The Role of Clothing in Street Historical-Theatrical Reenactments

Abstract

The street-based historical-theatrical recreations performed in our country depict real or fictional characters in action, bringing to life emblematic episodes from our past. To recreate is a spectacular act that involves research and demands rigor to achieve both knowledge dissemination and audience enjoyment.
The way we see ourselves and present ourselves to others has been, and continues to be, an essential part of the construction of our identity. Identifying ourselves within a group, distinguishing ourselves from our peers, covering ourselves to show ourselves or hiding ourselves to exhibit ourselves are tasks acquired by human beings and which are modified according to two defining premises: time and space. Embodying historical figures demands a thorough preliminary investigation that enables the construction of accurate representations. The visual arts provide the precise guide, facilitating the process of locating and visualizing a range of poses that can be enriched through narrative discourse. This article has two main objectives: to question the rigor of the creative scenic act and to advocate for its careful execution.
If the viewer’s eye accepts the visual code, the auditory sense remains attentive to the temporal transport of the recreation, engaging with the historical nature of the event—even driven by curiosity to learn more about what is presented on stage. In this regard, costume is a powerful expressive tool and an essential part of the character creation process. Clothing is a
direct communicative channel that conveys aspects of personality, whether to reveal or conceal. It is worth asking to what extent historical recreation allows for invention as a creative act, while reflecting past events based on history itself.