’s all a lie, please…
Just a silly dream and nothing more.

The truth is, I have to confess—the vastness terrifies me,
where no one hears my voice.
But you… Stop pretending,
don’t try to hide that you’ve walked without stumbling.
We all stumble!

Paper monster, I don’t know who I’m fighting…
Or is there someone else here?
Is there someone else?

I believe in terrible ghosts from some strange place,
But I also believe in my own nonsense
Just to make you laugh out loud.
Stop pretending…
This is just between you and me—
No one else is here.
Let us pass through, without fear.

Desiree Blanco, Venezuela

I wish I could leave,
Go to the sea,
Stretch out on the sand,
Breathe in the salt air,
Listen to the waves,
And stay—
Stay until
My body is covered completely in salt.

It would be just you and me,
Near here or far away,
No rules, no faith.
I promise you:
All the colors of the sky,
And bottles upon bottles
Of rum, wine, and honey.
Come on! Let’s go now!
Let’s leave everything behind!
Let’s start anew!

Hidden among the dunes,
Between land and sea,
We’ll steal a little peace.
We’ll sing to the ocean!

And me, curled up against you,
I’d tell you about this dream—
Our dream. Let’s go.

Listen!
If we live hidden,
If we live damned,
And if time stops,
We’ll outrun our shame.

Look—there, you can lie,
There, you can deceive,
There…
There, we can be… just you and me.

Jose Rodriguez, Honduras

When we’re facing the sun,
waiting for our dreams to come,
We’re smiling high, watching the good things passing by.

We pretend to feel fine,
but inside, we’re crying sometimes.
It ain’t what it seems
Nothing but a dream.

And the faces get void, and the lies become real.
And the memories we held, slowly fade away.
The person we once were... vanishes eventually. 

We’ve travelled many roads that we forget where we belong.
We’ve become strangers to ourselves.
We’re shattered. And scattered. We’ve turned into pieces... 

But those who doubted us will soon believe.
Because we’re never supposed to win.
Or even to achieve. 

But here we are.

Nayaret Videla

Sometimes I wish I could vanish from the map
Return to where I was born
But it's not so simple—doubts cling to me
Like stubborn hairspray
They won't shake loose

Sometimes I wish I had wings like a bird
To fly back to Lautaro's time
And forget, just for a while, that half
My family is so far away

...Some days I complain
Some days I'm cool as hell
Some days I'd even laugh at Guatón Loyola

...Ah! Comadre Lola, if only you knew
What it's like to be divided
To not know which land is yours
But I'm a wanderer
I belong to the north, the south
The west, the east
A traveler with no address, no name, no ID
A Ulysses with no promised land

My name doesn't matter—only what I do
To judge a man by the quality of his work
The world is so vast
And I'm so small
I navigate only by the compass rose...

Silvia Cortez, Peru

Ana!
Ana!!
Ana!!!

You know? I think I’m also from another kind.

I like to walk around with my hair loose
I love everything mysterious
I always enjoy going against the wind
So much so that if they say "white," to mess with them, I say "black."

I know I’m always tangled up, always disheveled
I know what they say out there—that it looks like I sweep the floor with my hair...
And all because I like to wear my hair loose
Because I love everything sincere
Because I’m real

Touch me, touch my face, my arms
Do you feel it? I’m real, and I have no reverse
But I know what they’re saying—
That I’m aggressive, too aggressive, aggressive like a cat in heat
But I can also be very gentle, gentle like a sleepy lion
And all because I like my mane wild
So much that I don’t care if they scream at me to the heavens
I don’t care if my grandmother has a heart attack
I don’t care about anything anymore

I’ll... I’ll wear my hair loose
I’ll always be how I want to be
I’ll forget about insecurities
I won’t be afraid of anyone
Even if they call me indecent
Even if people talk badly about me

Ana!
I like being true to a feeling
Leave that, come here
Sweetheart, it’s time to forget the sad times
It’s time to forget about insecurities
Ana... It’s time to wear your hair loose!!!!!

Todd Herskope, Australia

I'm really close tonight
And I feel like I'm moving inside her
Lying in the dark
And I think that I'm beginning to know her
Let it go
I'll be there when you call

And whenever I fall at your feet
You let your tears rain down on me?
Whenever I touch your slow turning pain

You're hiding from me now
There's something in the way that you're talking
The words don't sound right
But I hear them all moving inside you
Know
I'll be waiting when you call

Hey, whenever I fall at your feet
Won't you let your tears rain down on me?
Whenever I touch your slow turning pain

The finger of blame has turned upon itself
And I'm more than willing to offer myself
Do you want my presence or need my help?
Who knows where that might lead
(I fall)

Whenever I fall at your feet
Won't you let your tears rain down on me?

Whenever I fall
Whenever I fall

Ana Sanchez, Colombia

The past is a grotesque animal
And in its eyes you see
How completely wrong you can be
The sun is out, it melts the snow that fell yesterday
Makes you wonder why it bothered
It's so embarrassing to need someone like I do you
How can I explain, I need you here and not here too
I'm flunking out, I'm flunking out, I'm gone, I'm just gone
But at least I author my own disaster
Performance breakdown and I don't want to hear it
I'm just not available
Things could be different but they're not
The mousy girl screams, "Violence! Violence!"
She gets hysterical because they're both so mean
And it's my favorite scene
But the cruelty's so predictable
It makes you sad on the stage
Though our love project has so much potential
But it's like we weren't made for this world
(Though I wouldn't really want to meet someone who was)
Do I have to scream in your face?
I've been dodging lamps and vegetables
Throw it all in my face, I don't care
Let's just have some fun
Let's tear this shit apart
Let's tear the fucking office apart
Let's tear our fucking bodies apart
But let's just have some fun
And nothing can defeat you
No death, no ugly world
But even apocalypse is fleeting
There's no death, no ugly world
We want our film to be beautiful, not realistic
Perceive me in the radiance of terror dreams
And you can betray me
You can, you can betray me
I'm so touched by your goodness
You make me feel so criminal
But you know, no matter where we are
We're always touching by underground wires
I've explored you with the detachment of an analyst
But most nights we've raided the same kingdoms
And none of our secrets are physical
None of our secrets are physical

Adolfo Olivier, Mexico

When they speak to you of love and illusions,
And offer you a sun and an entire sky,
If you remember me, don’t mention my name—
For you’ll feel real love, the kind that’s true.

And if they ask about your past,
You must tell a little lie:
Say you come from somewhere far, a strange world,
That you don’t know how to cry, that love’s a mystery,
And that you’ve never loved before.

But where I go,
I’ll speak of your love
Like a golden dream.
And forgetting the pain,
I won’t say your goodbye
Left me broken.

And if they ask about my past,
I’ll tell my own lie too:
I’ll say I came from a strange world,
That I’ve never known pain, that I conquered love,
And that I’ve never cried.

Al-Nair Reyes, Venezuela

Let the rain
Caress your eyelids
Let the humidity
Sink into your temple

Let tonight
Your feet walk bare
And no, don’t stop them
If they start to run

Let the damned desire
For once come true
Let the silence
Whisper to you again

You have to let that absence of yours
Sink into a depression...
Kill it
So the child you carry inside
Can be born again

I don’t know what else to do...

Let people pass on both sides
Without touching you
Look up, look at the night, look at the stars
Let the neon of this night
Pierce your skin

Let that doubt
In your mind
Not ask
And not dig in
Let it not even speak
And let it die, just for today