fuerza bruta or brocha

long post ahead. The other week, Banuk invited me to watch Fuerza Bruta, a unique postmodern interactive show like no other. Fuerza Bruta literally means "brute force" in Spanish. It was created by Diqui James and was first produced in Argentina. Throughout the entire show, we moved around the open space like herded cattle, blinded by neon bright lights, and ambushed by heart-thumping techno music. But I would have to say it was the most original, if not the most gimmicky, show I've ever seen thus far.

Upon entering the stage area, we were confused where the hell we should place ourselves. The crowd was definitely young, urban, and well-dressed. I had the impression these people liked to "partey." I promised to keep an open mind before going to the show. Whatever I was about to experience, I vowed to take it all in. Dancing? Splashes of water? Tsugs Tsugs flare? I'm in! But I have to admit, I'm no fan of disco or extremely loud techno music for that matter. It's not just my cup of tea. But as I've said this night was about being open. And Banuk and I were definitely in for some what-the-fuck moments. As the show was about to start, a voice could be heard saying, "Please move around the stage area as the show goes on for your safety." Safety?

This mysterious man was the central figure of the show. Dressed in white sleeves and tie, he starts walking on this giant treadmill, slowly the walk became a jog, and the jog became a run. The disturbing thing was the rope tied on his shirt. If that wasn't disturbing enough, we suddenly heard a loud gunshot out of nowhere. The next thing we knew he was already bleeding on the treadmill. This mysterious man would return later in the show. This time he wakes up on a bed, starts eating on the table, and begins to frantically arrange the said furniture as the giant treadmill continuously moves. Yes, he's always on that damn treadmill.

As the treadmill disappeared, the entire space turned pitch black. A metallic curtain blazing in neon lights appeared. My heart was beating furiously as the booming music surrounded the entire space. Two beautiful women appeared walking sideways across the wall. I suddenly remembered a carnival stunt in Bislig where motorcycles drove horizontally across a walled arena. This looks exactly like that, except these women were dancing sideways with only  a piece of rope holding their backs. It was a delightful exhibition full of heart-thumping energy. I keep saying the word "thumping" because the show literally played with my nerves.

More dancing and trashing ensued. I can't help but smile as I recall the Energy of each performer. At one point, they came down the stage and started dancing in the middle of the crowd. Each dance was coupled with extravagant party-popping confetti.

After a gazillion of wohooos, the long-awaited water exhibition happened. A ginourmous yet shallow pool made of thick plastic hovered over us. One by one female performers, wearing skimpy tanks and panties, started crashing and throwing themselves onto the pool. At times it was a bit painful to watch.Other times, it was quite fascinating to see them do a synchronized dance, lying face down for the audience, like mermaids in a big fish pool. The guys from the audience were more than happy to see a sea of sexy (and tight I must say) butts pressed against the transparent pool. I was patiently waiting for a male performer clad in tight briefs to start crashing his precious body for all of us to see. That didn't happen. I was extremely disappointed.

The final exhibition involved three performers climbing up a tall ladder and jumping straight into the audience, with a strong artificial wind blowing on their face. The show ended with a slight water shower for the audience as an Indian-looking DJ started playing upbeat music for the crowd to dance. I was reserved and I wanted more weird stunts. But it was one heck of a show, definitely. 

The after-party was another story. I had a LOT of fun dancing with Bunak. Yes, we were just seizing the moment, enjoying every bit of this weird night-out. Because we bought discounted tickets via Ensogo, we we had to order drinks for ourselves. I wanted a cosmopolitan and Banuk eagerly ordered rum cola. We suddenly realized we haven't asked for the price of the said drinks in the first place. Upon searching the menu, we saw that San Mig Light costs P130 a bottle, which means our drinks were surely a tad more expensive than regular beer. Shit! To make matters worse, a pack of Marlboro costs P250 each. Tunginuh! I couldn't keep a straight face. Sabi ni Banuk, "te yung mukha mo ayusin mo, kunwari okay lang!" No!!! So to get our money's worth, we spent the rest of the night dancing like idiots. We were one of the three groups of people dancing on the floor. Shy at first, but, you know, the drinks were expensive, might as well dance dance dance!