For this composition, I chose a field recording, by Erick Ruiz Arellano, about a tunas seller in Zacatecas, Mexico. I did a bit of digging to discover that Zacatecas is on the historical 'El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro' (aka the Silver Route) – a 2,500km road between Mexico City and San Juan Pueblo (in America) that was used from 1598 to 1882.
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- As I sought to translate and understand the conversations in this recording, I discovered that a “tunas seller” is someone who sells prickly pears.
- The composition features vocal samples from online translation and pronunciation tools, discovered while researching the tunas/prickly pear connection.
- I also included a playful sample from Baloo's 'Bare Necessities' song from 'The Jungle Book' (1967), where he coincidentally sings about prickly pears.
- Inspired by the repetitive creaking sound that this seller's equipment made as they walked from door to door, coupled with the rich ambience of the original recording, I immediately knew I wanted to use this creaking as the foundation of the track. I subtly sharpened up the timing between each creak and incorporated interesting snippets from the original recording.
- What began as curiosity about a street vendor's creaking equipment evolved into a composition that celebrates the unexpected connections between modern Mexican street commerce, historical trade routes, and a bit of pop culture.
Cover inspired by the Google Street view of the co-ordinates in Zacatecas, Mexico where the original field recording by Erick Ruiz Arellano was made
Listen directly on audioboom (hear the original field recording too) or try to find it along with 499 other reimagined field recordings on the Sonic Heritage sound map on the Cities and Memory website. Also available on Bandcamp
TRANSLATION
S: Hello, Mrs. Suyo.
S: This time I have some small ones.
S: Prickly pears (tunas).
C: Which ones?
S: White ones.
C: And wheat gorditas?
S: Yes.
S: Prickly pear.
C: But are we dealing in millions? [likely a joking reference to price]
S: Ah, no.
S: Come, try them.
S: How many should I give you?
C: Give me a glass/cup's worth.
S: 20 pesos, no, very good.
C: Yes, they give you the best little ones.
S: Yes, yes.
C: Is everything from Villa?
S: Everything is.
S: Well, I'll see if I can bring you cardón cactus fruit on Tuesdays.
C: Ah, hopefully yes.
C: Because I said, even if they bring me just a few pieces.
S: Ah, okay.
C: Well, thank you!