Prehispanic Ethnomusicology: The Tecciztli

In her publications and conference presentations on prehispanic instruments, Maura Alemán has studied the tecciztli, a ritual aerophone crafted from marine shells, whose ceremonial use among the Mexica revealed a sacred relationship between sound, cosmos, and nature. These studies—published in Revista Thule (Italy) and by CENIDIM / INBAL (Mexico’s National Institute of Fine Arts)—approach sound as a living manifestation of symbolic thought, where listening served as a means of communication with natural and spiritual forces.

This research was later featured in the Ciclo de Encuentros Etnomusicológicos: Hablando de Instrumentos Musicales (Ethnomusicological Encounters: Discussing Musical Instruments), an international forum (Mexico–Brazil–Colombia–Haiti, 2020) where she engaged in dialogue with Latin American researchers on sonorities and ritual practices.

As part of her ethnomusicological trajectory, she was invited by the Centro Cultural Tijuana (CECUT) to deliver the lecture “Women in Ethnomusicology” as part of the series Women in the Arts.

Keywords: tecciztli, prehispanic instruments, Mexica music, sonic worldview, intangible heritage, Mexican ethnomusicology.

Sonic Memory and Haitian Migration

Maura Alemán’s research has expanded into contemporary contexts through her study of sonic memory and Haitian migration in Mexico. In presentations delivered at the II Congress of Ethnomusicology at UNAM (National Autonomous University of Mexico) and the Mexican Society of Anthropology, she analyzed how migratory territories generate new sonic geographies, where voice, song, and silence reconstruct identity and belonging.

This work was further developed in her publication in Revista RIO-LATIR (Network for the Anthropology of Art, CIESAS), where she examined the role of sound and performance as spaces of border and resistance.

Keywords: Haitian migration, sonic memory, contemporary ethnomusicology, cultural identity, Mexico–US border, sonic performance.

Acoustic Ecology in Baja California: Listening to the Borders

Escuchando los Bordes: Memoria, Territorio y Ecología Acústica en Baja California (Listening to the Borders: Memory, Territory, and Acoustic Ecology in Baja California) was the first project Maura Alemán presented on behalf of Rinforzando Música as an independent platform for sound research and sonic creation.

This research analyzes the soundscapes of Baja California through field recording and electroacoustic composition, proposing an ecological mode of listening that reveals the invisible memories embedded in the territory. The project approaches sound as living matter that connects landscape, body, and memory, integrating perspectives from sound art, acoustic ecology, and territorial thought.

The paper was presented at the Second International Colloquium on Soundscape: Public Space and Citizenship in Historic Centers, organized by leading academic institutions in Mexico, including Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo (UMSNH), Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (UAM) Azcapotzalco, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla (BUAP), and the National Council for Humanities, Sciences, and Technologies (CONAHCYT), in collaboration with the Ibero-American Network URBS SONORUM.

This presentation marked a turning point in her trajectory, consolidating Rinforzando Música not only as a music academy but also as a space for artistic research and independent knowledge production, connected to national and international academic networks.

Keywords: soundscape, acoustic ecology, sound art, Baja California, research-creation, Rinforzando Música.

Independent Music Pedagogy

A few days later, at the 9th International Congress on Building Environments for Teaching and Learning, organized by Universidad Autónoma de Baja California (UABC), she presented the paper Educar desde la independencia: una experiencia de transformación en la enseñanza del violín y la viola (Teaching from Independence: A Transformative Experience in Violin and Viola Education).

In this second presentation, she introduced the pedagogical model she has developed at Rinforzando Música, where autonomy, instrumental technique, and artistic research are integrated to rethink the role of the independent teacher as a creator of knowledge and an agent of educational change.

This paper complements the approach of Escuchando los Bordes by transposing the concepts of listening and freedom from the artistic realm to the pedagogical, demonstrating how independence can be both a way of teaching and a way of creating.

Keywords: independent music education, violin and viola pedagogy, educational innovation, arts education in Mexicali, Rinforzando Música.