Cuatro No-Encuentros entre Lucy y Yiun (2025)

Cuatro No-Encuentros entre Lucy y Yiun ("Four No-Encounters between Lucy and Yiun")

‍ ‍ film stills

Commissioned by Fomento Educacional A.C. as part of the Community Impact Residency Program for U.S. Emerging Artists 2025, this community-engaged masked short film and movement performance by Hongbo Cai was created in direct collaboration with local residents of San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato.

‍ ‍on the set of <Cuatro No-Encuentros entre Lucy y Yiun>

‍ on the set of <Cuatro No-Encuentros entre Lucy y Yiun>

Directed by artist Hongbo Cai and mask artisan Diego Tzinacan, participants designed and crafted their own masks in a series of workshops, and it is with these same community members that the film and live mask theater were conceived and performed. Through four “missed encounters” between two half-human, half-animal figures, the project explores the region’s urgent water issues—drought, contamination, and habitat loss—linking ecological imbalance to emotional distance. The live performance integrates the indigenous snake flute, whose haunting timbre connects ritual, nature, and collective memory. The program is set up to foster cross-cultural exchange between Mexico and the United States.

‍ ‍ Mask Workshop Ending Day