1. “Mulambo” by Jazzagrario (13:19)

2. “Cultivar una milpa en el inconsciente. Cultivar el inconsciente en una milpa.” by Jorge García Manzano and Íñigo Malvido (16:57)
Jorge García Manzano studied philosophy at the School of Philosophy and Letters of the UNAM. He is working on his undergraduate thesis on schizoanalysis and ecology according to Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari. For four years he participated in the Área Destinada Voluntariamente a la Conservación (Area Voluntarily Destined for Conservation, ADVC) in the Kolijke ecological reserve in the municipality of Zihuateutla, in Puebla, Mexico, with Nahua and Totonaca communities. In 2019 he organized and participated in the first meeting of Ecosophy, Nature and Aesthetics in the ADVC Kolijke. He is currently directing the documentary film Flor Menudita.

Íñigo Malvido (Mexico City, 1992) is a researcher, writer and artist. He has written and published a couple of poetry books and essays. Some topics on which he currently bases his practice are: the laws of thermodynamics, the becoming of turtles, war and the irrational.

Written by García Manzano and read and assembled by Malvido, this text is a philosophical reflection on the role of the milpa, (a traditional agricultural system in which maize is intercropped with other species) in our current socio-political context. Read the full text here.

3. “Contenida” by Lucrecia Dalt (04:32)

4. “Los consejos que escuché” by Daniela Solís (26:11)
Daniela Solís is an experimental and conceptual artist from Mexico whose work is focused on her political and emotional life. She uses a variety of media to question radical sources of expression of existence. Her main mediums are sound art, poetry and live performance.

Los consejos que escuché (The Advice I Heard) is a sound collage based on recordings of herself and her nephew as they shelled corn cobs from her own harvest that she had previously dried. Being her first time doing this, she seeked help on the internet, and included audio fragments of videos she found to learn some techniques.

5. “Walk” by Mabe Fratti and Gudrun Gut (06:04)

6. “Choclos de Lima” by Julio Lugón (60:00)
Julio Lugón is an interdisciplinary artist whose work focuses on sound and conceptual art including installation, performance, electronics, biological data translation and graphics. He is interested in the integration of non-human beings (such as plants) into his work and their interactions with scientific-technical processes of knowledge production. His current projects deal with philosophical topics as with the challenges arising from social and ecological concerns. He has a master in Sound Studies from the UdK Berlin and was awarded first-prize at “Bonn Hoeren – Sonotopia 2019,” the sound art competition by the Beethoven Stiftung in Bonn, Germany. His works have been presented in Europe, South America and Asia. He also operates with the alias Pira Lemu as an experimental musician, DJ and has been host of the online show Radio Jurassic since 2018.

For Radio Inflorescence Lugon presents Choclos de Lima, a one-hour sound piece developed while visiting corn fields of different varieties in the forest nursery of the city of Lima. Blurring the lines of biological and synthetic, Lugon meditates whether sound can be both at once: a language beyond our own, intrinsic and unique to all entities and objects. See images of the process here.

7. “Soñar es despertar” by Tajak (13:01)

8. “Sólo déjate llevar” by Paolo Olarte (07:16)

9. “Mas Maíz” by N.O.R.E ft. Fat Joe, Nina Sky, Chingo Bling, Lil Rob, Negra & Lumidee. (04:37)

10. “VII” by Maria Chavez from Maria Chavez plays Stefan Goldmann’s ‘Ghost Hemiola’ (07:54)

11. “El maíz” by El Mayor Clásico (03:59)

12. “On the creation of man from corn”, a myth from the Maya recorded in the Popol Vuh. (01:25:08)
Electronically translated into Morse code, this myth was extracted from the fourth section of the Popol Vuh, the foundational sacred narrative of the Kʼiche people from northern Guatemala and southern Mexico. The story goes as follows:
Once the gods of creation had populated the world with animals of heaven and earth, they asked their creatures to recognize them by invoking their names; but all they received were shrieks, squawks and chirps. In punishment, the gods sent the animals to the ravines and forests, turning their flesh into food.
The gods then decided to form better beings: humans. In a first attempt, they took earth as raw material, but, lacking strength and movement, the new creatures fell apart; their eyesight was blurred, they were unable to reproduce and, although they spoke, they lacked understanding.
Frustrated, the gods discarded them and tried again to perfect their work, using wood from the colorin tree to form the body of the male, and cattail plant for that of the female. The new beings were able to move, speak and reproduce; but their flesh was wiry, without blood or substance; they had no soul or understanding; they did not remember their creators and wandered aimlessly.
Disappointed, the gods destroyed their creation. Again they pondered and discussed. They then decided to send the wild cat, the coyote, the Chocoyo parrot and the crow to bring the yellow and white ears of corn from Paxil and Cayalá, grind the corn, make nine drinks from the dough, and with that they created the flesh and blood of the first male and the first female. The marvelous creatures were strong and energetic, they were finally able to reproduce to inhabit the world with beings capable of recognizing, praising and feeding with their offerings to the gods.

 

1. “Oda al maíz” poem by Pablo Neruda, read by Alicia Saco (04:00)

2. “Canto al monte quemado” by Cecilia Palles and Martín Rodriguez. Composed by Elsa Gladys Corvalán and Onofre Paz (04:21)

3. “Maíz a ritmo invernal” by Nabil Yanai Salazar in collaboration with Ozz Zavala (58:05)
By resonating traditions, cultivation practices, processing and commercialization of corn in the town of Santa Rosa Xochiac, Mexico, we connect with the flows of the global economy, in this story guided by the sonority of corn in its winter flow.

4. “Flootz” by Dengue Dengue Dengue (05:16)

5. “El maíz, semilla y alimento sagrado” – Voces y cantos de la tierra viva (07:48)
On the final days of September, families in rural areas of Mexico celebrate the first harvest of rainfed corn in their milpas. It also coincides with the feast of St. Michael the Archangel, who in the Catholic faith is known as the head of the heavenly armies, the ruler of the rebellious angels, the one who fights against evil. Just as the national corn, sacred plant and food, has resisted and fought against transgenic seeds and agrochemicals that are depleting the quality of our land.
On occasion of National Corn Day, celebrated in Mexico on September 29, in an effort to recognize the important role played by this grain in the country’s economy, food, culture and traditions, as well as the important work of farmers, the show Voces y cantos de la tierra viva invited Roberto Robles Quiroz, an activist from the Zapatista state of Morelos to talk about the defense of native seeds and the struggle for food sovereignty.

6. “Grillo” by Nick León (03:13)

7. “Altares sobre las cordilleras” – Colectivo Amasijo in conversation with Angélica Palma (56:52)
Colectivo Amasijo is a female run art collective that reflects on the origins of food, the role of women in the history of cooking, and the damage that current systems of food production have on local territories and on the planet.

Angélica Palma is a scholar and founder of Calpulli Tecalco A.C., an organization that researches the cultural and natural heritage of indigenous areas in the southern Anahuac Basin, in an effort to preserve the knowledge acquired by her community in their interaction with the environment. Their goal is to protect language, natural reserves and sustainable agricultural systems that are today in danger of extinction.

8. “La jardinera” by Violeta Parra (03:00)

9. Teresa Camou Guerrero interviewed by Erika Sigüenza (21:19)

On the occasion of International Day of the Mother Tongue, the Mexican Institute for the Defense of Cultural Rights invited Teresa Camou Guerrero, to speak about her documentary film, Sunú. Faced with a nationwide threat posed by the cultivation of transgenic corn, the film portrays farmers in northern Mexico in their fight to preserve the traditions of their communities, the diversity of seeds and the right to food sovereignty.

10. “Lejanía” by Lizandro Meza (03:47)

11. “¿Transgénicos en Perú?” by Síntesis (23:37)
In this episode of the podcast Síntesis, David Castro (@davidecastroog) a biologist and expert in biotechnology and biosafety, explains the Moratorium Law and how it affects transgenic crops in Peru.

12. “Furia andina” by DJ Sentimiento (03:08)
17-year-old Peruvian producer, Dj Sentimiento, is interested in conveying teenage angst, our internal demons and the ups and downs of life. He is often involved in projects with innovative queer collectives, artists and designers. (Radical Sounds Latin America)

13. “El maíz, semilla y alimento sagrado” – Voces y cantos de la tierra viva (30:35)
This is a fragment of “El maíz, semilla y alimento sagrado” from the show Voces y cantos de la tierra viva in which hosts Guadalupe Pastrana y Marcela Salas Cassani talk with inhabitants of native towns in the valley of the Valley of Mexico and the northern highlands of Oaxaca about the value of corn for indigenous peoples and their communities, and the reasons why it’s important to defend it. These conversations are accompanied by music and poetry dedicated to corn, the sacred plant that sustains us.

14. “Canción a Víctor” by Inti Illimani (03:15)

 

1. “La chichita” – Los Ecos
This 1980’s hit composed by Beto Cuesta and his band Los Ecos is a fusion of soul, boogaloo and electric guitar. It is famous for associating chicha de jora (corn beer) with dancing.

2. “La chicha y su transformación” by Luis Alvarado
This episode was commissioned by Radio Inflorescence to the independent curator, poet and researcher Luis Alvarado, to trace the history of chicha in Peru. Although chicha is most commonly related to a fermented corn beverage that dates back to the Inca civilization, it is also the name of a peruvian aesthetic, identity and music genre.
To further the understanding of the economic and social dynamics that chicha de jora has in today’s culture, the podcast opens with a series of interviews to the chicha de jora sellers in Lima’s central market. These vendors are retail distributors, but they also sell for street consumption. They talk about where the beverage comes from, how it gets there, what circuit it goes through, and what it means to everyday consumers. These stories are followed by a historical framework about the origins of chicha in the Andean world, the meanings of the word chicha and the diversity of this drink that is prepared in different areas of Peru.
Research, narration and editing: Luis Alvarado
Testimonies: Ruth Pérez, Tania and Miguel Flores

Sources consulted:
Bonavia, Duccio. El Maíz. Lima: Universidad San Martin de Porres. 2009. León, Rafo & Antonio Zapata. Chicha Peruana, una bebida, una cultura. Lima: Universidad San Martin de Porres. 2008.
Villar, Alfredo. Yawar Chicha: Los Ríos profundos de la música tropical peruana. Lima: Libros Cúpula. 2022.

Music in order of appearance:
“La tarkeada” by Luis David Aguilar (1986). Fragment (Buh Records)
“Bailando con el Grupo Luis” by Grupo Luis de Tarapoto (1986) (Buh Records)
“La chicha” by José de la Torre Ugarte y José Bernardo Alzedo (1820). Performed by the Cuzco Symphony Orchestra, Dir: Theo Tupayachi Calderón. Soloists Gladys Huamán, Giuliana Yabar, and José Luis Herencia (2019) (Youtube)
“La chichera” by Los Demonios del Mantaro (1965) (Sonoradio)
“La chichita” by Los Ecos (1980) (Fonohit)
“Señora chichera” by Miguel Flores (1980) (Buh Records)
“Borrachito, Borrachón” by Los Shapis (1981) (Discos Horoscopo)
“La Tarkeada” by Luis David Aguilar (1986). Fragment (Buh Records)

3. “La guapetona” – Los Demonios del Mantaro (02:08)
The term “chicha” was first used to refer to peruvian tropical music in 1965, after Carlos Baquerizo alongside his band Los Demonios del Mantaro composed the song “La chichera”, an ode to a woman who sold chicha de jora in the town of Huancayo. The song, which combined cumbia, huayno and electric guitar was an instant hit, particularly because it embodied the spirit of the working class and the lifestyles of migrants in the city. (Luis Alvarado)
This is another example of chicha by the same band. Now a staple of Peruvian culture, we will be hearing Peruvian chicha music throughout the show.

4. “Sonido amazónico” – Los Mirlos

5. “Linda nena” – Juaneco Y Su Combo

6. “Cariñito” — Los Hijos del sol

7. “Patricia” – Los Destellos

8. “Sacalo aacalo” – Los Diablos Rojos

9. “Ya se ha muerto mi abuelo” – Juaneco Y Su Combo

10. “El milagro verde” – Los Mirlos

11. “Para Elisa” – Los Destellos

12. “Linda muñequita” – Los Hijos del sol

13. “Muchachita del oriente” – Los Mirlos

14. “Elsa” – Los Destellos

15. “Vacilando con ayahuesca” – Juaneco Y Su Combo

16. “El guapo” – Los Diablos Rojos

17. “Mi morena rebelde” – Eusebio y Su Banjo

18. “Si me quieres” – Los hijos del sol

19. “Me robaron mi runa mula” – Juaneco Y Su Combo

20. “La danza de Los Mirlos” – Los Mirlos

21. “Cómo hacer la chicha de jora wanka” by Katita (Yo Soy Pachamamista)
In this episode from the video blog Yo Soy Pachamamista, Katita visits the home of her artist friend Roberto Lopez in Vicso, about an hour from Huancayo, Peru. His sister teaches her how to make chicha de jora wanka using a mixture of many ingredients from that area.

22. “Silbando” – Los Ribereños

23. “Colegiala” – Los Ilusionistas

24. “La pastorcita” – Los Destellos

25. “El hueleguiso” – Manzanita

26. “Cumbia del Desierto” – Los Destellos

27. “Mala mujer” – Ranil

28. “Siboney” – Los Walker’s de Huánuco

29. “La danza del petrolero” – Los Wemblers

30. “El maíz peruano en la historia” by Agrojunin
This episode was put forward by Agrojunin as an attempt to provide knowledge about the importance of corn as an ancestral grain, known in Peru since at least 1200 years BC, and to value the importance it had and still has in the world. Some ancient and contemporary uses of corn are described in this episode.
Agrojunin is the digital platform of the project known as PIADER (Improvement of the Agricultural Statistical Information System and the Agricultural Information Service for the Rural Development of Peru).

31. “Lobos Al Escape” – Los Orientales de Paramonga

32. “Cumbia de Los Pajaritos” – Los Mirlos

33. “Me Robaron Mi Runa Mula” – Juaneco y Su Combo

34. “Ramo de Rosas” – Los Pakines

35. “El Bicho” – Los Beta 5

36. “La Danza del Mono” – Los Orientales de Paramonga

37. “Arre Caballito” – Manzanita y Su Conjunto

38. “El Poncho” – Los Rumbaney

39. “Vírgenes del Sol” – Manzanita y Su Conjunto

40. “Monito Saltarín” – Sonido 2000

41. “Volando” – Juaneco y Su Combo

42. “Mi Gran Noche” – Aniceto y Sus Fabulosos

43. “Todos Juntos” – Los Invasores de Progreso

44. “Derivados del maíz” by Agrojunín
Also by Agrojunín, this episode tells of the many uses this ancient Andean grain and its multiple uses around the world.

45. “El Diablo” – Compay Quinto

46. “Constelación” – Los Destellos

47. “Gnossienne No.1” – Chicha Libre

48. “El borrachito” – Chicha Libre

49. “Popcorn Andino” – Chicha Libre

50. “Primavera en la selva” – Chicha Libre

51. “Como un ave” – Chicha Dust

 

1. “Ritos del maíz” (05:32)

“Ritos del maíz” is a soundscape composed by Gonzalo Garrido-Lecca specifically for Radio Inflorescence. It was composed using pre-recorded sounds of various elements: corn cobs being peeled, wind, fire, rain and tillage. With them, a sound object is configured, characterized by brief and intermittent gestures, followed by continuous sonorities. This acoustic object is then subjected to diverse processes of variation, development and multiplication. The piece is inspired by the Mayan idea of the creation of the human being from corn.

2. “Sopita Amarilla” by Alfredo Bojórquez (59:11)
For this specially commissioned podcast, philologist Alfredo Bojórquez shares “Sopita amarilla,” his very first radio novel, based on three different stories: Joseph (from the Bible’s book of Genesis), Philippe Barbe’s Stone Soup, and the Aztec Legend of the Suns.

“Sopita amarilla” tells the story of Quetza, a character of mesoamerican times looking to cook something new. Quetza gathers his friends and together they discover ancient corn, a crop so special that guarantees to eliminate hunger for eternity.

3. “El canario tradicional” (01:42)
Also known as “the music of corn,” canarios are ritual songs from the Huasteca region. Courtesy of Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes and Fonoteca Nacional. ID: FN08040000870_01

4. “La ofrenda” (02:18)
Also known as “the music of corn,” canarios are ritual songs from the Huasteca region. Courtesy of Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes and Fonoteca Nacional. ID: FN08040000870_02

5. “Cueva hermosa y sagrada” (02:57)
This legend is told by the indigenous communities of Chiapas in south east Mexico. It is part of the series titled Rescatemos nuestra raíz en defensa del maíz and was produced by Enlace: Comunicación y capacitación A.C.

6. “Lucero de media noche” (04:14)
Also known as “the music of corn,” canarios are ritual songs from the Huasteca region. Courtesy of Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes and Fonoteca Nacional. ID: FN08040000870_03

7. “​​Xochipitzahuac”(03:08)
Also known as “the music of corn,” canarios are ritual songs from the Huasteca region. Courtesy of Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes and Fonoteca Nacional. ID: FN08040000870_04

8. “El maíz, semilla y alimento sagrado” – Voces y cantos de la tierra viva (20:29)
This is a fragment of “El maíz, semilla y alimento sagrado” from the show Voces y cantos de la tierra viva in which Ricardo Montejano narrates two outstanding legends from the Nahua and the Maya people of Mexico, both of which place corn at the center of their culture. The show also features poetry and songs that are an ode to corn.

9. “El arado” (03:47)
Also known as “the music of corn,” canarios are ritual songs from the Huasteca region. Courtesy of Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes and Fonoteca Nacional. ID: FN08040000870_05

10. “San Josentzin” (03:39)
Also known as “the music of corn,” canarios are ritual songs from the Huasteca region. Courtesy of Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes and Fonoteca Nacional. ID: FN08040000870_06

11. “El tordo” (03:03)
Also known as “the music of corn,” canarios are ritual songs from the Huasteca region. Courtesy of Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes and Fonoteca Nacional. ID: FN08040000870_07

12. Acervos en movimiento – Camilo Camacho in conversation with Aideé Balderas Medina (53:24)
2. In this interview recorded for the radio show Son y tradición, psychologist and ethnomusicologist Camilo Camacho discusses the project Acervos en movimiento, a selection of 387 musical examples of the many musical cultures of the Huasteca region in eastern Mexico, focusing primarily on the religious and secular scopes. Featuring published and unpublished recordings found in different sound libraries of recognized institutions, Acervos en movimiento brings together excerpts from the Pames, Teenek, Nahuas, Totonacos, Tepehuas and Otomis that inhabit the region.

13. “Xanconet” (03:08)
Also known as “the music of corn,” canarios are ritual songs from the Huasteca region. Courtesy of Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes and Fonoteca Nacional. ID: FN08040000870_08

14. “El chiconcanario” (05:36)
Also known as “the music of corn,” canarios are ritual songs from the Huasteca region. Courtesy of Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes and Fonoteca Nacional. ID: FN08040000870_09

15. Ritual of the Maize from the Omaha Nation (02:25)
From the liner notes of the Omaha Indian Music album: The Ritual of the Maize concerned the springtime distribution of kernels from the sacred ears of red corn, and the song accompanying this ritual details the stages in the life of the corn plant from its germination to its fulfillment as a gift to man.

16. “La leyenda del maíz perdido” (05:51)
This legend tells the story of a town that one day had no more corn seeds, so some animals and humans looked for a way to rescue this valuable seed. It was adapted from Antonio Cota García’s book Cuentos que parecen historia, historias que parecen leyenda. It is part of the series titled Rescatemos nuestra raíz en defensa del maíz and was produced by Enlace: Comunicación y capacitación A.C.

17. Harawi chant 1 (02:10)
These traditional Quechua songs are chanted during the planting of corn in the Andean region in Peru.

18. Harawi chant 2 (01:24)

19. “Lucero de la mañana” (04:17)
Also known as “the music of corn,” canarios are ritual songs from the Huasteca region. Courtesy of Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes and Fonoteca Nacional. ID: FN08040000870_10

20. “Le pido a Dios” (04:17)
Also known as “the music of corn,” canarios are ritual songs from the Huasteca region. Courtesy of Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes and Fonoteca Nacional. ID: FN08040000870_11

21. “El complemento del caminito” (03:21)
Also known as “the music of corn,” canarios are ritual songs from the Huasteca region. Courtesy of Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes and Fonoteca Nacional. ID: FN08040000870_12

22. “Leyenda del maíz” – Préstame tu micrófono (29:10)
This episode from the children’s show Préstame tu micrófono was originally broadcast by the Instituto Mexicano de la Radio. It tells the Mayan story of the creation of men recorded in the Popol Vuh, the foundational sacred narrative of the K’iche people from northern Guatemala and southern Mexico.

23. “Complemento del tlamej quetl” (04:41)
Also known as “the music of corn,” canarios are ritual songs from the Huasteca region. Courtesy of Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes and Fonoteca Nacional. ID: FN08040000870_13

24. “La historia del maíz” – Ti kakikan to masehualtajtol (13:01)
This is an episode from the radio series Escuchemos nuestra lengua (Ti kakikan to masehualtajtol), a community-based communication initiative, managed by the Colectivo Voces de la Tierra northern highlands of Puebla. It aims to give voice to communities in the municipalities of Zautla and Ixtacamaxtitlan in their own language, as well as to bring these voices to local and regional audiences and through the internet. In this tale, woodpeckers, ants and human beings search high and low for corn seeds.

25. “Xochicanario” (04:13)
Also known as “the music of corn,” canarios are ritual songs from the Huasteca region. Courtesy of Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes and Fonoteca Nacional. ID: FN08040000870_14