Tacet

A performative session by Selam Ortega with the collaboration of Javier Pedreira.

Drawing on John Cage’s idea of the impossibility of silence, the piece proposes a form of radical, collective listening in which bodies, space and sound merge into a single substance.

This intervention forms part of a wider research project that Selam Ortega is developing for her new stage work, for which she is interviewing adoptees originally from Ethiopia across different countries and generations. These voices and memories, though deeply personal, share a common root marked by uprooting, transformation and the search for identity.

The work understands memory as both scenic and emotional material, focusing on the distance between what was lived and its later reconstruction. In that interval, the stage becomes a space of active listening and shared presence, where every body and every resonance moves to a common pulse. 

Activity curated by Africa Moment

With the participation of Selam Ortega

With the collaboration of Javier Pedreira


Selam Ortega

Born in Ethiopia, Selam Ortega is a creator, dancer and actor trained in contemporary dance and urban dance styles with international role models. She has performed for renowned choreographers such as Antonio Ruz, Sharon Fridman and Aïda Colmenero Dïaz. In film and television, she has appeared as an actor in feature films such as Mala influencia and Eres tú, and in series including Reina Roja and Ni una más. Her current research explores memory, the body and identity.


Javier Pedreira

Javier Pedreira (Madrid) is a guitarist and professional musician with more than three decades of experience in the studio and on national and international tours. He has performed alongside Luz Casal, Amaral, Najwa Nimri, Mikel Erentxun, Bebe and Travis Birds, among many other artists.

Alongside this work, he has developed personal projects such as Latino Diablo and Extraños en el Paraíso. 

His current practice delves into free improvisation and interdisciplinary collaboration, as well as creations in staged music and contemporary theatre.