Performer and anthropologist Lukas Avendaño (1977) grew up in a community of indigenous Zapotecs in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca. After studying Dance and Anthropology, he became a performance artist. Lukas is a current member of the National System of Art Creators of Mexico 2021-23. He has performed at international festivals and venues.

Avendaño embodies the identity of the muxe from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, where he was born. Muxes are men who were socialised as women. Avendano’s performances mix ritual dances with autobiographical elements. On May 10th of 2018, his brother Bruno Avendaño disappeared. Since then, he became an activist for the disappeared people through the performance Searching for Bruno which has been presented in different cultural institutions in Mexico as in front of Mexican consulate in Barcelona, Spain. After 30 months of searching, they found his brother’s body in Oaxaca. Avendaño’s journey was registered in the documentary film The Butterfly’s Utopia.

He has been part of the photo performances and exhibitions by Mario Patiño who was part of What a Genderful World at the Tropenmuseum in Amsterdam in 2021.

Awards

2017 ZKB Audience Prize for his performance No soy persona. Soy mariposa