Seated on a wooden bench after a rehearsal of Don Quijote in Mexico City, Santiago Senso speaks faster than the camera can focus. The actor, director and creator of “actos íntimos” has spent three decades turning everyday moments into living theatre. Below, we unpack the high points of our conversation, keep his Spanish words intact, and translate them for the wider tribe.
1 · A Life “Gestated” on Porches and Choir Stands
«Yo creo que arranqué desde muy pequeño… participando en coros, tocando la guitarra en mi barrio… gestando algo que ni sabía que iba a pasar más de 30 años y dedicarme a esto, al arte de estar vivo.»
“I think I started very young… singing in school choirs, playing guitar in my neighborhood… unknowingly gestating something that would take over my life for the next 30 years: the art of being alive.”
Senso’s early exposure to popular music and community ritual explains why his performances rarely stay on the stage. Street corners, church steps, market aisles—anywhere a chorus once echoed is fair game for dramaturgy.
2 · What Exactly Is an “Acto Íntimo”?
«Mi lenguaje de actos íntimos tiene que ver con un salto del secreto al compartirlo… un ritual donde el espectador también forma parte de la dramaturgia viva.»
“My language of intimate acts is about leaping from secrecy to sharing… a ritual where the spectator also becomes part of a living dramaturgy.”
The method pulls from Iberian romerías, Latin-American communal dance, and the confessional vibe of performance art. The “secret” may be as simple as a childhood memory or as painful as collective grief; once spoken, it belongs to everyone in the room. Critics have likened the format to a “family meal where Senso sets the table and the audience brings the food.”
3 · Scene-Building Without a Stage
«La escena está servida… puede estar en una salida de discoteca, en la sala de cine, en la mesa familiar.»
“The scene is already set… it might be a night-out at a club, a cinema hall, a family table.”
This portability lets Senso collide high culture with daily life: a Quijote monologue in a university auditorium one night; a silent walk through a corn field at dawn the next. The common denominator is confrontation—a gentle demand that performer and audience face each other’s raw material.
4 · The Engine: Confrontation as a Creative Vitamin
«Me remueve la confrontación contigo… donde reafirmo o cambio el paradigma de muchas emociones estigmatizadas.»
“What moves me is confrontation with you… where I reaffirm or re-shape emotions that society often stigmatizes.”
The goal is neither shock nor comfort, but honest recalibration. Loneliness, says Senso, “doesn’t exist; if you meet her, introduce me so I can tell her that.” That line, half-joke / half-manifesto, sums up the artist’s refusal to let any emotion live unattended.
5 · Current Tour & How to Experience the Work
Senso is touring Mexico with Don Quijote while hosting film- and theatre-based “actos íntimos” workshops:
- Querétaro · Oaxaca · Mexico City
- FITU Festival, UNAM — July 10–12 (Centro Cultural España)
- Open workshops on vulnerability in front of the camera
Follow him at @santisensoperdido or actosintimos.com.
6 · Why It Resonates with #EspirituTribe
Espíritu is built on movement, craft and shared stories. Senso hands the audience a similar invitation: step into the ritual, bring your own material, leave lighter. That alignment—cultural roots, modern language, open participation—is why his work feels so at home in our community.
Tell us which part of the conversation hit home using #EspirituTribe. We’ll feature your reflections in an upcoming reel.
Interview recorded July 2025 in Mexico City. Quotes reproduced with permission.
