Building communitas through symbolic performances: Mexican metal and the case of Cemican

Abstract

The Latin American metal collective represents a big portion of the metal artists and fandom in the American continent. México has a powerful metal scene and an equally strong devotee population. There is one particular band that represents a collective voice capable of depicting the nation in the present moment. Cemican is a band that fits into the genre called Aztec folk metal. Their albums have shown an affinity for Aztec and Mayan mythology, and their sound is a flux between the sordid loudness of thrash and death metal riffs and the vibrations of pre-Hispanic instruments. Their performances present re-enactments of rituals reminiscent of the capture of enemy warriors and the heart extractions performed on these. Local audiences get drawn in by the sound of metal but also by the recognition of themselves through the Mexican elements. Mexican audiences reach a certain level of community at the moment of witnessing their performance; this sense of community extends to aspects including feelings of exploration and belonging. Today, México stands as a fertile land for metal music, where elements from two colliding cultures and belief systems can be integrated, and the resulting artefact achieves an indomitable sound. Traditions like the Día de los Muertos (or ‘Day of the Dead’) and its closeness to the idea of death as comical, as well as the merging of polytheism and Christianity have given metal music in México its own communal identity. The search for authenticity in identity is also a fact that is present in Mexican metal music through symbolic practices and representations. The paradigm and dynamic change as the conglomeration of European-influenced sounds clash with the religious syncretism of the actual Mexican people.