« Picante » follows the masochistic experience of eating spicy food as it takes us on an imaginative journey inside the human body. The entire piece is built around a fiery gesture that builds over time into an explosive climax, before being close-up in a calm state of flavorful enjoyment. This process of being “enchilado” doesn’t have an exact translation in English, and yet, this burning sensation is quintessential in Mexican culture.
The music captures the fascinating process that occurs when eating spicy food: the body perceives the capsaicin molecule as a threat, which sets off a rich microcosm of warnings. Our hearts quicken, we sweat, sniffle, cry, and cough; we shiver, we groan, we scream, and we suffer… All these waves of gestures are imagined in the music and are all signals to get this threat out of your body. Nevertheless, the most crucial reaction is that the brain releases endorphins and dopamine to lessen and alleviate the pain. This particular factor, along with flavor and aroma, is what fuels our incessant consumption of spicy food, and the result is an intriguing exploration of the fine line between pain and pleasure. After all – what is life, if not the search for pleasure amidst the pain?
