Poemas del Interior
This suite of six pieces by composer Andrés Carrizo emerged from SonLingua’s first collaboration with indigenous poets Mikeas Sánchez (Zoque, Mexico) and Sabino Esteban (Maya Q’anjob’al, Guatemala). Their poetry, written in both their indigenous languages and Spanish, reflects a tension between cultural preservation and colonial history.
Carrizo selected three poems from each poet, focusing on how meaning is shaped—whether through silence, as in Mikeas’s Metsa, or through personal experiences, as in Sabino’s Sjuyuyijal Aw. Through this suite, he explores the expressive potential of endangered languages while honoring their significance.
Read the poems:
i. Tumu
ii. Majkustujkay
iii. Sjuyuyijal Aw
iv. Metsa
v. Tz’aqil
vi. Junxa Q’inalej
Arqueros
Andrés Carrizo wrote Arqueros for Liz Pearse and himself to premiere on a tour featuring Messiaen’s Poèmes pour Mi and their own songs. Set to a poem by Federico García Lorca, the music reflects the poem’s vision of an approaching army on the Guadalquivir River. Carrizo draws a parallel to media portrayals of border crossings, particularly at the Rio Grande. Writing from the perspective of the invaded, he explores the fear of displacement, seeking to understand and empathize with those who fear immigration, despite the harm such fear can cause.