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In Mexico, a shrinking national culture budget has encouraged networks of independent theatres to form. Mariela Lopez Flores talks to theatremakers about the challenges - weather and crime rates included - of creating a theatrical culture.

'Mexico is a country with an immense variety of culture. Each state is like a different world—for its climate, its people, and its arts. Some states have a flourishing theatrical culture with many independent theaters, while others struggle to even have one or two.
Across the country, though, there is a lack of government funding for the performing arts, meaning that many theatres are run solely through the support of the directors themselves. Currently, Mexico is going through a change of government, which has reduced the national budget for culture and has been removed a lot of art scholarships. On top of this, more and more states are moving away from the idea that arts hubs need to be in the capital cities, which is encouraging smaller communities across the country to create their own theatrical markets. Given these realities, a number of local artists, myself included, launched a research project to study the independent theatre halls in the country. We believe learning more about the existing public policies, and how various companies self-manage, is important to moving the field forward.' ... Keep reading on HowlRound