“Canto al arbol” is a series of workshops led by local grandmothers and musicians of different backgrounds, including elders I’ve met through urban farm work; I invited my own grandmother, Alecia Castillo, a Venezuelan artist who played the piano in all the classes, helping us learn the compositions of the songs. This series is part of a larger project called “La Casa de la abuela”.

Hosts are invited to share information and anecdotes about the medicinal, edible, and otherwise meaningful properties of trees of their own choosing. Together, workshop participants and hosts documented the information as songs—in the spirit of Latin American musical storytelling formats, such as coplas and plenas through which such knowledge has traditionally been shared.

We will compile the songs into a book that celebrates this tree/abuela wisdom.

This is an intergenerational project, existing outside institutional spaces, it is meant to be as accessible as possible. I want to inspire other artists to collaborate and engage with their families and neighbors, and to understand both our elders and non-humans as great teachers—especially now, when we need to rethink and rebuild our current knowledge systems. With this project, we will preserve traditional cultural practices as a form of resistance and empowerment. Our intention is to support the ongoing movement to break from the anthropocentrism by which our culture lives.

The goal is for the songbook to be presented starting 2025 in a public exhibition, at a community garden, where I’ll organize a musical performance so we can sing five songs we composed together and record them live. Grandmothers will be interviewed about their relationships with each tree, which will serve as introductions to each song.

If you know a grandmother that would like to participate by telling a story about a tree or host a workshop, reach out to us!