MAIZ II
Nixtamalizaciones
10–13–22
Nixtamalizaciones
10–13–22
"Nixtamalizaciones," a term that signifies an ancestral process that brings together lime and corn to produce food, while also weaving domestic relationships in its creation. This is a palabreo session about corn and its built environment.
MAIZ II is a participatory “palabreo” session for the School of Design at Universidad Finis Terrae in a hybrid manner, via Zoom, connecting Santiago and New York City. Beyond a lecture, this hour became an exchange of stories among all present there, about how architecture, textiles, territory, and design are part of the construction of our shared existence and what this entails.
We shared our experience as a transdisciplinary collective through a manifesto:
We are interested in understanding the multiplicity of human and non-human relationships through the exchange of individual and collective stories of oral and material knowledge.
From a Latin American perspective that is non-hierarchical, we aim to comprehend our relationship with the territory based on a mestizo, imprecise, and interconnected condition.
To achieve this, we create mediating spaces that promote a sensitive approach as a way of weaving conversations and inhabiting material practices, fostering reciprocal relationships from each individual's narratives.
Ancestral practices and domestic narratives in our region are crucial to understanding how we identify within the built environment. It is there, where what we grow, cook, and eat not only tell our everyday stories but also reveal our ways of dwelling and relating to the environment.
The story we are about to share is called "Nixtamalizaciones," a term that signifies an ancestral process that brings together lime and corn to produce food, while also weaving domestic relationships in its creation. On September 2nd, 2023, we held a workshop at Factory Tamal, a Mexican tamale restaurant in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York. We offered a mediating space in the form of a corn crochet workshop, with the aim of exchanging personal stories and definitions about corn and its various uses, ways of eating it, understanding it, valuing it, mixing it, and appropriating it, among other options, among the event attendees.
Learnings :
- Connections were established among the participants that endured beyond the workshop. This led to more intimate conversations, and people became so enthused that they continued weaving and chatting outside the venue for several hours. Many of them even continued their weaving at home, sending us images from the train.
- We also received numerous comments about this multisensory experience of eating corn wrapped in a husk, which in turn was being woven and transformed into part of the table setting. Many individuals started using the same husks from their tamales to weave.
- On the other hand, for many who weren't accustomed to crafting, it was an experimental space from a collective perspective, approaching a very everyday material. *Some people brought two needles and began weaving using other techniques.
- Many political stories arose from the corn, touching on its origin as well. The activity facilitated connections between individuals as distinct as Ragna and Fernando, who, even though they come from very different backgrounds, were able to exchange stories and experiences and connect for a moment.
- Although Fernando (Factory Tamal’s owner) initially hesitated to get involved in the workshop, in the final group, his wife and two children, who were avid crochet weavers, joined. They promptly invited Fernando to share his story.
- After eating the tamales and preparing to leave, many found it difficult to part with the husk. Having invested time into it, they attributed value to this material that they might have otherwise discarded without much thought. This is where we see great value in connecting with materials and consequently ecosystems through the act of creation.
Questions
Nixtamalizaciones’ “palabreo” was a closing virtual space for exchanging opinions, perceptions, and definitions of how everyday stories can be an essential part of us as designers, architects, students, citizens, and ultimately, individuals.
1. What memories do you hold regarding corn? Does it connect you to a physical space?
2. By incorporating the material through everyday creation, what relationships can be established with the ecosystems we inhabit?
3. Where would a more ancestrally-rooted education lead us?
4. How do you perceive the structure of university curricula? and what are your thoughts?
We shared our experience as a transdisciplinary collective through a manifesto:
We are interested in understanding the multiplicity of human and non-human relationships through the exchange of individual and collective stories of oral and material knowledge.
From a Latin American perspective that is non-hierarchical, we aim to comprehend our relationship with the territory based on a mestizo, imprecise, and interconnected condition.
To achieve this, we create mediating spaces that promote a sensitive approach as a way of weaving conversations and inhabiting material practices, fostering reciprocal relationships from each individual's narratives.
Ancestral practices and domestic narratives in our region are crucial to understanding how we identify within the built environment. It is there, where what we grow, cook, and eat not only tell our everyday stories but also reveal our ways of dwelling and relating to the environment.
The story we are about to share is called "Nixtamalizaciones," a term that signifies an ancestral process that brings together lime and corn to produce food, while also weaving domestic relationships in its creation. On September 2nd, 2023, we held a workshop at Factory Tamal, a Mexican tamale restaurant in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York. We offered a mediating space in the form of a corn crochet workshop, with the aim of exchanging personal stories and definitions about corn and its various uses, ways of eating it, understanding it, valuing it, mixing it, and appropriating it, among other options, among the event attendees.
Learnings :
- Connections were established among the participants that endured beyond the workshop. This led to more intimate conversations, and people became so enthused that they continued weaving and chatting outside the venue for several hours. Many of them even continued their weaving at home, sending us images from the train.
- We also received numerous comments about this multisensory experience of eating corn wrapped in a husk, which in turn was being woven and transformed into part of the table setting. Many individuals started using the same husks from their tamales to weave.
- On the other hand, for many who weren't accustomed to crafting, it was an experimental space from a collective perspective, approaching a very everyday material. *Some people brought two needles and began weaving using other techniques.
- Many political stories arose from the corn, touching on its origin as well. The activity facilitated connections between individuals as distinct as Ragna and Fernando, who, even though they come from very different backgrounds, were able to exchange stories and experiences and connect for a moment.
- Although Fernando (Factory Tamal’s owner) initially hesitated to get involved in the workshop, in the final group, his wife and two children, who were avid crochet weavers, joined. They promptly invited Fernando to share his story.
- After eating the tamales and preparing to leave, many found it difficult to part with the husk. Having invested time into it, they attributed value to this material that they might have otherwise discarded without much thought. This is where we see great value in connecting with materials and consequently ecosystems through the act of creation.
Questions
Nixtamalizaciones’ “palabreo” was a closing virtual space for exchanging opinions, perceptions, and definitions of how everyday stories can be an essential part of us as designers, architects, students, citizens, and ultimately, individuals.
1. What memories do you hold regarding corn? Does it connect you to a physical space?
2. By incorporating the material through everyday creation, what relationships can be established with the ecosystems we inhabit?
3. Where would a more ancestrally-rooted education lead us?
4. How do you perceive the structure of university curricula? and what are your thoughts?