Saynatakuna is an ethnographic film as well as a book documenting the film. It tells the story of the mask-makers and dancers during the festival of the Virgen del Carmen in Paukartambo. The dancers reinterpret their history and the socio-political forces that drive them to perform their rituals of magic and resistance. The eighteen dance troupes reenact and satirize the different ethnic groups that have passed through Paukartambo since the beginning of time. They tell a story of the past, the present, and the future, wearing handmade colorful masks and intricate beaded costumes.
Peruvian-born Llerena Aguirre is Associate Professor of Art in Digital Imaging, Multimedia, and Graphic Design at the University of Miami. He directs and produces independent films from his Miami-based in-house studio. His video art and documentaries have been screened and officially selected by many international venues including FLAVIA 2015 (Festival Latinoamericano de Videoarte), Centro Borges, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Lloret International Festival, Lloret de Mar, Spain; ISCHIA Film Festival, Naples, Italy; MAC-Lima, solo exhibition, Permanent Collection, Lima, Peru; TOLFA International Short Film Festival 2013, Rome, Italy; Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami, Florida; and OMNI Urban Intervention, juried exhibit, Art Basel, Miami, Florida. Aguirre represented Peru and the USA with his woodcuts in the Norsk Internasjonal Grafikk Biennale, Norway; Pacific States Biennial National Print Exhibition, USA; and The Xylon Graphische International Triennale, Switzerland. He is the recipient of artist-in-residence awards from the Frans Masareel Centrum in Belgium and the Venice Printmaking Studio in Venice, Italy. Aguirre has published woodcuts in international journals, books, magazines, children's books, and newspapers. His woodcuts are in the Library of Congress Permanent Collection.
