Cuba Oranges
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| 8 EUR, reduced 4 EUR |
| Please book your ticket in advance online or at the box office in the foyer. Admission from 20 minutes before the start of the performance |
| Admission is part of Cuba Oranges and starts 20 minutes before the performance begins. |
| German |
| Ground Floor, Hall 2, Hall 1, Ground Floor |
| Belongs to: Goodbye, Palace Of The Republic, Blown Away: The Palace of the Republic |
CUBA ORANGES by Viviana Medina sheds light on the lives of the more than 30,000 Cuban contract workers who came to the GDR from the early 1960s onwards – a largely unknown facet of German-Cuban history. The evening creates an immersive world in which numerous personal episodes of hope, homesickness, cultural clashes, rejection, friendship and everyday socialist life in a foreign and German country are brought to life in a variety of ways. Viewers are invited to engage with the intimate and private moments of diasporic life before and after the Peaceful Revolution of 1989. The performative installation allows visitors to take part in a Cuban birthday party that is permeated not only by the memories of former contract workers, but also by subsequent generations.
Viviana M. Medina studied directing at the Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts after completing her philology studies at the Free University of Berlin.
Born in Havana and raised in Thuringia, the director focuses on classism, the visibility of Black individuals, and East German perspectives in her work. In 2022, she staged her graduation piece, BELOVED, as part of the 48h Neukölln arts festival. Medina’s modern retelling of the Medea story took the form of a site-specific audio walk from a Black introspective perspective, centering on the free-born daughter and exploring the question: What is the purpose of remembrance?
During the filming of Sam – A Saxon, she worked as an assistant director and contributed to the storytelling on a dramaturgical level. Since April 2023, the documentary about Samuel Meffire, the first Black police officer in East Germany, has been streaming on Disney+ and, starting in April 2024, will be available in the ARD Mediathek.
In 2024, the director developed a documentary film concept for Netflix. Since 2023, she has been working as a dramaturge for the INTO THE WILD Mentoring program, advising FLINTA* filmmakers on their scripts for film and television. In the same year, she presented her performance C.V. during the Berliner Festspiele, which explored moments that shape identity and self-perception, including those of a father with war experiences and PTSD, and his daughter.
In fall 2023, she directed Say hi to me! at the TD as part of the MONOLOG Festival. This adaptation of the biblical Jonah story morphed into a real-life migration narrative based on the young Cuban woman Sandra de los Santos, who shipped herself from Havana to Miami in a wooden crate via DHL disguised as a ship propeller. The work also addressed Germany’s so-called “welcome culture.”
Since 2024, Medina has been working as a freelance dramaturge at the Ballhaus Naunynstraße on various theater projects, including Orestie and Kraftwandlerinnen.*
Currently, she serves as a jury member for the Heidelberg Play Market at Theater und Orchester Heidelberg and is writing the screenplay for her debut film.
Performance
Sithembile Menck
Director
Viviana M. Medina
Stage
Luis Ernesto Rivas Peralta
Costume
Viviana M. Medina
Dramaturgy
Roman Schmitz & Sarah C. Wray
Photography
Ida Kammerloch
Assistant director
Sarah C. Wray
Partner
The project was developed in 2024 as part of the Festival OSTEN in Bitterfeld-Wolfen.
A production by Viviana Medina, in co-production with Festival OSTEN/Kulturpark e.V. and the Humboldt Forum Foundation at the Berlin Palace.
