Tizoc

QUE SIGNIFICA...

By archiving recorded whistles and portraits of whistlers I hope to address the following questions:  How is whistling a creative pursuit and what are the performance elements seen in this style of communication? What are ways to elevate quotidian moments, such as whistling, to an art form? How can this process successfully provoke dialogue and interaction between strangers of various backgrounds?

I hope that my project will serve as a way to increase awareness of a cultural phenomenon unknown to many outside of Latin America, and frequently overlooked by the very people who practice it daily.

During my residency in Mexico, three years ago, I heard a variety of whistling tones and cadences, examples include: calling between male friends in Mazatlan, a police officer directing traffic in Guadalajara, a mother calling her children and street market vendors in Mexico City using "chiflidos" to call attention to their wares.

Guadalajara: street whistle

 Guadalajara: street whistle by chiflidos



Whistling done in Guadalajara, Mexico by Octavio. Recorded at La Plaza de Armas in 2007.

Fiat: car commercial

There are two really great moments in this commercial:
1. The drawings of "Wanted" whistlers (0:31)
2. The whistling 'make out' scene--- this moment is simply brilliant! (0:35)

Mazatlán: pistola

 Mazatlán: pistola by chiflidos


"Pistola" (banda de guerra tunes) whistling done in Mazatlán, Mexico by Christian. Recorded by the Pacific ocean in 2007

Bird or Man?

Guadalajara: whistled chiste

"Un Chiste" whistling done in Guadalajara, Mexico. Recorded inside a tattoo shop in 2007

Guadalajara: "chinga tu ...."

"Chinga tu madre" whistling done in Guadalajara, Mexico. Recorded inside a tattoo shop in 2007

OBJECTIVE

- Seek volunteers to interview
- Record audio of various whistle styles and "songs" by participants
- Take portrait photographs- before and during the act of whistling

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        INTERVIEW QUESTIONS:

1.     Do you know how to whistle?

2.     How and when did you learn to whistle?

3.     Do you consider whistling a form of communication?

4.     What type of uses does whistling have?

5.     Do you think you used whistling more in your home country?

6.     If you grew up in Latin America how many years have you lived in the U.S?

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Mazatlán: call and response

Mazatlán: call and response by chiflidos

"Call and Response" whistling done in Mazatlán, Mexico by Christian and Bernardo. Recorded by the Pacific ocean in 2007

Pedro Infante - Amorcito Corazón

Los Malandrines - No mas Pa'chiflar

COLLECTION

I am preparing for my first collection of whistles and photographs in Baltimore, Maryland on June 26 & 27 at the Latino Festival. I hope to interview many volunteers and do weekly posts of each person's portrait, whistle recordings and interview.

I have also added a Soundcloud dropbox so that anyone can contribute to this blog their personal whistle recordings.

DRAWINGS (LIPS & TEETH)

COMMUNICATIVE WHISTLING

According to Wiki

Whistled languages use whistling to emulate speech and facilitate communication. A whistled language is a system of whistled communication which allows fluent whistlers to transmit and comprehend a potentially unlimited number of messages over long distances. Whistled languages are different in this respect from the restricted codes sometimes used by herders or animal trainers to transmit simple messages or instructions. Generally, whistled languages emulate the tones or vowel formants of a natural spoken language, as well as aspects of its intonation and prosody, so that trained listeners who speak that language can understand the encoded message.
Whistled language is rare compared to spoken language, but it is found in cultures around the world. It is especially common in tone languages where the whistled tones transmit the tones of the syllables (tone melodies of the words). This might be because in tone languages the tone melody carries more of the "functional load" of communication while non-tonal phonology carries proportionally less. The genesis of a whistled language has never been recorded in either case and has not yet received much productive study.

(Below is not a direct translation of the above text)

Un lenguaje silbado es un sistema de comunicación mediante silbidos. Los lenguajes silbados no son lenguas en el sentido estricto de la palabra, sino conversiones de los fonemas de una lengua ya existente en silbidos con unos tonos, longitudes e intensidades determinadas. En la mayoría de los casos, el silbido se realiza con la boca, aunque algunos lenguajes silbados africanos requieren el uso de un silbato.
Debido a que la expresividad del silbido es limitada en comparación con los sistemas de comunicación verbales, los mensajes silbados son normalmente cortos y a menudo deben repetirse. La principal ventaja reside en que la comunicación puede realizarse a grandes distancias (normalmente de uno a dos kilómetros, aunque a veces alcanza los 5 km ). Normalmente, las lenguas silbadas se desarrollan en áreas de poca población y terreno inaccesible. En África y México, sólo los hombres emplean los lenguajes silbados.