El Taquero

For Steel Pan (C Lead) and Auxiliary Percussion El Taquero (Spanish for The Taco Maker) takes physical actions made in the kitchen while preparing tacos and translates them into musical gestures on and around the steel pan. Chopping onions, grating cheese, basting meat, kneading tortilla dough, adding seasoning: all these actions and more are expressed through the physical motions of the pan player. The piece begins by preparing the meat with cutting, mincing, stirring, seasoning, and basting actions. The middle of the piece features a moment to prepare the tortillas by kneading the inside of the pan. Finally, the toppings are prepared with a grating action along with further cutting and stirring.