Contemporary Writers’ Spanish Theater Exhibition opens this Friday in Alicante and runs until November 11, presenting nine days of performances and installations. As a prelude to the main program, the Alicante performance artist Alex Pena has unveiled an installation at MACA this week, reshaping Lorca’s dramaturgy into a playful, showroom of seven amusement machines. Each machine is themed around the Granada poet and the world he inhabited, inviting visitors into a playful space that doubles as a critical commentary on art, commerce, and culture.
Humor and irony drive the experience, inviting audiences to interact with every device while most of them offer prizes. Pena uses Lorca’s legacy to spotlight how culture can become a commodity, often reduced to souvenirs or quick thrills. Through this setup, the artist questions the capitalist framework that can turn heritage into memory and routine entertainment into mass consumption. The piece asks visitors to consider what they buy, and what they lose, when art becomes a photo opportunity or a price tag.
The creator explains that the project began from a simple observation about Lorca including the idea that not everyone has engaged deeply with his work. He recalls a moment in Granada where he realized many people could recite popular lines or own Lorca memorabilia without actually reading his plays. The installation turns this insight into a punk-inspired reinterpretation, suggesting that Lorca’s dramatic work is far from boring and remains relevant a century later. It is presented as a fresh and provocative lens rather than a reverent tribute. Source: MACA.
The opening piece converts banknotes into coins for the arcade machines, a provocative gesture that mirrors the poet’s era and the public’s later reactions. The designer notes that the idea grew from a desire to critique how capitalism shapes cultural life while still acknowledging the enduring power of Lorca’s voice. The Alicante artist, who now resides in Seville, frames Lorca almost as a catalyst for change, a reminder that some art remains accessible while other experiences require a price. Source: MACA.
Machines
Bernarda Alba’s crane is a mechanical game where players can win representations of the play’s iconic objects. Adela’s comb, the original perfume of Pepe el Romano, and Bernarda’s autographed fan become tangible prizes in a imagined world where literature becomes a playable artifact. Blood balls is a surprise prize mechanism with a faux blood theme, nodding to the danger and drama of the era. The allusive Blood Wedding story here unfolds through its own playful mechanics. A foosball table inspired by Don Perlimplín’s love for Belisa places the couple from Lorca’s 1929 work on the field with each goal, while yerma and a reference to La Nuit evokes a provocative link to Paris and moments of night-time freedom. The machines invite visitors to engage with familiar scenes through a lens that blends humor with critique.
The two installations, each anchored in Lorca’s world, highlight a group of invisible female artists from the Generation of ’27. A machine titled Invaders of Cadaqués turns into an arcade space where surreal clashes happen between Dalí and Lorca, and where La Argentinita’s castanets and a painter’s defenses enter the game. Another feature presents a playful sequence designed to release eggs like bombs, pushing the imaginative boundaries of what an arcade can portray. Source: MACA.
Movie soundtrack
All the installations are supported by a contemporary soundtrack that brings together collaborations from independent artists and groups. The lineup includes Rocío Márquez, Pablo Peña, and Darío del Moral of Pony Bravo and Fiera, along with Daniel Alonso of Pony Bravo, Alicia Acuña, The Gardener Stay P MSRT, Califato ¾, Los voluble, and Yunke Junk Preachers. The machine Blood Balls carries the original voice of one of Lorca’s granddaughters, Laura García-Lorca, lending an intimate thread to the broader artistic conversation.
The exhibition remains on view through November 11. Next Thursday, Álex Peña will lead a guided tour at 17:30. All machines feature descriptive notes and a QR code that offers deeper background information about the works beyond the playful surface, inviting visitors to read and discover the broader literary context while they engage with the games. Source: MACA.