Sympathy for Exú

The game is never what you think it is. Encountering the trickster at the crossroads of cowboy culture and Brazilian tourism!

A provocative journey through the intersection of culture, identity, tourism, and privilege, this performance riffs off of and adapts The Rolling Stones' classic with a bold exploration of Brazil's vibrant traditions and the deep complexities of syncretic connections in a so-called tropical paradise. Created by Laurelann Porter in collaboration with Mestre Monza Calabar, Sympathy for Exú challenges Western assumptions about leisure, travel, and cultural exchange through an ethnographic lens.

Part performance, part ethnography, and told through a series of intimate moments—ranging from personal anecdotes of travel misadventures to the rhythm-filled beats of Bahia—this music-infused performance invites you into a world where the trickster Exú tells us the deeper truths through his game of lies. This piece will leave you reflecting on your own blind spots, your privilege, and your…