We remember the wars against henequen and the enslavement of Yucatec Maya people in the haciendas where rope was produced. We acknowledge the global passion for tequila and mezcal, and the resulting loss of genetic biodiversity in agaves — a monoculture logic that prevents the plants from flowering, and from coexisting with other plants, microorganisms, bats, and pollinators. We remember stitches and weaves disappearing from Mexican textiles. 
Before the rise of petroleum-derived fibers, extractivism turned agaves into a kind of fibrous gold, used to produce rope during the Industrial Revolution and World War I. 
Agave, the tree of wonders — of sacred pulque, of maguey flower stew, of soft yet resilient fiber, thriving in dry, sun-scorched soil.
With this project — and without metaphorical intent — we attempt to weave together the fragmented knowledges of agaves.

Credits:
an invitation from curator Tania Aedo for the El Aleph festival. An extraordinary group of people joined this process — including Dr. Mariana Vallejo and Dr. Abisai García, curator of the agave collection at the UNAM Botanical Garden. We worked in the dance hall, the botanical gardens of UNAM and Chapultepec, the pulquerías of Mexico City, and the agave-based cuisine of a ranch in Hidalgo.

Scientific collaboration: UNAM Botanical Garden, Dr. Abisai Josué García Mendoza, Dr. Mariana Vallejo Ramos. Music: Aura Arreola. Performance: Melissa Aguilar, Tania Aedo, Aura Arreola, Uryan Lózano, Mónica Malinaly Puente, Maria Herrador, Erick Ricardo Jáuregui Sánchez, Teresa Núñez-Fortoul, Maria Sánchez Martinez, Sofía Megumi Juárez Patatuchi, Daniel Herrera. Production: Festival El Aleph — UNAM, Cátedra Max Aub & Cátedra Gloria Contreras. Producer: Finella Halligan. General assistant: Melissa Aguilar. Video post-production and motion design: Camille Olympie.