Sol Ramirez, a junior at the University of Connecticut, is the driving force behind 1,2,3 Puppetry, a local group of young puppeteers based in Chapel Hill. The group promotes the mission of social justice by utilizing performance art of giant puppets, music, masks and movement. By combining entertainment with activism, 1,2,3 Puppetry aims to build a community-centered company through puppetry.
Ramirez said that bringing inanimate objects to life has always been puppetry’s charm.
“Seeing something being animated in real time, and the stories that they can tell, the messages they can spread, that's kind of the things that always draw me into puppetry — its inherent creativeness and how it's an art form that really can pull in almost any other type of creative interest,” Ramirez said.
Ramirez has worked with various members and teams throughout the years that 1,2,3 Puppetry has been active. The organization is primarily young adult led, with the oldest performer only being a few years older than Ramirez.
Starting at the young age of 5, Ramirez’s environment was filled with films of puppetry, especially the works of Jim Henson in The Muppets, Sesame Street and Fraggle Rock. When asked the question, "what do you want to be when you grow up?" Ramirez always said he wanted to be a puppeteer.
“I always had to extend my explanation for wanting to be a puppeteer, and show that that was something that was set on from that age on," he said.
His parents led him to this path, emphasizing his Mexican-American culture, which he is inspired by and is something he frequently pulls from in his art. Specifically, Ramirez was inspired by the masks and art hanging on the walls of his home as a kid, as well as postcards his grandparents would send to him depicting the Mojiganga parade puppets — traditional Mexican puppets found on the streets of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.
The productions of 1,2,3 Puppetry primarily spread messages of social justice to showcase stories and ideas that are not commonly talked about or shared. For example, Ramirez’s recent work includes a giant puppet called Justice for the Gaza Solidarity encampment to shed light on the protest and promote justice.
The group creates and directs productions and conducts workshops at various venues. Additionally, 1,2,3 Puppetry is sometimes commissioned for specific work. On Saturday, the Outlandish Hillsborough Scottish Festival displayed Ramirez's commissioned work, the Craigh na Dun rocks.
