Alarcon, JCH :: Pachamama

Pachamama, Madre Tierra, for Flute Choir and Percussion by José Carlos H. Alarcón. Dedicated to the Ensemble de Flautas de Valencia (Spain). The name "Pachamama" is a mixture of the words "Mama," which is translated as mother, and "Pacha," which is a term in Aymara and Quechua that means "earth, world, universe, time, epoch," both time and space. Although the most common meaning of "Pacha" is that of land, for example, when Pachamama is honored, a fertility rite is performed so that the land (the terrain) bears its fruits in exchange for offerings and other sacrifices.

It symbolizes the environment of the human being in its entirety: past, present and future. The tradition of the native peoples describes the Pachamama as an indigenous woman, short, with a big head, wearing a wide-brimmed hat and feet that are disproportionately large in comparison to the rest of her body, accompanied by a black dog, a quirquincho (a species of South American armadillo), and a snake as a lasso.