The Dance of Tradition in Contemporary Art. Edmundo Torres’ China Diabla Performance

This article explores the relation between dance traditions and contemporary art concepts and conventions, focusing on Edmundo Torres’ 1995 performance of the China Diabla, the dancing female devil from the Peruvian Andes, in front of the wrapped Reichstag by Jeanne-Claude and Christo in Berlin. Attentive to the religious imprint of the devil dance—marked by both Andean spirituality and Catholic devotion, I draw on an understanding of syncretism as the layering of religious practices, mobilizing the term for cultural analysis. In contrast to the promotion of folklore as a means of securing national culture, particularly by the Peruvian state, syncretic traditions are characterized by changeability alongside transmission. Committed to the continuity and transformation of Andean traditions through mask-making, dressing, and dancing, especially on the streets, Edmundo Torres’ lifework actively participates in the formation of a Latin American diaspora. Moreover, his performance in front of the wrapped Reichstag becomes an intervention in Germany’s self-representation as a postwar, reunited nation at the turn of the 20th. Century. I show how, by dancing with fellow visitors and for the wrapped monument, Torres’ China Diabla performance amplifies devotion, extending its reach to diasporic terrains and the field of contemporary art.