Commitment to Research and Musical Culture
At Rinforzando Música, the commitment to music education goes hand in hand with research and critical reflection—a vision driven by its founder Maura Alemán, violinist, educator, and researcher.
Through this approach, part of the work of Rinforzando Música and Maura Alemán has been published in highly recognized academic and cultural venues. Among them is the international journal THULE – Rivista italiana di studi americanistici, dedicated to the study of the Americas from a transdisciplinary perspective.
Additionally, Maura Alemán’s research on the tecciztli—a conch shell trumpet used in Mexica rituals—was published in the digital repository of the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes y Literatura (INBAL), as part of a project supported by Mexico’s Ministry of Culture.
“El Tecciztli o Trompeta de Caracol: Su Función Ceremonial y Cosmogónica entre los Aztecas” (The Tecciztli or Conch Shell Trumpet: Its Ceremonial and Cosmogonic Function among the Aztecs)
Thule Rivista italiana di studi americanistici
Abstract
The tecciztli or conch shell trumpet is one of the most evocative musical instruments of prehispanic Mexico and one of the most emblematic of contemporary Mexicanist movements. The symbolic significance of this instrument, however, remains little known. This article documents this significance and investigates:
- The role the tecciztli played in sacrificial ceremonies conducted by the Aztecs throughout 17 of the 18 veintenas that structured their solar calendar.
- The role assigned by the ancient Mexica to this instrument within their cosmogony.
- The iconographic representation of the tecciztli in the codices of this civilization.
This study demonstrates that the tecciztli inhabited a liminal space between the underworld and the upperworld, and was the medium used by Aztec divinity to create Quetzalcoatl and humankind.
In this sense, the tecciztli was considered the generator of the “divine breath” which, when used to announce the death of the sacrificed, could be regarded as the medium par excellence for connecting the origin of life with death.
Due to its polysemic nature, the sound produced by the conch shell trumpet was represented by the Aztecs with the same sign used to represent divine breath, the word, song, poetry, and music.
conch shell trumpet, Mexico, Quetzalcoatl
Performance at the Mexicali (Mexico)–Calexico (United States) Border
This project consisted of a triple documentation—photography, audio, and video—of a performance carried out at the border between Mexicali (Mexico) and Calexico (United States). Through the violin, I sought to embody and physically experience the process of migration, placing the instrument—a symbol of European academic music—in a border and unconventional context, to explore how body and sound can reveal new ways of listening to and understanding the migrant experience.
The Tecciztli or Conch Shell Trumpet and Its Recurrent Use in Human Sacrifice Rituals of the Mexica Veintenas
Secretaría de Cultura, INBAL, Cenart, Cenidim
Abstract: The tecciztli, a trumpet made from a marine conch shell, played a crucial role in human sacrifice rituals during the Mexica veintenas—the ceremonial cycles of the religious calendar. Its deep, resonant sound not only marked specific moments within the ritual but also served as a medium to invoke deities, spiritually prepare participants, and connect the human and divine worlds.
Used especially in ceremonies dedicated to gods such as Tláloc and Tezcatlipoca, the tecciztli symbolized communication between sky, earth, and the underworld. Its presence reaffirms the importance of sound in prehispanic religious practices—not merely as accompaniment, but as an active element that shaped the sacred experience.
🇪🇸 Versión en español: Para leer sobre mis publicaciones en español, haz clic aquí.