El Gran Varón is part of the Infecciosa trilogy— a politically charged verbatim performance directed by Chilean artist Diego Agurto Beroiza and performed as a solo piece by Mexican actor Eduardo Arcelus. It is based on real, anonymous testimonies from Latin American migrants living with HIV in Europe.
Using documentary material, black humour, and pop culture, the piece exposes the violence, exclusion, and surveillance faced by racialised bodies from the Global South. It dismantles colonial structures embedded in health, migration, and desire, positioning performance as an act of insubordination rather than representation. Delivered in multiple languages and with direct address, the work challenges stigma and institutional narratives, refusing to offer healing or visibility—instead, it seeks disobedience and collective reflection.
Distinctive for its use of real archives and verbatim testimonies, El Gran Varón is compelling in its urgency and its refusal to conform.
This is not a story about resilience; it is a sharp intervention against systemic violence and a call to rethink how we remember HIV today.
"Our children live in the most deprived ward in London and their parents cannot afford to pay for the classes and activities many more privileged children enjoy after school and at the weekends. A free-to-access youth group run by a local theatre in a professional setting is an incredible opportunity."
Local school teacher
