Pocket Mariachis

Welcome to this, your weekly episode of Cultureando, your favorite podcast about art and intergalactic culture.

Today we’re joined by Stregnar, a respected sibarite from the Rackam Conglomerate, who will speak to us about the recent changes in the musical preferences of the citizens of the Conglomerate, which, as you well know, spans over thirty star systems, and I would venture to say that any fashion or cultural trend will have an impact on the culture of the entire galaxy.

—You’re right about that, friend Reg. The commercial importance of the Conglomerate means that every trend reaches systems outside its domain and affects hundreds of cultures.

—But tell us, Stregnar, how did this trend that is now under the scrutiny of all galactic cultural critics and scholars begin?

—Take note, it’s a very interesting story that begins with a war. You surely remember that conflict between the “Swarm” and the newly created Orion Federation.

—Of course, it was a very talked-about conflict at the time that ended unexpectedly with the Federation’s victory and the subsequent eradication of the Swarm, although many believed that the weak species of the Federation wouldn’t have a chance.

—Exactly, in fact, much of the victory was due to the ingenuity and shrewdness of the humans, one of those miniature species that abound in that region of the galaxy and that, with their last-minute inventions, managed to turn the conflict around and expel the parasitic invaders from their territory.

—A clarification for our audience: miniature species are a recent discovery. They are those that measure less than four meters in height, that is, smaller than a chair or a small pet.

—Exactly, and humans are small even by that classification, as they barely reach two meters in height.

—Uff, that’s really small.

—That’s right, and among the humans there is a faction they call LATAM, whose height varies between one and a half meters and two meters. That’s why, when the refugees from the conflict with the Swarm requested asylum, the Rackam Conglomerate had no problem in offering them a small space on a capital planet, where they built their small cities, roads and temples. The citizens helped the LATAM thoroughly, and these were able to forget the horrors of the parasitic infection.

—I remember thinking that there were so many people wanting to know about the miniature human cities that the local government had to put restrictions to protect them.

—That’s right, their observations had to be limited to authorized anthropologists and planned tourist visits with permission from the humans, to avoid disturbing their daily lives.

—Now tell us, how did this affect the culture of the Conglomerate?

—Well, the first notes were about the fact that sometimes humans appeared wearing large hats and costumes decorated with shiny metal pieces. These gathered in small groups in a public square. It was also observed that these humans were present at some festivals such as anniversaries, engagements, inaugurations, and even funerals. At first, they were thought to be a kind of priests.

—And what happened afterwards?

—Every so often, due to government restrictions, anthropologists had the opportunity to talk to the humans to ask them questions about their observations and confirm their hypotheses. But the matter of the “shiny priests,” as they had been cataloged, wasn’t that important, and several years passed before any researcher asked the humans about it. When the humans finally heard the anthropologists’ report, they laughed at the conclusions and, instead of correcting them, handed over the audio recordings that we all already knew about, which spread through all the worlds, stations, and ships of the Consortium in minutes.

—How could we forget, the first time I heard “Cielito Lindo” I was on vacation and couldn’t help but wonder how something like that could exist. I remember immediately looking for more information to find out who or how, but there was no information, only great enthusiasm and people obsessed with listening to the songs over and over again.

—Indeed, up to that point, the music we knew was limited to the vocal chords of the Rackam, the mating chirps of the Ortac Dragonflies, or the rhythmic flatulence of the Ukta 4 Troubadours. The large amount of sounds in those recordings, their rhythm, their organization, everything was completely new to all of us. Many of us wondered what kind of creature could produce so many beautiful sounds at the same time.

—And we had to wait a long time to find out the truth.

—That’s right, due to the same restrictions, we had to wait until the next meeting with the humans to ask more questions. I had the honor of being invited as an expert to that meeting, and when I arrived, the humans already knew what we wanted and were prepared. One of these brilliant priest groups was there and performed several compositions for us, leaving us completely speechless and amazed by their ability to use tools that produce sound and, above all, to coordinate among so many individuals and achieve such complex compositions. If you’ve seen a live performance of “El mariachi loco,” you’ll know exactly what I mean.

—I can’t imagine what it felt like to be there, but I know the humans delivered an entire ludoteca full of audio and video material that once again became a sensation. I remember seeing a group of young people arguing about the correct pronunciation of the name “Pedro Infante.”

—That’s right, the humans were very happy that their music had been liked so much, they shared everything they had and opened up to share all their new creations.

—In fact, I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but it has become a trend among the upper classes to have mariachi dinners. The guests can enjoy their food while, at the center of their table, there’s a stage where a group of mariachis performs all the songs they want.

—I’ve heard some rumors. The fact that humans are so small has led to many eccentricities. But, focusing on the cultural aspect, I can tell you that we are working on many projects to preserve, develop, and spread mariachi music throughout the galaxy. We are especially interested in creating new works of a variant called “corridos” that contain the major milestones of the history of Rackam.

—You mentioned outside the air that you had brought us a gift.

—That’s right, I brought you and your audience the premise of one of these corridos, called Rackam, mi hogar.

—That’s wonderful, if you like, give me your audio file.

—Better yet, bring your microphones to this box.

—Don’t tell me that…

—That’s right, Raúl Fernández and his band are coming with me, who will honor us with a live performance of this beautiful piece.

—Well, no more talk about it, and with this song we say goodbye, dear audience. We’ll see you next week with the theme Rotcha, ¿arte o canibalismo?… ¡Arránquese, maestro!

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