Guatemala

In Guatemala, the descendants of the ancient Maya have preserved the universe of their culture: practices, rituals and recurring habits, custodians of an anthropological diversity inspired by the utopian dream of peace and inner balance, of a relationship with Qachu Alom (Mother Earth). In these communities, women are often the custodians of a millenary history made of collective memory and identity survival, of those values that founded colonial Mayan culture. Las Invisibles are those Mayan women who offer their lives to the community daily, using mill, stone and clay slabs to process corn, the source of everything and a vessel for a people’s identity.

The clay comal, used to ensure the family’s sustenance, toast corn and prepare tortillas, becomes a memory of silences, wounds, caresses and sighs, narrating the biography of each woman. The tortear from the hot stone often erases the fingerprints from their damp hands – to prevent the corn from sticking – taking away every identity, past and future. And it is precisely in the subdued, silent tone of the gesture, rich in generosity, consolation and hope, that In Minor Keys shines, a delicate and quiet sound full of faith in humble heroism.