We all know so much detail went into the latest blockbuster Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. From the “Líik’ik Talokan” greeting hand gesture to outstanding cinematography efforts, the production went beyond to make the film as robust as possible. As far as the soundtrack, though Santa Fe Klan, Alemán, and Snow Tha Product were deservingly spotlighted, other Indigenous and Mexican artists were overlooked, although they equally contributed to the movie’s soundscape.
The Zapotecan poet and rapper Mare Advertencia – or Mare Advertencia Lirika – was featured on “Árboles Bajo El Mar” with Mexican singer Vivir Quintana. She’s a hip-hop and rap artist from Oaxaca, Mexico, who previously worked with Natalia Lafourcade on a version of Lafourcade’s “Tú Sí Sabes Quererme” alongside Rubén Blades. Her hard-hitting raps usually cover feminist topics and injustices that surround her community. Through her social media, she’s vocal about racism and points out the differences between Indigenous communities.
Moreover, one of the composers that helped make the Mayan sounds as accurate as possible is Alejandro Méndez of group TRIBU, who aided with his ancestral sound knowledge. “As a Mexican musician, composer, archaeologist, and builder of pre-Hispanic musical instruments, I am proud to see reflected in this film: the effort of so many years of work and research to methodologically recover the ancestral sounds of Mesoamerican cultures, which had been hidden for more than 500 years and now they sound all over the world,” he wrote on a Facebook post.
However, perhaps two of the best representatives of this soundtrack of Mayan culture is “Laayli’ kuxa’ano’one” by ADN Maya Colectivo featuring Pat Boy, Yaalen K’uj, and All Mayan Winik, which is performed in Yucatec Maya language. Guadalupe de Jesús Chan Poot – or Chan Lupita – also recites the soundtrack’s ending number, “Mi Pueblo,” in their native language.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is now out in theaters.
