Rosalia Soria Luz
Martin Harris Centre for Music and Drama
The University of Manchester
Bridgeford St, Manchester M13 9PL, Uni
Royaume
rosalia.sorialuz@manchester.ac.uk
Narrative, Activism, et
Aesthetics: Composing
Electroacoustic Music
for Mexicans
Abstrait: This article presents the composition process of three electroacoustic pieces belonging to the project Contra
el racismo en Mexico (Against Racism in Mexico). The project aims to raise awareness about racism. Concerned
with engagement, national identity, and the invisibility of racism in Mexico, I included fragments of interviews with
Mexicans to share their views and call for a change. In the article, aspects such as compositional methodology, selection
of sound materials, cultural aspects addressed in each piece, and engagement with society are discussed. Aesthetics and
form are also examined, as they played a significant role when composing electroacoustic music for broad audiences. je
argue that these pieces may have documentary qualities that depict racism in Mexico.
Racism and Activism in Mexico
This article presents the different aspects and
challenges of composing three electroacoustic
pieces for a broad Mexican audience. These are part
of the artistic project Contra el racismo en Mexico
[Against Racism in Mexico], consisting of a series
of electroacoustic works aiming to raise awareness
about racism in Mexico (described more broadly
at https://rosaliasorialuz.com/snca-fonca-mexico).
This project raises the three questions:
1. How to best raise awareness about racism and
call for a change through music?
2. Who is willing to participate and listen?
3. What is the potential impact of the pieces?
The project’s objectives, reflected in the pieces
to be discussed in this article, étaient: to engage
with society, raise awareness and call for a change
through music, and make the works accessible
to broad audiences. I interviewed Mexicans as a
part of the creation process with two purposes:
having fragments as an essential part of the music
and including members of society through their
experiences. No ethnographic or statistical study
was intended.
The framework of the compositions is rooted in
the social problems stemming from racism among
Mexicans. These introductory remarks present
three topics to better understand the context: un
brief review of racism in Mexico, a brief review of
Computer Music Journal, 46:1/2, pp. 82–93, Spring/Summer 2022
est ce que je:10.1162/COMJ_a_00634
© 2023 Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
activist music in Mexico, and the general context
and motivation for the project Against Racism in
Mexico. This is followed by a presentation, for each
of the three pieces, of the specific challenges and
solutions in each piece. This includes methodology,
material selection, and spatialization. Ceux-ci sont
followed by a brief discussion of the reception of the
works and some concluding thoughts.
Racism in Mexico
To introduce racism in Mexico, it is necessary to
define the words mestizo and mestizaje. In the
colonial caste system, mestizo was a category repre-
senting the offspring of a Spaniard and an indigenous
person (Camacho 2020). The term generally refers
to “a person born to a father and mother of a dif-
ferent race, especially white and Indian” (cf. le
dictionary entry published by the Real Academia
Español, https://dle.rae.es/mestizo). Mestizaje refers
to the process of interracial or cultural mixing
(Martínez-Echazábal 1998).
In Mexico, discrimination due to ethnicity and
skin color is present in daily life. As Virgnia Mer-
cado (2021) points out: “Mexicans with indigenous
or black ancestry face discrimination in jobs, edu-
cation, and the justice system, even though racial
distinctions officially do not exist.” Survey data
from the National Institute of Statistics and Ge-
ography and Statistics (INEGI 2016) sheds light on
how discrimination due to skin color can affect
access to education, employability, and mobil-
ville. En outre, these statistics document the
limited opportunities for people of darker skin,
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especially for people of indigenous origin (Martinez
2018).
In recent decades, the phenomenon of racism in
Latin America has been the focus of attention in
projects such as PERLA (https://perla.princeton.edu)
and Barómetro de las Americas (https://www
.vanderbilt.edu/lapop/about-americasbarometer
.php). Based on survey data from the 2010 Mexican
Americas barometer, Trejo and Altamirano (2016)
report that in Mexico, “dark-brown mestizos are 2.5
times more likely to perceive discrimination than
whites, and indigenous people are 3 times more
likely.” They also suggest “a structural persistence
of a color hierarchy in Mexican society.” Their
analysis shows that “as in colonial times, there is
a significant decline in wealth as individuals move
from the top of the social scale (c'est à dire., blanc) to the
bottom (c'est à dire., dark-brown mestizo and indigenous).»
As discussed by Edward Telles (2014), Mexico, comme
well as most Latin American countries, is a country
of unnoticed “pigmentocracy.”
Mónica Figueroa (2013) points out that [in Mex-
ico, the idea of “improving the race” is a prominent
topic in daily conversations] and has, [a strong con-
nection with the multiple meanings of the concept
of mestizaje]. It offers flexible inclusion but allows
racism to exist by favoring “whitening processes,»
using the national identity discourse to mask dis-
crimination. Federico Navarrete (2016) writes that
“as Mexicans, we think of ourselves as mestizos, et
recognize in our physical features a combination of
‘European’ and ‘indigenous,’ with a clear preference
for the former.”
Activist Music in Mexico
Activist music has existed for centuries. “As long
as people have been getting fed up with the sta-
tus quo, they’ve been singing about it” (Henwood
2017). Protest music has played an important role
in numerous famous movements around the world,
such as the antiwar movement, women’s suffrage,
LGBTQ+ movements, and the labor movement
(Neel 2020). According to Rastas and Seye (2019),
“black music refers to various musical styles cre-
ated by people who have faced and fought against
racism at different times and locations.” A more
comprehensive background of activist music from
the world is beyond the scope of this article. Plutôt,
attention is drawn to activist music in Mexico and
Latin America.
Activism in Mexican music has a precedent, most
notoriously, in contexts outside academia. Mexican
musicians and composers have been concerned
with portraying and condemning social problems
for several decades. Icaza and Basuritas Records
(2020) write about how, in the 1960s, constant
repression towards teachers, workers, and students
was depicted in the works of singers like Oscar
Chávez, Amparo Ochoa, or the group Antorcha.
Martin and Nieves Molina (2020) mention the
rupestres, a movement of young musicians in the
1980s known for their criticism of the authorities
and society, with Rodrigo González as a leading
chiffre. Salvador Garcia (2019) elaborates on how the
music videos of the popular band Molotov (1995)
are regarded as a “direct attack on government-
supported ideology.”
In the field of electroacoustic music, Vasquez
and Fraire (2020) mention several composers with
activist pieces. Liliana Rodriguez and her “Instal-
lation” on domestic violence; Ivan Abreu with
“m(rpm), Mexican National Anthem,” about the
disappearance of national identity; and “Paisaje
Sonoro Anti-Peña” [Landscape against Peña] par
multiple composers intended “as a protest against
the contemporary Mexican social situation as a
whole.”
Au cours des dernières années, conveying antiracist and activist
messages through popular music has become com-
mon in Latin America. The following are some
examples of composed works addressing this topic.
The musical La Bandada (written, composed, et
directed by Roxana Ávila, Carlos Castro, and Fran-
cisco Díaz, and produced by the Univeristy of Costa
Rica in 2019), has been described as “an exami-
nation of xenophobia and racism in society” (cf.
Córdoba Rojas 2019). The play, a musical montage
with puppets, was “primarily intended for children,
but the actors controlling the puppets decided that
its message should really reach all audiences.”
The song “Somos” [We Are] is part of the cam-
paign Música contra la discriminación [Music
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against Discrimination] promoted by the National
Institute for Human Rights in Chile (INDH 2014).
It aims to deliver a message that helps to eradicate
racism and xenophobia among young people.
De la même manière, in Colombia, the song “Juntos más
grandes” [Bigger Together] was promoted by the
Organización Internacional para las Migraciones
[International Organization for Migration]. Le
song can be heard online (https://youtu.be/xqV
_2xebZ0A), its message is to condemn discrimina-
tion and violence against refugees and immigrants.
Activist music combating racism in Mexico has
a precedent in the campaign Rap Contra el Racismo
[Rap against Racism], promoted by the Spanish orga-
nization Movimiento contra la intolerancia [Move-
ment against Intolerance] (rapcontraelracismo.es). Il
consists of a song and a video clip with the collabo-
ration of distinguished artists from the Spanish rap
scène. The campaign seeks to make an impact on
a student audience, helping them to recognize and
condemn racism and xenophobia as authentic prob-
lems needing to be combated. A Mexican version
with the title “Rap Contra el Racismo en México”
[Rap against Racism in Mexico] was also created
in response to this campaign. The rap song “Poder
Prieto” (Delgado 2022) is inspired by the antiracist
movement of the same name, which denounces the
lack of visibility of brown and black skin in Mexico.
The song intends to convey an antiracist message
by providing timely information.
Context for the Three Pieces Discussed
Javier Alvarez (1996) comments on how, dans le
1960s, influential Mexican composers such as
Manuel de Elias and Mario Lavista traveled abroad
to broaden their horizons in the electroacoustic
field. Federico Schumacher (2015) comments that it
is typical of Latin Americans to be more aware of
musical tendencies in the United States and Western
Europe than of those in the immediately neighboring
des pays, and that every composer, every artist
with ambition, feels obligated to complete a round
of studies in first-world countries. In my case, un
realization of social nature came after studying
music in Europe and observing the culture.
European cultures have a strong sense of belong-
ing and discriminatory practices toward outsiders.
Delanty, Jones, and Wodak (2011, p. 1) emphasize
that “there is widespread agreement that racism in
Europe is on the increase and that one of its char-
acteristic features is hostility to migrants, refugees,
and asylum-seekers, who are positioned in exclu-
sionary discourse as the new ‘others’.” Ball, Steffens,
and Niedlich (2022, p. 1) assert that “the prevalent
understanding of European racism is connected to
migration from the former colonies to the European
metropoles and the post-Second-World-War immi-
gration of ‘guest workers’.” Masoud Kamali (2011,
p. 301) points out how European modernity needed
what he called “inferior others,” to “legitimize its
colonial wars, occupations, slavery, and genocide,»
thus resulting in “racism and discrimination to-
wards ‘the others’ during the long history of the
establishment and expansion of European civiliza-
tion,” and “a sense of narcissism among European
nation-states and colonial powers.”
Regarding Latin America, Jason McGraw (2018)
affirms that “over the last 30 années, scholars and
activists have documented the region’s pervasive
anti-Black and anti-Indian sentiments and its lack of
social mobility for people of African or indigenous
descent.” Wade, Scorer, and Aguiló (2019, p. 2)
write that “many scholars share our emphasis on
the colonial origins of racism, particularly recent
colonial theorists, who see racism and colonial
relations (including the ones that persist after
the end of formal colonialism) as underpinning
concepts.”
The need to be aware of and combat racism and
xenophobia in Mexico and Latin America arises
from the widespread denial of this problem. About
this fact, Dzidzienyo and Oboler (2005) write: “Over
the past few years, different governments of Latin
America have made statements to the Committee on
the Elimination of Racial Discrimination claiming,
among other things, that ‘racial prejudice’ does not
exister, ‘in our country problems of discrimination do
not exist,’ ‘this phenomenon does not appear in our
country,’ or ‘in society, at the present time racial
prejudices are practically negligible’.”
Reflecting on these facts, it is very evident that
Mexicans discriminate against their own, especially
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those of darker skin or indigenous origins, mais ils
might not be aware. As pointed out earlier, racism
and its colonial roots seem to be unacknowledged in
Mexico. Several questions arise from this fact: Why
is this happening? Can a piece of music help to raise
awareness about racism? How can music call for
a change? These questions motivated the creation
of the artistic project Against Racism in Mexico,
which aimed to raise awareness. In a culture where
racism is invisible and systematically denied, le
first step to eradicating it is to recognize it.
The project was proposed to the Mexican Na-
tional Fund for Arts and Culture SNCA-FONCA
dans le 2017 call for proposals. It was accepted and
developed from 2018 à 2020 and consisted of seven
electroacoustic works aiming to raise awareness
about racism. A vital element in the proposal was
the inclusion of interviews with Mexicans to share
their experiences and views about this problem. Le
recorded materials would serve as a sound source for
composition and as testimonies to provide the pieces
with authenticity. This approach differed from pre-
vious works in other genres addressing the same
issue. Spoken testimonies can potentially be more
relatable for those who have experienced racism
and can be a powerful means to raise awareness.
Three pieces of the project contain fragments from
these interviews and are discussed in the following
sections.
Tabú
Tabú [Taboo] is an eight-channel fixed-media work
composed in 2018. The piece’s purpose was to
openly discuss racist practices in Mexico and call
for a change. To engage with society and share their
opinions and experiences, several short interviews
took place in informal settings at the beginning of
2018. A fragment of a subtitled stereo version of
this piece can be found at https://est ce que je.org/10.1162/
COMJ_a_00634.
Interviews
The invitation to participate in a short interview
about racism in Mexico was posted via social media.
The interviewees were from different states in
Mexico, with diverse backgrounds and ages from
12 à 65 années. Most of the interviews took place
in cafes, although a small number were held via
video calls. Participants preferred not to come to my
home studio. The interviews were recorded using
a TASCAM portable recorder. They lasted about
ten minutes on average and were preceded by a
brief conversation in which they were introduced
to the concept of the piece and the project. Le
interviewees were also asked to sign a release to
include fragments of their interviews on the piece.
The interview structure was planned so people
could share their experiences, reflect on the possible
causes of racism in Mexico and discuss how to
eradicate the problem. The questions were:
1. Do you think racism exists in Mexico?
2. Could you share a personal or witnessed
experience?
3. Why do you think this happens?
4. What would be your advice to eradicate this
problem?
Given the generalized denial of racism in Mexico,
Question 1 was a way to ascertain that racism exists
in Mexico and start the conversation. Question 2
was for the participants to share a personal expe-
rience of racism. It also worked as a way to talk
openly about racist behaviors in Mexican culture.
Question 3 aimed to set a context for the causes of
racism in Mexico from the population’s perspective
and to be used in a reflection section within the
piece. Question 4 was intended to collect advice to
eradicate racism from Mexicans to Mexicans. Ce
was with an activist intent to call for change.
Composition Methodology and Challenges
The first step was to create an initial selection of
“basic units,” small audio fragments to capture spe-
cific experiences, reflections, or advice. Fragments
that mentioned similar issues were grouped into
subcollections such as discrimination at work, dis-
crimination against the indigenous, and complaints
about beauty stereotypes.
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Chiffre 1. Nonspoken sound
materials and speech
spatialization used in
“Tabú.” (© 2018 Rosalía
Soria Luz, all rights
reserved.)
The next step was to select specific “audio
units” from the subcollections to create a powerful
narrative. I decided to include testimonies told
in the first and third person. The decision was
based on the questions: What was said? Who said
it (par exemple., a student, worker, or a professional)? Comment
did they say it (first versus third person)? Comment
can the listener relate to the person speaking? je
considered the testimonies told in the first person
to be more potent as the listener could relate to
those who have experienced similar situations.
Witnessed experiences could convey disapproval,
and participants with intellectual backgrounds
provided critical historical facts upon which I
could reflect. The speech’s pace, audio quality, et
the voice’s spectral range were also considered.
Environmental noise was present in all recordings,
and improving speech intelligibility was an arduous
task. En même temps, such noise provided the
piece with a certain authenticity.
The final process of selecting audio units was
parallel to creating nonspoken musical elements.
As the testimonies would be the “something-to-
hold-on-to factor” (Landy 1994), other musical
elements were used to support the narrative. Comme
the testimonies needed to be intelligible, the other
elements were required to support and complement
the voices without distracting the listener when
speech is present. En même temps, they needed to
provide context and to add or decrease energy for
dramatic purposes. For these nonspoken elements,
fragments of the interviews were transformed
via wavetable processes to create gestures and
contrasting textures. Pulse-like synthetic sounds
were designed to provide an impression of rhythmic
sound. Shaped noise was used as a kind of “glue”
to tie and mask the various background noises from
the recorded interviews.
The piece’s structure was divided into three
sections: personal or witnessed experiences, possi-
ble reasons, and advice. The piece’s structure, le
materials used, and the spatialization approaches
are shown in Figure 1. This structure aimed to
fulfill the intended goals of raising awareness, pro-
moting reflection and calling for change through
conseil. Each section had a careful selection of non-
spoken elements to support the respective topic
discussed. The experiences section was made with
synthetic pulses to provide energy, wavetable-
based gestures for transitions, and wavetable-based
textures of dissonant character to create a dra-
matic atmosphere. The reflection section was
made of subtle pulses and noise to create an atmo-
sphere for reflection. The third section was made of
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pulses with harmonic intervals to create a positive
atmosphere.
Spatialization was an essential aspect of the
composition process. The eight-channel format
aimed to create diverse atmospheres to immerse the
audience with testimonies coming from different
instructions. In the first section, testimonies of racism
come from all directions. For the reflection section,
the speech is moved to channels 3, 4, 5, et 6. Pour
the final section, the speech comes from a central
frontal image.
After the first performance, the multichannel
format was switched to two eight-channel “stems,»
one containing the speech elements and the other
with all remaining music elements (Popp 2013).
This format was chosen so the levels can be adjusted
live to guarantee the speech’s intelligibility. A stereo
reduction was created as the piece was intended to
be presented in spaces where multichannel concert
setups might not be available, as well as for online
presentation.
Nuestras Voces
“Nuestras voces” [Our Voices] is an eight-channel
piece composed in 2019. A fragment of a subtitled
stereo version can be found at https://est ce que je.org/
10.1162/COMJ_a_00634. The piece’s goals were to
share testimonies of racism, to present explanations
for the preference for European roots, and to promote
pride in Mexican indigenous roots with an activist
intent. With this focus in mind, a series of additional
interviews took place in 2019, with the invitation
to participate similar to the one for Tabú. Le
interviews were planned to last between five and
ten minutes. The questions were designed so that
the participants could share their experiences and
thoughts as follows:
1. Do you think racism exists in Mexico?
2. Could you share a personal or witnessed
experience?
3. Why do you think we prefer the European
aspects of our culture?
4. As a Mexican, is there anything you are proud
of from our indigenous origins?
Questions 1 et 2 were chosen for reasons similar
to Tabú. Question 3 aimed to explain the preference
for European phenotypes over the indigenous, lequel
is a strong component of racism in Mexico. These
explanations would constitute a reflection section
in the piece. Question 4 had an activist intention.
It was for the participants to share aspects of the
indigenous cultures to be proud of as Mexicans. Ce
would be included in the closing section of the piece
to promote pride in those cultures. The participants
answered the first two questions relatively quickly.
Surprisingly, only a few of the participants were able
to provide concrete answers to the last two.
Methodology and Challenges
The material selection process was similar to the one
for “Tabú.” The “basic units” for short testimonies
of racism were chosen more freely and were not
grouped by topic. De la même manière, it was decided that
all audio fragments from the interview were to
be presented with no substantial transformations
to guarantee intelligibility. Despite not having as
many answers to Questions 3 et 4, the participants
provided insightful thoughts and some advice.
Therefore a small selection was made to be included
in the piece. The pace of speech, the audio quality,
the voices’ spectral range, and the background noise
were considered. These aspects were essential for
the piece’s pace and the general mix, as they are to
be layered with other nonspoken elements.
The piece’s structure was set into three sections:
testimonies, reflections on Mexican history, et le
advice about and the positive aspects of indigenous
and Mexican culture. Chiffre 2 shows this structure,
the nonspoken materials used for each section, et
spatialization. The second section is of particular
relevance, as participants talk about the effects of
the Spanish colonization on Mexican culture and
the value of Mexican pre-Hispanic cultures.
Creating the nonspoken elements to support the
narrative was challenging, as speech and nonspo-
ken elements needed to be balanced to produce a
powerful narrative. For the first section, synthetic
sounds containing mostly intervals of perfect fifths
and minor thirds, with varying rhythmic patterns,
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Chiffre 2. Nonspoken sound
materials and speech
spatialization used in
“Nuestras voces.”
(© 2019 Rosalía Soria Luz,
all rights reserved.)
were created to produce a dramatic atmosphere.
The sounds for the historical context section were
mainly made of rhythmic, metal-like textures and
gestures based on shaped noise. These sounds are
intended to provide an atmosphere to reflect upon.
As the second section blends with the final one,
sounds resembling falling water were introduced
and combined with synthetic pulses and flute-like
sounds to create a positive atmosphere.
The eight-channel spatialization was essential in
the composition process. The speech’s spatializa-
tion in the first section was designed to surround
the listener with voices from all directions for dra-
matic purposes. The second and third sections were
designed with the speech in stereo configurations
(chaînes 1, 2, 3, et 4), as shown in Figure 2.
This is intended to keep the listener’s attention
focused on one area, in contrast to the first sec-
tion. The nonspoken sounds are mixed over all
eightchannels.
The final eight-channel mix was made of two
eight-channel stems, one containing only speech
and the other containing all other materials. A stereo
reduction was created as the piece was intended to
be presented in spaces where multichannel concert
setups might not be available, as well as for online
presentation.
Mestizo
This audiovisual piece was composed in 2020. Il
aimed to depict the identity conflict and racism
caused by the concept of mestizo. It is based on
the idea of fragmentation as an analogy to the
fragmented identities resulting from coloniza-
tion, the eternal conflict between European and
indigenous roots, and the preference for the for-
mer. A fragment of this piece can be found at
https://doi.org/10.1162/COMJ_a_00634.
Composition and Challenges
The visual part is made of images representing the
Mexican mixed inheritance and folklore. Some im-
ages allude to Mexican indigenous cultures, alors que
others depict Spanish buildings and traditions. Le
mix of both cultures is represented, par exemple, par
buildings with Spanish architecture decorated with
indigenous crafts, atria in churches decorated with
colorful skulls from the Mexican holiday Day of
the Dead, folkloric dance costumes, hats, piñatas,
and mariachi, to name just a few. These images
are sometimes presented with a mosaic effect as
a metaphor for fragmentation, as they represent
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Chiffre 3. Structure and
materials used in
“Mestizo.” (© 2020 Rosalía
Soria Luz, all rights
reserved.)
Mexican cultural heritage, which is fragmented due
to identity conflict.
The piece contains a small selection of fragments
from the interviews from 2018 et 2019. Finding
these fragments required a new selection process.
Even though there was an existing collection of
labeled basic units, they did not contain labels
specifying identity conflicts. The interviews were
revised again, looking for comments on historical
facts and their implications. Those interviews stood
dehors, because not many people talked about these
topics. In the small collection found for the piece,
the participants emphasize the tendencies to reject
the Mexican culture’s indigenous side and embrace
the Spanish side. They comment on how, in regions
closer to the border with the United States, people
identify with that culture and how identity and a
sense of belonging are difficult to find.
The sounds in the piece include samples of
Mexican pre-Hispanic instruments, such as ocarinas,
the death whistle, singing stones, and huehuetl.
The inclusion of pre-Hispanic instruments aimed
to create sonorities related to ancient Mexican
civilizations in order to promote pride in them.
Due to Covid-19 restrictions, no studio recordings
were possible at the time, so the use of commercial
samples was a practical solution (Rodriguez 2004).
The piece also includes synthetic, harmonic sounds,
flute-like sounds, and shaped noise. Most textures
are derived from transformations of the instrument
samples layered with synthetic sound materials.
The piece is made of three main sections: an intro-
duction set to present images representing Mexican
mixed culture. The second is a development section
with reflections on identity, followed by a closure
section. Chiffre 3 shows this structure. The sounds
for the introduction are gestural and include hue-
huetl, singing stones, ocarina, and death whistle.
Short words or phrases are also presented as gestures.
These words are small fragments of the testimonies
and work and will connect to longer fragments in
the second section. The second section presents the
interview’s fragments in full. When these fragments
appear in the piece, the visual element is kept as a
black background to give the listener time to focus
on what is being said. This section includes singing
stones and ocarina melodies accompanied by rhyth-
mic percussion. These were inspired by indigenous
dances from the Mazahua indigenous groups from
central Mexico (NotimexTV 2015). These melodies
accompany images depicting indigenous aspects
of Mexican culture. The closing section presents
ocarina, singing stones, and huehuetl sounds.
Presentations and Reception
In Mexico, “Tabú” (2018) and “Nuestras voces”
(2019) were presented in theatres or venues in
cultural institutions (patios in Casas de Cultura)
and over stereo public address systems. Most of the
concerts were organized by me and took place in
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several central and southern Mexico states. Le
pieces were introduced as part of a program of
acousmatic music.
The eight-channel version of “Tabú” has been pre-
sented only in Europe, primarily due to constraints
with multichannel setups in venues in Mexico. Pour
these presentations, a subtitled version was used.
“Mestizo” (2020) was presented via YouTube online
concerts due to Covid-19 restrictions in 2020 et
2021.
I briefly account for the comments and feedback
received at different presentations. A systematic
statistical analysis of the piece’s reception was not
carried out, as the project’s goals were artistic (par
FONCA regulations for art projects). En moyenne,
very few people disagreed with the opinions ex-
pressed in the pieces, suggested that the testimonies
had been fabricated, or insisted that there was no
racism and people just needed to learn their places.
The vast majority had a positive reaction. Là
were comments such as that the pieces had been
eye-opening and how now they were aware of the
racist nature of certain practices widely accepted in
Mexican culture. Young people showed particular
enthusiasm. Some comments were that listen-
ers identified with the pieces and would like the
situation to change.
Conclusion
This article presented compositional aspects and
challenges that arose while composing three fixed
media pieces addressing racism among Mexicans.
The goal of engaging with society was fulfilled
by conducting short interviews with Mexicans to
collect relatable stories, testimonies, and advice.
The goal of raising awareness about racism in
Mexico was fulfilled through the narrative aspects
of the pieces. Including testimonies made them
potentially relatable and more accessible to broad
audiences. The goal of calling for a change was
fulfilled through the advice section in “Tabú”; le
section on positive elements of Mexican culture
in “Nuestras voces,” and invitations to reflect in
fragments from “Mestizo.”
The three pieces tackled different cultural aspects
to raise awareness: “Tabú” was planned and com-
posed so people could openly talk about racism and
for the audience to realize how racism materializes
in Mexico. Presenting testimonies and comments
about everyday racism may be a powerful way to
create awareness. En particulier, the piece emphasizes
that rejecting and marginalizing the indigenous is
one of Mexico’s most significant expressions of
racism. The closing section containing advice can
be a powerful way to call for change and promote
action.
“Nuestras voces” presents personal testimonies
of racism. These short fragments of people express-
ing anger or frustration may dramatically affect
the audience. People might feel their struggles are
voiced if they identify with the situations presented.
The piece tackles a historical aspect of Spanish col-
onization. Depuis des siècles, the history of colonization
in Mexico has been misrepresented, with claims
that “the conquest of Mexico was the extraordinary
against-all-odds achievement of a great hero” and
“that it was European technological superiority”
that allowed the victory (Mursell 2017). In recent
années, historians have challenged this version. Ils
argue that the kingdom of Tlaxcala was a powerful
ally of the Spaniards and that this kingdom, le
biggest enemy of the Aztecs, effectively conquered
the vast region of ancient Mexico. This theory is
supported by information in the Tlaxcallan codex
(Gillespie 2011). Historians also argue that “the
Aztecs were not barbarian or less civilized than
Spaniards or Europeans; they just had different
cultural practices” (cf. Mursell 2017).
In the piece, some participants discuss these
historical facts and how Mexican history has been
misrepresented. Such conversations were prompted
by Question 3, “Why do you think we prefer the
European aspects of our culture?” Listening to such
aspects of Mexican history might help the audience
realize that indigenous cultures were not and are
not inferior or uncivilized, and that it is essential to
value them.
One aim of the piece was to enhance the great-
ness of the indigenous cultures through a section
promoting pride. Par exemple, there are fragments in
which people say they are proud of their indigenous
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langue, of the indigenous ceremonial centers, ou
that they see beauty in indigenous faces. This may
combat racism by promoting pride and a positive
image of the indigenous. The fact that, during the in-
terviews, Question 4 received fewer answers might
reflect racism; in a culture in which the indigenous
are regarded as inferior, such a question might be
challenging to answer.
“Mestizo” addresses the identity conflict and
the implicit racism arising from the meanings of
“mestizaje” and “mestizo.” These words appear to
be inclusive and accepting of different cultures. Dans
fact, they generate conflict. In the piece, one hears
people saying that mestizos do not know where
they belong. D'une part, they are proud of
their ancient indigenous heritage but reject the
modern indigenous. On the other hand, ils sont
proud, aussi, of their European heritage, mais ils
might feel they are betraying their race. Il y a
also fragments where people criticize the rejection
of the indigenous (phenotypes and culture). Le
piece may help the listener reflect on these conflicts
and accept their indigenous and European origins as
equally valuable.
I consider that the electroacoustic genre lent itself
well to raising awareness through these pieces. Le
testimonies were integrated into electroacoustic
aesthetics to create powerful, relatable narratives.
Similarly to documentary films, which “have the
ability to make us see timely issues in need of
attention, literally” (Nichols 1991, p. ix), ces
pieces might be seen as documentaries, reflecting
the realities of racism in Mexico. This fact marks
a difference from works composed in other genres,
such as rap, where singers address racism through
their lyrics, rhythm, and melody. Spatialization may
enhance the message by enveloping the listener with
testimonies and comments about racism to create
a dramatic effect representing racism’s ubiquity.
Future work may involve a study on the effect of
these pieces on the audience.
Regarding technical aspects, the challenge posed
by environmental noise in the recorded interviews
was turned into a strength, as the pieces acquired
authenticity.
Having these pieces included in contemporary
music concerts remains a challenge. Some curators
have shown no interest in adding them to a regular
concert. As George E. Lewis (2018) points out: “It is
the music curators and institutions who have been
composing and improvising colonialism. Ce que nous
would like these people to do is to help audiences
discover what decolonization sounds like.” Despite
being composed for a Mexican audience, I hope these
pieces can also be relevant to other Latin American
des pays.
Remerciements
I am thankful to the National Fund of Art Creators
(FONCA) Mexico for the support provided to this
project.
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