Before entering, it’s worth taking a moment to pause and examine the sign. On it, a musician depicted in Aztec style plays a drum and sings. We know he is singing because a serpentine blue shape emerges from his mouth: a typical pre-hispanic speech bubble.
Photo: Paul Latoures
An image from the 16th-century Codex Borbonicus employs swirly speech bubbles to illustrate two Aztec gods conversing. Ehekatl’s logo employs the same convention.
Image: FAMSI
On display at Ehekatl is a variety of musical instruments patterned on old indigenous designs. Here we have drums, a flute, and seedpod rattles. Barely visible at the top of the frame there’s a rib from a steer, serrated to produce a rasping sound when stroked with a wooden stick. The instrument in the foreground appears to be a sort of xylophone. The five bars are stones that produce high-pitched “plinks” when struck. They are not organized into a scale of any kind. Apparently this xylophone is used to produce rhythm rather than melody.
The store was open but nobody was inside when we entered. Paul picked up a drumstick and sounded a drum carved from a hollow log. In response, Juan Suárez Terán—instrument builder and owner of Taller Ehekatl—appeared. Here he demonstrates one of his drums. His technique is sophisticated. He striks it near the rim and then draws the drumstick across the head toward the center, producing a chirping sound that swoops as it rises in pitch.
Juan
digs blues. The photograph on the wall is B. B. King—one of his heros.
Juan is a musician first, a student of ancient instruments second.
He
plays one of the flutes for us: it has a haunting tone. This instrument
belongs to the fipple flute family: wind instruments that produce sound
the way recorders, tin whistles, and organ pipes do. Instead of the
usual slot cut into the top of the tube (called the voicing), Juan employs a carved block (called a fetish) secured with a leather thong, to control the size and shape of the slot: critical for establishing the tone of the flute.
Juan
makes, demonstrates, and sells pre-hispanic musical instruments. He
also does gigs with a band consisting of talented friends. They make
rockin’ music, suitable for parties.
Juan Suárez Terán
Taller Ehekatl
Centenario #26
Minerál de Pozos 37910
Guanajuato
Tel: 442-293-0121
Cel: 045-468-105-3693
To
view hundreds of images of pre-hispanic codices, check out the website
of the Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies, FAMSI.
Comments:
Very cool entry amigo! And a wonderful link to boot. Gracias
Thanks again John, I will definitely make it to his shop on my next visit down.